Ponderings, page-6

More hints about possible direction here in a story on Miles Hull from December 29 in Perth Now.
Miles, formerly the marketing and creative director for Little Creatures, was appointed National Marketing head of Gage Roads in April 2018.

To get an idea of where he is from and what he is about read the whole story, meanwhile here’s a bit specific to the future of Gage Roads .

https://www.perthnow.com.au/lifesty...les-hull-shares-his-beer-story-ng-b881060108z
...................
........ “Hull’s non-traditional background meant he was freer to get creative with ways to get the word out there — also partly by necessity. “We couldn’t afford to do billboard or print advertising, so we had to look at alternative ways to market the beer. It’s about getting people to experience the product,” he says, mentioning tastings, local events and community interaction. “A lot of breweries have followed it.”

“It’s a model he may well borrow from in his new role as head of marketing for Gage Roads, the ASX-listed, Palmyra-based brewery that is now WA’s largest beer producer. In June it bought Matso’s Brewery, which is Australia’s leading alcoholic ginger beer brewer, and there are further plans to grow, focusing on a national market with its popular brews Little Dove, Single Fin and the separately branded Alby.

Already, Gage Roads is the beer served at the new Optus Stadium and more experiential outreach is planned through events. Hull plans to leverage changing trends he sees in the global beer industry to promote the brewer. Astonishingly, he’s tipping a shift away from craft towards something closer to the traditional, mainstream brews of old.

“If you think about it, Little Creatures is 18 years old now, so many young people don’t have a history of knowing the industry before craft beer,” he points out. “If you’re 18, chances are your parents are drinking craft beer. Now, parents are dorky, so there’s this counterculture; Swan and Emu are having a resurgence, and Alby is positioned to be a contemporary take, sitting somewhere between the two.”

In keeping, the “craft” term is out of favour at Gage. “Craft can be a bit too weird and wonderful,” says Hull. “The beer market is opening up to be different products with different varieties and styles that suit different palates.” Yet he believes the craft-spiked interest in provenance and locality will continue to grow.

“There’s a trend of naming the regions where the hops and barley comes from,” he says. “People are interested to know where single hop varieties are picked and where they’re malted.” The other trends he sees include a switch back to canned beers — Gage is investing in canning facilities accordingly — and a move towards sour beers. “It’s a bit like the natural wine of beer, using natural fermentation and wild yeasts,” he says. “Some are extreme, some are approachable.”..........
.........