Food & Beverage Asia February/March 2020

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ON THE TABLE
and contribute to the growing trend of
harnessing a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
As part of its contribution to a healthy planet,
Lion Brewery Co has switched from plastic
labels to paper to reduce its plastic footprint
Julius explained, "Craft beers brands tend
to offer a healthier alternative as they focus
on using natural and top quality products
for optimum taste. No and low alcohol
beers have become popular especially in
the US and Australia, and we are starting
to see a domino effect here. There has
definitely been a rise in premiumisation of
the market as consumers care more about
what they drink, choosing healthier, better
quality products."
“I think we are still very much in the
exposure phase, but what’s most pleasing
to us is the reception we have received from
beer drinkers and people who just wanted
good, premium, unpretentious beer,” he
continued. “We’ve got a growing following,
and we hope we can take things to another
level this year.”
In the brew
Last June, Lion Brewery Co added a second
beer to its portfolio – Island Lager. Island
Lager uses German Hallertau Blanc hops
in both the bittering and dry-hop stages
to create the ideal pilsner, delivering
notes of pine and elderflower. The length
of fermentation is also much longer than
with ales. Lager is filtered to give it the
clarity and brightness that beer drinkers
expect of this style. Again, with an alcohol
content of 4.7%, the Island Lager is very
sessionable - a trademark of Lion Brewery
Co's core range.
From brew to drink, the process of brewing
beer is rather lengthy, in addition to the
time required for fermentation. But across
the entire process, Julius labelled sourcing
of ingredients as utmost importance, and
elaborated, “For us, it’s all about sourcing
the best quality ingredients and adopting
the best processes to make the very best
tasting beer. Our malted barley and hops
come from Europe and North America,
and we take great care in our sourcing of
ingredients - for example, our barley is
certified GM Free - and we always brew with
real hops, never with extract.”
He further pointed out two differences
between craft beer and standard beer –
the way the beer is made, and the way it
tastes – and explained that craft beer is an
art form done by independent breweries,
whereas commercial lagers are mass
produced by conglomerates.
He continued, “I think it’s safe to say that
craft beer is in line with the preferences
of modern consumers – they are keen
to support local, value provenance and
quality. Hence, there is definitely room for
craft beer, and in fact that’s why some big
breweries are also interested in getting
into this space.
“The rise of small craft breweries has also
enabled the rise of smaller, independent
hop and barley producers, as well as the
need for strategic partnerships within the
industry, so overall, we are all supporting
each other to grow down the supply chain.”
Connecting the dots
The wider beer market has welcomed the
entrance of low calorie and zero alcohol
beers in recent years. Driven by consumers’
demands, these healthier-labelled beers
open new opportunities to give consumers
choice for a variety of drinking occasions,
Subscribing to the era of healthy living,
Lion Brewery Co’s Straits Pale Ale is
unpasteurised to preserve the flavour,
healthy yeast and enzymes. It is made with
all-natural ingredients, and uses cold chain
logistics to ensure the highest quality,
freshest beer.
Besides consumer’s health, Lion Brewery Co
has also placed its focus on contributing to
a healthy planet. The brewery has made the
switch from plastic labels to paper in order to
reduce its plastic footprint, and has invested
in compostable cups for their events.
He concluded, “We would love to have our
own green brewery one day. There are
several things to consider – the source
of energy and power, water usage, beer
packaging, and many more. For example,
I’d love to have a brewery with solar panels
on the roof, where we give our spent grain
as animal feed, and we compost ourselves
as well.
“We’d also be keen in doing a cooperative
venture amongst all the other breweries in
Singapore with regards to sharing and reusing
our beer bottles. In terms of encouragement
to go green, I think government initiatives are
always good but for us at least, it’s very much
an internal motivation. We care deeply about
the planet and want to leave it in as good as
state as we can, even if it means higher costs
for us.” FBA
FOOD & BEVERAGE ASIA FEBRUARY / MARCH 2020