Sainsbury’s Announces Details of the 2013 Great British Beer Hunt
A unique opportunity for brewers to meet Sainsbury’s customers face to face
Today sees the launch of the third annual Sainsbury’s Great British Beer Hunt, which aims to bring new and interesting beers from all around the U.K. to the shopping aisles for Sainsbury’s customers. With four regional and two national listings at stake, Britain’s brewers will be putting forward their finest beers.
As in previous years Sainsbury’s customers will help choose the winners as the beers go through a number of competition stages.
For many brewers, the Regional Beer Hunts (there are four this year) are the main reason for entering the competition as they allow Sainsbury’s customers to try a selection of the beers entered for the competition and pick their favourites, as well as meeting the brewers who produced the beers and the Sainsbury’s team members who sponsor the activity.
This is a unique opportunity for brewers to get immediate feedback on their beers, packaging and the way the brewery presents itself. Many brewers have said that they have been pleased and surprised by the passion that Sainsbury’s beer customers felt for the beers presented at previous regional heats.
The competition is designed in such a way that brewers can enter a beer for a regional or national listing, meaning even small brewers can compete successfully. Winning at the regional heat stage leads to an immediate regional listing, if that is what the brewer has chosen to aim for, or a place in the three week long in-store round which is held in 300 Sainsbury’s stores nationally in September.
The three top selling beers from each region go on to a Grand Final in London where two will be selected for a six month national listing.
Jack Rutherford, Sainsbury’s Beer Buyer, says ‘Once more we are putting the main emphasis on the role of our customers in selecting the winners at every stage. Last year we had hundreds of customers at our regional events and sold over three hundred thousand bottles of beer during the in- store final. The regional and national winners are selling extremely well in our stores and we are delighted to see these specialist ales being so well received. This is a great way to bring new and interesting beers to our customers and we are confident that 2013 will show the same steady growth in breweries and beers being entered that we have seen in previous years.’
Brewers can access the dedicated website www.gbbh2013.com by logging in with the following details, Username: jsgbbh Password: BH2178.
