Friday, February 19, 2010

Oskar Blues to introduce Modus-fighter

Oskar Blues Brewing of Lyons will introduce an imperial IPA in March in direct response to Ska Brewing's hot-selling Modus Hoperandi IPA, reports Ed Sealover of Beer Run Blog.

It's a measure of Ska's growing stature that Oskar Blues, which pioneered canned craft beer, feels it necessary to mount a direct market response to Modus.

The new Oskar Blues beer, GUBNA, comes in at 10 percent ABV and will sell for $14.49 a four-pack. Which, I think, sets it apart as a direct competitor to Modus, which sells in six-packs for less than $10. They don't present the consumer with comparable options.

I think there will be plenty of room in the marketplace for both beers. And if the BeerAdvocate ratings are any indication, Ska shouldn't worry about Modus. People seem to love it.

2 comments:

  1. I don't see these as competitors either. In addition to the price difference you point ou Modus is around 6.5%, GUBNA will be 10%. The only comparison I see is that they're both hoppy beers sold in cans. If you ignore the can thing, GUBNA would seem to compete with Decadent more than Modus in my opinion.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I second that. I'd say Dale's Pale Ale is more comparable to Modus. At 6.5% and 65 IBU's Dale's is pretty much an IPA in all but name.

    ReplyDelete