Booze Newz: Girly Beer Edition

Molson Coors’ announcement that it will launch Animée, a new “bloat-resistant” beer aimed at women, in the UK this fall has not exactly been welcomed with squeals of joy and air kisses by female commentators.

Many seem to view the new campaign as a cosmetic condescension that will likely do little to make up for decades of sexist marketing that have driven women away from beer in the first place.

As Melissa Cole puts on the sarcasm: “It’s called Animee, because girls are drawn to anime and the name Aimee. It’s pretty! It tastes like ‘light, sparkling, finely filtered beer’ (also known as Zima).”

Ouch. Kim Conte at The Stir is even more blunt: “Just because I’m female doesn’t mean I like to drink crappy beer.”

The message? Try a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T … it might be more effective than frou-frou marketing in enticing women to embrace beer.[more]

Campaign Looks to Keep Carling a Darling

Molson Coors is also busy in the UK with a £7.3 million campaign to refresh its Carling lager. The company is looking to stem a tide of lost market share — even though Carling remains the no. 1-selling lager in the UK. The new campaign will feature the slogan “Refreshingly and Brilliantly British,” designed to broaden the beer’s appeal in the UK. A new aluminum bottle will also be introduced as well as a new less-bitter sub-brand, Carling Chrome, which will launch in late August. Molson Coors aims to take the brand from 1.3 billion pints sold in British bars last year to 2 billion pints within the next three years.

Pharrel Hopes to Rise to the Top with Qream

Yes, it’s another hip-hop artist launching a new alcoholic beverage, and yes, it’s owned by Diageo.

But at least it’s not vodka, so it’s not a complete copy of P. Diddy’s Ciroc. Pharrel Williams has come out with Qream, an “ultra-premium cream liqueur” that comes in peach and strawberry flavors and is aimed squarely at attracting female drinkers (everybody seems to want them these days!).

Pharrel helped concoct the new beverage and said, “Women make up half the population and Qream is about celebrating that power,” The Telegraphreported. Here’s to being half of humankind, ladies! Go ahead! Use that awesome power to purchase a creamy beverage!

Majoring in Fermentation Education

Louisiana State University has a solid reputation as a party school, one that will certainly not be diminished by a new project: LSU-branded beer.

The beer has yet to be named (“It’s not going to be called ‘LSU Beer,'” Charles D’Agostino, executive director of the LSU Louisiana Business and Technology Center, told The Associated Press), but plans are to roll it out during the upcoming football season. Brewed by Baton Rouge-based Tin Roof Brewing Co., the beer will be offered on tap and in cans.

The new brew will have a role at the school outside of tailgate parties: university food science professors helped with the recipe, faculty will help with brewing and quality control and students will get a chance to learn about fermentation science in classes at the brewery starting this fall. That’s the college spirit!