Paean to Pale

I love cradling the squat brown bottle in my hand, seeing the beads of condensation gathered around the engraved logo, feeling the first slug hit the back of my throat … most of all, I love San Miguel Pale Pilsen for the very reason that Filipinos are deserting it in droves, because it is quintessentially and timelessly Filipino.

Unfortunately, quintessentially and timelessly Filipino is not what today’s beer drinker is looking for. According to yesterday’s paper:

San Miguel Pale Pilsen, the flagship beer of San Miguel Corp. in the ubiquitous squat brown bottle, has seen its market share dwindle to a record low of 29 percent as of September 2005, according to records obtained from the Bureau of Internal Revenue.

Asia’s oldest brew, Pale Pilsen, which is exported to other countries and rated as one of the world’s largest selling beers, has been on a downtrend since 2001, when its market share hit 50.76 percent—and further tumbled to 39 percent in 2003.

From 50.6% to 29% in four years is a precipitous decline. There is nothing surprising about this though. Like beer drinkers from Covent Garden to Greenwich Village, Philippine drinkers are looking for that chic beer style. I can’t blame them. When I lived in Britain, my fridge was full of French, Czech, and German beer, not Carling Black Label.

However, when it comes to the squat brown bottle I’m bucking the trend. I guess I’ve drunk more San Miguel Pale than any other brand and I’m not stopping now! Apart from the attributes I mentioned above, San Miguel Pale Pilsen tastes better better than any beer I know. I shall just have to drink harder to make up that deficit.

Actually, I have my own theory on why sales of Pale Pilsen have dropped in recent years. Here's a clue:

Comments

[Skunkeye]

Is San Mig's effort to get, Blue Ice, still around?
I was involved in a major marketing pitch for that when I was working in advertising in the Philippines.
Actually come to think of it, I haven't seen any "Ice" beers in the US for some time - at least not in marketing and I haven't really looked at the stores.
There is one place up the street from me - the Brickskeller - that used to offer San Miguel in addition to a million other international beers but i haven't been there in years either.
Rmember the urban myth about formaldehyde in San Miguel?
Love and miss the stuff!

[Peter]

Atlast Torn and Frayed wanders into an area where I can speak with authority. For many year, I lived in Hong Kong, where San Miguel (San Lig, as the Chinese say) is the beer of choice for the working masses. Even so, everyone recognises that the HK brew is no match for the Philippine mother ale. I don't think there's a beer available here that comes anywhere near the local Pale Pilsen for taste or value. So I am shocked to see it is going out of favour. Which beer is doing the damage? (And who's the geezer in the photo?)

[gonzo]

San Miguel is also huge in Spain and now Australia. Hard to believe it's losing market share...i'm also curious...to whom?

As an unrepentant rum coke man i don't drink a lot of beer but i do notice a lot of people drinking San Mig Light. Then there's the relatively new San Mig Strong Ice, plus San Mig Red Horse (which was the subject of the formaldehyde rumour, Skunkeye), mainly the beer for cash-strapped teens.

So it could be that San miguel itself is doing the damage by constantly introducing competing San Mig products..

[torn]

That was a good way to gather together all the drunks.

I've added a link to the original story, which shows that Gonzo is right on the money. San Miguel still has over 90% of the beer market -- it is its own Red Horse (from 31% in 2001, to 49% in 2005) that has supplanted Pale in drinkers' affections. I guess Skunkeye is also right in that San Miguel's "super dry" has also cut into Pale's market share.

The article has an interesting point to make about the rise of Red Horse:

"Red Horse was launched in 1982, or a year after [rival] taipan Lucio Tan waged a barroom battle for the beer market with the launch of Beer Hausen and Manila Beer.

SMC started making an aggressive pitch for Red Horse five years ago. At the time, Asia Brewery’s strong beer brand, Colt 45, was slowly building a cult following among the 18- to 30-year-olds—the industry’s fastest growing market.

To nip Asia Brewery’s Colt 45’s rise in the bud, SMC focused its huge marketing and distribution resources on Red Horse. But in the process, it left its flagship Pale Pilsen out in the cold."

Peter, the pic is of Nick Joaquin, national artist and Pale Pilsen's greatest imbiber. San Miguel stock dropped 50 points on the day of his death (actually it didn't, but it should have). Nick died "drinking beer and writing" -- I wrote about his passing here:

http://tornandfrayed.typepad.com/tornandfrayed/2004/04/nick_joaquin.html

[Skunkeye]

Yikes, part of my comment was cut-off...

Blue Ice launched in 98'99? was an effort to reach the upwardly mobile youth market - "ice" beers were somewaht popular in the mid-late nineties.
I must admit to liking the taste.
The story behind the marketing pitch I created was that I was able to recruit may of my creative and attractive friends - artists, designers actors, entrepreneurs, etc.. - many of your freinds, actually, Frayed - in Manila to riff candidly on ther lifestyles against a steely-blue/industrial background and to a soundtrack ripped from the Velevet Underground-Stonsey sounding Jacques Dutronc classic, Le Cacus. This was at the height of Nakpil/Malate hipness, mind you, and there was certainly a vibrant edge going around.
we did not land the account and the winning competions's campaign was pretty horrible and even I seem to remember they ripped off some of my taglines.

[Jon Limjap]

I think Red Horse *and* San Mig Light are doing damage to the good ole San Mig Pale.

San Mig Light is especially popular with low-carb-sucking yuppies, like myself. :p

[Carla]

Thanks, you have just settled an argument between me and a stubborn Spanish man. Spanish beer, my ass!

[Lindayao, Ellen L.]

can we conduct an enterview about your business? we a student of EULOGIO "AMANG" RODRIGUEZ INSTITUTE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY.. Has an assignment to have our marketing plan. we decide to have enterview your company. hope your company agree and understand. we take our enterview personally. even only secretary, any person has permission from the company. thank you.

[Replacement Windows]

Drink moderately, says the ad. Drink if you must, enjoy its taste but please drink moderately... :-)

[dancruz]

may i know what happened to manila beer back then, why does it suddenly disappeared?
And now it's reviving its image,aren't they aware of large cometition between those new existing beer companies?

[Siding Augusta]

yeah! drink moderately, but if it's San mig beer...I don't think I could resist it.

[Online Pharmacy no prescription]

I always drink my beer from the bottle, only if it is warm I will use ice.