Bauhaus Brew Labs‘ co-founder and president Matt Schwandt said the Minneapolis brewery spent a decent amount of time trying to identify a great mix of beers to include in its mixed packs.
The brewery recently released its FREEZEBOX lineup to consumers and it’s been a popular sale item, he said.
This year’s iteration features the limited return of a Bauhaus fan favorite: Stargrazer German-Style Black Lager (5.0% ABV, 22 IBU). The pack also includes three more brand-new brews: Lil’ Ben English-Style Mild Ale (3.4% ABV, 17 IBU), Big Dipster Dip-Hopped Hazy IPA (6.7% ABV, 50 IBU), and lactose-free Oat Nebula Coffee-Infused Oat Milk Stout (4.4%, 30 IBU).
“We want to include seasonally appropriate beers that offer a blend of classic and innovative flavor profiles,” he told Brewer. “Not only do these four beers offer a great variety of flavor profiles, but they capture a spirit of familiarity and newness, which I think provides the customer with a lot of value.”
Schwandt said they learned early on that mixed 12-packs sell really well in the Minnesota market.
“I think part of the reason why mixed packs do so well is because customers equate variety with value in a mixed pack,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything ‘wrong’ with releasing an all-IPA or all-Stout mixed pack, but I think having enough perceived variety among those styles would create the most value for the customer.”
Stargrazer is a former core beer for the brand, so adding it to the variety pack helps bring some familiarity as well.
“[It] had a strong following with certain customers,” he said. The brewery is also selling Stargrazer alongside Freezebox in standalone six-packs, and Schwandt added they are seeing strong initial sell-through.
“I think this is probably partly due to our customers already being familiar with Stargrazer,” he said. “But I think it’s also because our customers have been asking us to re-release this beer for years.”
He pointed out that including a well-received, previously released beer in a mixed pack is a nice way to hype the release of the mixed pack as well.
“By including something familiar alongside new beers, our customers feel more confident in buying the mixed pack,” Schwandt said. “We like pleasing our customers, and I’ve personally been looking forward to bringing back Stargrazer in some form for a while.
“Some customers may only want Stargrazer, but some may see value in buying a mixed pack with Stargrazer and three brand-new beers.”
For the 12-pack box and can label design, Bauhaus teamed up with Kick in South Minneapolis. The design concept is based on fun, fictitious constellations, and the northern lights. Each beer features its own unique constellation on the label along with a splash of color inspired by the Aurora Borealis.
Be the first to comment