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Summer, when the sun shines brightly, is the season when a cold glass of beer comes to mind. Beer lovers around the world celebrate the first Friday of August every year as ‘International Beer Day’. It is literally ‘summer is the season of beer’. The industry reports that beer sales from June to August are about 20-30% higher than in winter and other seasons.
Especially draft beer served in a cold ice glass is the soul food of Koreans. After a hard day, if you gulp down a glass of draft beer, you feel like the heat and thirst are washed away. Even those who are reluctant to go out due to the recent ‘Goblin weather’ with the heat and rain coming and going, find it difficult to give up the charm of draft beer.
Draft beer isn’t ‘raw’? Why is it different when it’s the same beer?
![“It’s a cold beer in the summer, but it’s hot outside…” How to enjoy draft beer at home[동아리] “It’s a cold beer in the summer, but it’s hot outside…” How to enjoy draft beer at home[동아리]](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/14/126533934.2.jpg)
In fact, draft beer is a regular beer that is only called draft beer. It means the same beer as bottled beer or canned beer. In the past, beer produced without heat treatment and sterilization during the bottling process was called draft beer because the yeast and other ingredients were alive. However, now, with the development of brewing technology, beer produced without heat treatment using sterilization filtration is no longer different.
However, there is a reason why draft beer at a bar tastes better. Draft beer is stored in a keg, a container specifically for beer. If beer is stored under the same conditions, a keg is more effective at preventing spoilage than a can, which is sensitive to heat, or a bottle, which is sensitive to light.
Also, by pouring the beer, carbon dioxide gas is injected to provide a richer carbonation and refreshing feeling, and ultrasonic waves can be used to create dense cream foam. It also has an effect on the turnover rate. Draft beer sold in bars tends to be consumed at a faster turnover rate than distribution channels targeting the home market. That means that there is a high possibility that beer that was produced not long ago will be placed in front of you. From a manufacturing perspective, it is the same as other beers, but it is actually fresher and tastier, so the name draft beer is not a lie.
Draft beer at home… The secret is the ‘cream foam’ created by ultrasound
![Pouring beer using OB Beer Hanmac's 'Smooth Cream Frother'. After filling the glass to about 70% with beer, press the frother power button and wait for 1-2 seconds to create a creamy foam.](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/14/126531280.2.gif)
If you know the subtle differences between draft beer and regular beer, you can drink draft beer at home. This is a method that utilizes ultrasonic waves. There are various products on the market called ‘beer foamers’. The principle is to apply ultrasonic vibrations tens of thousands of times per second to the entrance of a beer can to create fine bubbles.
OB Beer, the number one beer company in Korea, is also introducing a ‘beer foamer’. It launched the ‘Smooth Cream Foamer’ as a marketing strategy for the brand ‘Hanmac’, which emphasizes smooth foam. It is easy to use. It is attached to the top of a can of beer. After filling the glass with about 70% of the beer, press the power button of the foamer and wait for 1~2 seconds to create a creamy foam. The home-drinking draft beer thus completed definitely had a richer taste than regular beer. The high-density foam blocked contact between the beer and air, maintaining the carbonation and completing a smooth finish.
![Draft beer 'Hanmac Extra Creamy Draft' that you can drink at a bar and draft beer made with a 'Smooth Cream Frother'. The advantage of using a frother is that you can drink it while replenishing the foam that naturally disappears over time.](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/14/126533914.2.jpg)
I tried comparing it with draft beer sold at bars, but it was hard to tell the difference. It’s the same beer with a different name, and it even has the same creamy foam, so maybe that’s a natural result. Rather, I felt that draft beer enjoyed at home was more appealing because you can drink it while replenishing the foam that naturally disappears over time.
![OB Beer is also introducing the 'Creamy Server Dispenser' that even replicates the feeling of drinking draft beer by pulling the tap (handle).](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/14/126533852.2.jpg)
Going one step further, OB Beer is also introducing the ‘Creamy Server Dispenser’ that even implements the feeling of drinking draft beer by pulling the tap (handle). You can use it easily by simply putting canned beer in the product. However, because of its large size, the beer foamer is advantageous in terms of portability.
Essence VS Fun… Competition in the Beer Market Spreads into Goods
Currently, the domestic beer market is a three-way battle between OB Beer (Cass, Hanmac, etc.), which has been in first place for a long time, Hite Jinro (Terra, Kelly, etc.), and Lotte Chilsung Beverage (Crush, etc.) that are chasing it. In this fixed market structure, beer companies are adding variables through goods marketing.
First of all, OB Beer is introducing goods that focus on the essence of beer. The ‘Smooth Cream Foamer’ and ‘Creamy Server Dispenser’ of the second brand ‘Hanmac’ are also of this level.
![Hite Jinro is developing a goods marketing strategy that focuses on fun. A representative example is the 'So-Maek Tower', which allows you to drink 'So-Maek' in a useful and fun way at group drinking parties.](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/14/126533866.2.jpg)
Hite Jinro seems to be focusing on fun marketing. This is interpreted as being because they already had a lot of fun with the toad character goods through the soju brand ‘Jinro Is Back’. There are various products such as the bottle opener ‘Spooner’ that opened a bottle of beer with a refreshing sound and caused a shortage, and the ‘So-Maek Tower’ that makes it useful and fun to drink ‘So-Maek (Soju + Beer)’ at group drinking parties.
![Lotte Chilsung Beverage operated the Crush pop-up store 'KRUSH Avenue' for two weeks in February at the Lotte Department Store Avenuel basement level pop-up store in Jamsil, Seoul.](https://dimg.donga.com/wps/NEWS/IMAGE/2024/08/14/126533862.2.jpg)
Lotte Chilsung Beverage also sold fun-filled goods through the ‘Crush’ pop-up store earlier this year. They introduced unique goods such as nail stickers, nanoblocks, ready bags, and transparent pouches. They also attracted attention by actively utilizing singer Karina, the brand model, to introduce photo cards.
Reporter Yoon Woo-yeol, Donga.com, [email protected]
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2024-08-18 02:29:59