Hofmeister, the relaunched authentic Bavarian Helles lager brand, is launching two new beers — a weisse beer and a 0.5% ABV helles.
The launches are the first additions to the Hofmeister brand since it was relaunched into the UK beer market in 2017 by entrepreneurs Richard Longhurst and Spencer Chambers.
The two new beers have been made to the same exacting standards as the relaunched helles brand. Spencer said: “The plan was always to start with a classic helles, then build the range out into other styles that are part of the fabric of Bavarian brewing. We have had a lot of success with our Helles and we were particularly delighted with online sales during the back end of 2020.
“But we also want to give our growing customer base, across a wide range of premium bars, pubs, and specialist stores, the opportunity to serve more of their customers with two styles of beer that suit very different, but increasingly important, drinking occasions.
“Both the wheat beer and ultra-low alcohol categories have seen enormous growth in the last couple of years, with lots of new entrants to the market, but we believe our traditional, Bavarian styles bring something new to these categories that beer drinkers have not seen before in the UK.”
New appointments
Joining the founders on the Hofmeister board last year were former brewery and pub chiefs Euan Venters (former managing director of Greene King’s brewing and brands) and Kim Francis (former managing director of Ei Group pubs).
They have now been joined by: Brian Chambers as head of on-trade sales, who joins after a long career working across senior sales roles at Heineken; Jim Harling, the company’s new Northern general manager, who comes from a craft beer background, having been part of the senior management team at Camden Town Brewery; and Richard Boyles, who is heading up Hofmeister’s off-trade sales, who also
joins the business after a long career at Heineken.
