Manns wants to mix it with the best

l Manns' men: two characters from the brown ale's new campaign

December 13, 2006: Manns Brown Ale is returning to its roots by promoting itself as a sociable long “mixer”.

A large part of Manns Brown Ale’s early success from the 1920s onwards came from its mixability, adding its soft, dark, 2.8% ABV complexity to other beers and to spirits.

	TRADITIONALLY GOOD MIXERS
	In his book, Beer and Skittles, Richard Boston acknowledges some of the nicknames for drink mixes, such as those with brown ale 4 Black and Tan: stout and bitter, sometimes stout and mild 4 Mother-in-Law: old and bitter 4 Granny: old and mild 4 Lightplater: light and bitter 4 Boilermaker: brown and mild 4 M & B: Mild and bitter 4 Narfer Narf: half a pint of mild and half a pint of bitter 4 Dragon's blood: barley wine and rum 4 Dog's nose: bitter and gin 4 Blacksmith: barley wine and Guinness

Now Manns — a traditional favourite of the pub/club trade and with good distribution in supermarkets — has launched a campaign during December and January encouraging drinkers to serve Manns with a wide range of beers or spirits.

The recommended long mixers are being promoted in pubs and bars via humorous caricatures, which seek to identify the characters likely to champion the new mixers. These are:

l Manns Mann — Manns on its own: “A well-honed body with a depth of character that shows a quiet confident strength” Drawn with golf clubs on the shoulder.
l Irish Manns — Manns with stout: “Easy going and full of dark warmth, with a stout heart” A copy of Racing Post under the arm.
l Smooth Manns — Manns with smoothflow beer: “A body full of charm with surprisingly good taste” Represented in Come Dancing fashion.
l Best Manns — Manns and best bitter: “Solid, reliable character, well balanced, with an easy approach to life.” The champion in wellies with his prize marrow.
l Cool Manns — Manns with ice: “A short refreshing change with an individual twist.” Represented by the sun-seeking hero in shorts.
l Fancy Manns — Manns with either coffee or fruit liqueurs: “Stands out from the crowd, alluring with a mysterious appeal from hidden depths.” The most rakish of the six.

A recent evening at Chris Edwardes’s Hanbury Club in Brighton saw Manns successfully mixed with coffee liqueur, Grand Marnier, cherry brandy, Makers Mark Bourbon, peach schnapps and Chambord black raspberry liqueur, with a cocktail of fresh lime, tequila and caramel liqueur also hitting the spot.

Rupert Thompson, managing director of Wychwood Brewery, which owns Manns Brown Ale, said: “Manns is only one of a handful of brews from the early 20th century with its original recipe still intact. Manns Brown Ale is a British icon, especially in the North West, and was made famous by 20th century icons such as The Beatles, Andy Capp and Monty Python.

“It is delicious drunk solo, an easy drinking social brew whose flavour and body belie its 2.8% ABV. But, looking back at the beer’s history, we felt that today’s drinkers have been missing out on another of Manns key benefits — its mixability. So we’ve created recipes for a range of Manns-based mixers and are promoting these throughout its heartland in the North West of England, and in the South East.

“Our feedback is that the North West already favours Manns with mild, and there seems to be growth potential for Best Manns (bitter) and Smooth Manns (smoothflow), which are already popular. The Irish Manns suggestion of mixing Manns with stouts was also well received.

“Recent trials in Brighton and the South East appear to show that Manns on its own (Manns Mann) has great potential, and maybe Irish Manns as well. But the notion of spirits and Manns (Fancy Manns) was very well received, particularly when Manns’ roots as a beer mixer were explained.

"Beer needs to innovate so as to attract new drinkers to its great flavours.”

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