Blade: Your New Secret Beer Weapon
T
he competition for tap handles has only gotten stronger, and bar owners are faced with making the tough decision of who gets to stay on tap and who has to go. Heineken offers a solution that allows you to eliminate the guesswork while creating a new source of draft beer: the Blade® system.
Requiring just a counter and a socket, the Blade system serves fresh beer at 2°C. “Blade is a countertop plug-n-play draft system that requires almost no maintenance and requires no CO2 to dispense the beer,” says David McPhillips, Director On-Premise, Commercial Marketing, Heineken USA. “Therefore, bars can either add another draft line to their existing lineup or get into the draft beer business without the barriers of huge capital expenditures or the requirement of a lot of space.
“Additionally, Blade offers a fantastic yield as compared to traditional draft systems because there is virtually zero waste from the keg since it doesn’t require CO2 or mixed gases to dispense, but rather a unique compression system, which makes the kegs much more efficient than regular steel kegs.”
The ability to increase sales through draft beer is especially important since draft is generally more profitable than bottles or cans.
Currently, the Blade system is available with Heineken lager beer or Italy’s Birra Moretti® Ricetta Originale beer, which has notes of corn and acacia honey and a subtle bitter flavor. Other brands may be forthcoming. “As we continue to learn what consumers and bar owners are asking for, we will continue to explore launching brands from our portfolio to fit those needs in the Blade format,” says McPhillips.
In addition to its Blade draft system, HEINEKEN offers other ways for its on-premise accounts to sell more beer, including its exclusive beer sponsorships with Major League Soccer and the College Football Playoffs.
“Additionally, we offer proprietary solutions for bar owners to determine the right assortment of beer brands to maximize sales and profitability, beer menu design, recipes for beer cocktails and food pairings, as well as Cicerone-approved educational tools for servers and bartenders,” says McPhillips. “All of this is our effort of being the leader in upscale beer through thought leadership and partnering with our on-premise customers.”
