Trendy beer gets fruitier with new flavours

The company said its BeMix flavours are meant to help brewers achieve a mix of tastes - from coconut to raspberry - in response to declining traditional beer sales. A spokesperson said: "Thanks to the fact that the main reason for buying this category of products is taste, BeMix can diversify the beer based beverages range with original associations and trendy flavours.​ ​"Facing the decline of traditional beer sales, BeMIX is a new alternative to reverse the trend." ​ Companies are increasingly looking at ways to attract new, younger, beer drinkers with innovative tastes. Last year Germany's Wild launched its own line for mixed beer beverages with a range of ingredients and flavours. Wild said its citrus flavours were in great demand in beer mix drinks, with the leading flavour being lime. Aromatech said its mix includes 22 flavours and have been tasted and validated by a consumer panel made up of 102 people from 13 different countries. These tests, the firm said, can help brewers decide which flavours would suit their needs. BeMix can be classed in three different groups for beer and beer based beverages, with the fruit beers even boasting a 15 per cent fruit content. The flavours will meet a range of tastes, Aromatech said, and include tequila, whisky, coconut, green tea, apple, and raspberry. They come under the names BeMIX Spirit for lager beer, BeMIX Twist for white beer and vodka or rum flavoured with vanilla, chocolate, coconut, or green tea. BeMIX Fruity is a white beer with fruit. The flavours would also appeal to drinkers who are looking for a beer with a fruitier and less bitter taste, Aromatech added. Shrinking and stagnant beer markets across much of Western Europe have forced many international brewers to re-think their strategy in the region. Major companies have all reported losses. Carlsberg, for example, made a net loss of €24m in the first quarter of 2006, an improvement on a loss of about €40m in the same period in 2005. Analysts at Mintel predict UK consumers will drink on average 11 litres or 19 pints less of the product by 2012. Lager volume sales have declined five per cent since 2005. Volume sales are forecast to fall by a further eight per cent by 2012 to 3.65bn litres, Mintel said. As a result, the value of the market this year is expected to decline by four per cent to £10.9bn (€16m) from the levels recorded in 2005.