What are those wacky brothers up to now?

Fruit Force may tell us something.

Author

Kendall Jones
January 13, 2023

Just Tapped

It seems that every craft beer professional I talk to lately is equally mystified. Everyone has questions about craft beer's future. We are currently working on a prognostication piece, with insights from industry insiders. Maybe that will help answer some questions. Refer some folks and you'll get access to it (see the referrals section below). In the meantime, maybe this week's story will help shed some light on things. Or maybe not. We'll see.

What Are Those Wacky Brothers Doing?

As we all nursed our New Year’s Eve hangovers, New Belgium quietly released its latest addition to the Voodoo Ranger family of beers. This is not a pitch for those beers; there's a reason we should watch this one. Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force Imperial IPA is described as the wingman for Voodoo Ranger Juice Force Imperial IPA. In case you missed it, Juice Force has performed very well, bucking the prevailing trend in the struggling beer marketplace, which is why we should pay attention to what these wacky siblings are up to.

It quietly hit the streets on January 3rd, followed by a press release on January 9th. The brewery describes Fruit Force IPA as a “highly drinkable” hazy imperial IPA with a “fruit punch twist.” Fruit Force is a hoppier, fruitier version of Juice Force.

“People love Juice Force. But even that unique and highly sought-after creature — the highly drinkable, Hazy Imperial IPA — needs a wingman. Fruit Force is a natural addition to expand the Voodoo Ranger family with a new, unexpected flavor, and we can’t wait to see how fans respond.”

Dave Knospe, Director of Core Brands, New Belgium Brewing.

Voodoo Ranger Juice Force IPA, which New Belgium released last March, almost instantly exceeded the brewery's expectations. No doubt the success was propelled, in part, by the company's marketing capabilies, but reports say the brewery sold 15,000 barrels before it even started marketing Juice Force. The beer struck a chord with consumers in one way or another. Consider this...

  • According to New Belgium, the introduction of Juice Force was “craft beer’s #1 launch of all time.”

  • According to a report from Beer Marketer's INSIGHTS, “Juice Force IPA became NBB’s 2d largest brand and a top-10 craft brand by $$ in IRI multi-outlet + convenience data.”

  • According to Craft Business Daily, “Juice Force amassed more than $63 million in sales in IRI MULC YTD thru November 27, 2022.”

It's getting harder to read the tea leaves. At one moment, it seems the audience is clamoring for beers with lower ABV and fewer carbs. Then New Belgium has crazy success with something quite the opposite: a 9.5 percent, fruity, hazy imperial IPA. Now, Voodoo Ranger Fruit Force comes along and offers the audience more of the same fruitiness and all of the same imperialness.

Will this new “Fruit Punch IPA” exceed expectations too? It’s a “watch this space” kind of moment. Fruit Force is a wackier version of its already wacky older brother. If it performs on anything close to the same level as Juice Force, maybe the universe is trying to tell us something. It may not answer any of the big questions, but it's worth watching.

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Feedback from last week in regards to the story about the Beer Purchasers Index hitting an all-time low.

In their own words: "I can't believe people in general are drinking less. More likely they are moving over to harder stuff. The world's troubles only make me want to drink more. Is there a BPI type service for hard liquor?" - stentorian1@...

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