Tag Archives: Molson Coors

Dea Latis goes international

12 May

Annabel Smith, one of the founding members of Dea Latis, attended the 13th International Beer Strategies Conference in Barcelona on 10th May, to speak on the subject of how beer can appeal to a wider female audience. She was accompanied by Jenny Elliott, a fellow Beer Sommelier, and the Brand and Beer Champion at Molson Coors.

The conference was attended by representatives from the entire spectrum of the brewing industry, and hosted speakers from Asahi Europe, Heineken, Diageo, Carlsberg, Brooklyn Brewery and Bieres de Chimay amongst others.

The conference was held over two days and included a behind the scenes visit to the Estrella Damm brewery.

Annabel said “The conference was really enlightening in terms of learning about future trends, current research and emerging brands in the beer industry. However, our ultimate mission was to communicate how the beer industry could engage a wider female audience by highlighting the challenges women face in choosing a beer as a drink of choice: namely misconceptions about health and calories, presentation and serve, brand positioning, and marketing”.

She added: “One really important message we did want to get across was that women do not want a beer which is designed specifically and solely for the female consumer. These type of beers have been launched before and they have failed. It’s patronising to assume that all women will like a particular flavour, style or colour of beer. What the beer industry needs to do is invest more time and funding in education, awareness and product presentation to engage women with the vast array of fantastic styles and brands which are already available on the market. There is a beer style which suits everyone, regardless of their gender.”

Annabel and Jenny hosted a panel discussion and invited questions from the delegates on how they could overcome some of the challenges the beer industry faced in getting women to choose beer as drink of choice, particularly in the UK where female beer consumption is far lower than the rest of Europe or the US.

The photograph above shows Jenny Elliott and Annabel Smith at the conference

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Dea Latis stages fifth annual beer and chocolate tasting

27 Mar

Dea Latis. Women in beer.

As part of its continuing quest to encourage more women to enjoy our national drink, industry group Dea Latis hosted its fifth annual beer and chocolate tasting on Tuesday.
Twenty guests gathered in the Clarence pub on Whitehall to taste six beers, each paired with a chocolate chosen to enhance the flavours in each. Expert guidance to the beer and chocolate matches was provided by Annabel Smith, beer sommelier and Dea Latis founder.
Smith said, “We regularly pair beer with a variety of foods, but the chocolate tasting is probably our most popular event. The fact that we’re staging this event for the fifth time reflects not only the strong appeal of sampling beer and chocolate together, but also the growing awareness of Dea Latis within the beer and pubs industry.”
The beers and chocolates tasted by guests at The Clarence were:
• Molson Coors Blue Moon (ABV 5.4%)with Terry’s Milk Chocolate Orange
• Everards Tiger (ABV 4.2%) with Green & Black’s Butterscotch Milk Chocolate
• Thwaites Tavern Porter (ABV 4.7%) with chocolate cup cakes
• Shepherd Neame Generation Ale (ABV 9%) with Green & Black’s Dark Chocolate with Hazelnut & Raisins
• Adnams Sole Bay (ABV 10%) with Montezumas Peeling Amorous White Chocolate
• Liefman’s Kriek lambic cherry beer (ABV 4.2%) with Thornton’s Dark Chilli Chocolate

And the runaway winner chosen as the best match was the Liefman’s Kriek lambic cherry beer with Thornton’s Dark Chilli Chocolate.

 Beer and chocolate: the science behind a perfect match
Essentially, beer and chocolate share the same basic taste, which is a balance of bitterness – derived from the cocoa beans in chocolate, the hops in beer – and sweetness – from the chocolate’s sugar and the malted barley in beer. They also deliver a similar mouthfeel: the chocolate melts in the mouth, while the alcohol in beer creates a warming mouthfeel. So when they’re consumed together, the tastes and textures complement each other. Add to that the carbonation in beer, which cuts through the fattiness of the chocolate and you have a truly perfect match.

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