Bière des Flandres

pdebarra

On this forum, I'm probably not alone in liking to know who brews the beers I drink. So when I picked up some of that Bière des Flandres from Sainsbury's (which, by the way, seems to be utterly flavourless), I contacted the supermarket, to see if they could find out for me. Here's the reply I got. Does anyone else find this odd?

Thanks for your email about our Biere des Flandres beer.

I’ve checked with our buyers and due to supplier confidentiality, we’re unable to provide this information. However I can confirm this beer has been imported from France since 1866.

I appreciate you taking the time to email us. I hope you continue to enjoy our great beer selection in store.

Mr Magnolia

They may be afraid you're a retailer and want to contact the brewer/distributer to import directly.

rubadub

pdebarra wrote: »

Does anyone else find this odd?

No, I would find it more odd if they did reveal it, have any other supermarkets revealed who brews their beers to you?

It could devalue the brewery's other brands, just like you will hear the likes of kelloggs or mcvities bragging about not making own brand stuff for supermarkets.

BeerNut

Yep, it's unfortunately standard practice with contract-brewed beers. It means they can switch producers when they get a better offer from someone else without affecting the brand. It's pretty sharp practice.

Worst offender in Ireland is Árainn Mhór, late of this parish. "One of our own" and "contains a secret essence of Árainn Mhór" -- the label says no more than "Brewed in the EU", and it's actually brewed in Belgium, somewhere.

rubadub wrote:

It could devalue the brewery's other brands

Some breweries do own-brand stuff with pride. Meantime, for instance, make Sainsburys Taste The Difference beers, and both brands benefit from it.

oblivious

I wonder if it made by the same brewers as Tesco Bier D'or?

cuddlycavies

Whatever about meantime, most producers would want it concealed that they were beaten down by a supermarket chain and sold their regular product at a silly discount whilst the same product leaves their warehouse at a higher price in a different bottle. Would love to know for instance ,who makes Tesco Champagne . It's better than moet and piper and when on special about €21.
Another time a few years back. Tesco had a wine .Tesco great southern riesling. On the back the origin was stated as Howard Park wines, Mount barker,WA. HP is one of australias iconic rieslings with a cellaring potential of over 10yrs. Not easy to sell a volume of riesling though and thats why some ended up in tescos.

rubadub

oblivious wrote: »

I wonder if it made by the same brewers as Tesco Bier D'or?

Yeah, I thought he was talking about that in the first place until I saw sainsbury's. I see it is also in 250ml bottles, if they use the same bottles it could be them, and also check the date stamps which would probably be identical too, and same style of box etc. You can spot "own brand" beans, peas etc by comparing the nutritional information breakdown. I helped pack stuff on trucks when I was younger, went around to shamrock foods and others and saw various supermarket brands coming out of each factory.

pdebarra

Yes, good points, all.

The date stamp suggestion is a good one. I might have just dropped it, but now that they won't tell me, I'm curious!

BeerNut, I was so surprised to learn that there was a brewery up here in Donegal, and so disappointed to learn that there isn't. And as for Meantime, they have every reason to be proud of what they do for Mr. Sainsbury! This Bière des Flandres, on the other hand, is not something a brewer should be terribly proud of. Nothing wrong with it, it's true, but there's nothing right with it, either!

Rubadub, M&S have been very informative in the past, but I imagine it's not so much the supermarket's policy as a condition imposed upon it by the brewer/distributor.