Oriental Brewery Co. has released a series of new “high tech” beers in recent months to maintain its market lead.

OB accounted for some 52 percent of Korea’s home beer market last year, according to Nielsen Korea, with its flagship beer Cass Fresh alone accounting for some 40 percent.

In a statement, CEO Ben Verhaert said the company is seeking to continue to progress to accommodate changing consumer trends.

All New Cass

Hoping to continue its lead in the market, OB unveiled its All New Cass last week.

In a dramatic change of appearance, the company decided to ditch the brand’s brown bottle and introduced a transparent glass bottle.

Its taste has not drastically changed as its original recipe that has been “loved by consumers” remains unchanged at large, the company said.

Several aspects have been significantly upgraded through the selection of the highest quality hops and a balancing of the perfect malt ratio, however.

All New Cass is able to deliver a cleaner and more refreshing taste, thanks to quality stabilization which includes a 72-hour-long aging process at 0-degrees Celsius before bottling, OB said.

Another new feature is the thermochromic Cool Timer. A white snowflake shows up as the hexagonal thermal sensor turns bright blue when the beer is chilled to its perfect temperature, indicating it is ready to drink.

The new Cass will go on sale in the Greater Seoul area beginning in late March and will gradually expand into retail channels across the country after mid-April, according to OB.

Hanmac

Earlier this year, OB released the brand new larger Hanmac, dubbing it “Korea’s representative lager project.”

To live up to its ambitious plan, Hanmac was brewed with rice, which was necessary to create a ”Korean flavor,” the company explained.

”Some lagers are more than just beers and represent their regions, as they do in Germany, Belgium, and the Czech Republic. We hope that Hanmac will captivate consumers with its refreshing flavor of Korean rice and become a true ‘K-Lager’ that will represent Korea,“ said Yoo Hee-moon, vice president of OBC.

Hanmac only uses “100% home-grown” high-quality rice that has a 4.6 percent ABV, having signed contracts with local farmers, OB said.

Research and tests on the products have been conducted at the Innovation Center located inside OB’s Icheon brewery in Gyeonggi Province. The larger went on sale temporarily in Seoul and Busan before its official release to collect consumer feedback which was reflected in the final product,

Cass Zero

Cass Zero came out last year amid growing demand for nonalcoholic beers. In the wake of its release, a first batch of over 5,000 boxes on online retailer Coupang sold out in just one week after becoming available, raising hopes for its success.

Containing less than 0.05 percent ABV -- and interestingly, vitamin C -- the company said Cass Zero has the same refreshing feel as the original, thanks to the “same fermentation and aging process” before the alcohol is removed in the last stages of production.

“When you want to have a beer in the afternoon but without consuming alcohol, Cass Zero is something you can go for instead of sparkling water or soft drinks,” said one official at OB.

By Yim Hyun-su (hyunsu@heraldcorp.com)