Japan: Kirin taking measures for Guinness to surge in smaller restaurants

Japan's Kirin Brewery Co. is working with British liquor producer Diageo Plc to expand sales of Guinness black beer to smaller restaurants by installing newly developed compact beer "surgers", AsiaPulse communicated on October, 26.

Beer surgers use ultrasonic waves to put a foam head on beer poured from commercial-size cans. The versions predominantly used until now have been around 50cm tall, making it difficult to install them in small local pubs and bars. The new surgers are just 13cm wide and 5cm tall, allowing them to be placed on counters or in kitchens without taking up much space.

Before year's end, Kirin plans to increase the number of stores with beer surgers by 30 per cent to 20,000.

The Kirin Holdings Co. group acquired sales rights to Guinness products in June. To this point, it has primarily sold the British brand in large restaurants, but it is hurrying to bring it to local pubs and other small venues by using the compact surger.

Unlike drinks poured by servers from casks, beer sold in commercial-size cans is given a head by the surger and then supplied to the customer. For that reason, making the surger smaller was seen as key to cultivating small restaurants and thereby boosting Guinness sales volume.

28 October, 2009