Size does matter and anybody who tells you otherwise is somebody who is leaving his partner rather dissatisfied. But the New Age has some new-mangled ways of broaching this contentious issue.
Cellphones are good smaller, airplane seats larger. Houses, like pianos and burgers are better grander whereas restaurants, like women, are preferred more compact. Cars, well the bigger they get the smaller is the image they portray of your you-know-what!
In short, macro or micro, size is the next big marketing tool. People are too busy trying to work out how to best attract consumers and then, keep them there. The idea is to initiate a trial and then to hope that there is enough in the product to keep the consumer?s interest. In short, what David Ogilvy had always wanted is finally happening ? companies are not considering the consumer a fool anymore.
Back to sizing idea that can work, micro-breweries are one such phenomenon that will soon spread across the country ? hitting the big towns before the smaller towns get a whiff of it. A micro-brewery is a small production unit for ferments, most often beer, which houses a restaurant or eatery as well. Beer produced here is freshly served sans preservatives and cannot be sold elsewhere (as per our local laws).
Size matters
Howzzat at Galaxy Hotel and Rockman?s Beer Island in Ambience Mall, both in Gurgaon (in the National Capital Region) are two micro-breweries to have recently opened doors to a very curious public.
On a personal note, I think I am more attracted by the cosiness of Howzzat, (not to mention the awesome music and the masala peanuts) but Beer Island promises to be more than just a pub with almost 30,000 ft2 of space, a lot of which is to be unveiled. On the whole I will say that between the two they have quite a USP on offer. The idea of having a fresh brew that can never be more than a couple of days old is absolutely riveting. Nothing can then parallel the interest and fascination of being seated in a brewery where the beer is actually made and then, served.
Wine too, I feel, somehow needs to go micro. The production process is surely more complicated (unlike beer, which stops at 5% alcohol, wine will ferment for three times longer) and the resting period before consumption too is a concern. But that doesn?t mean that something can be done to personalise this process too. Wines By-The-Glass is a step in that direction. Smaller packaging sizes for wine too will work similarly. Wine vials, like perfumes, too are becoming a great marketing gimmick to encourage trials.
I don?t know how possible it would be to have a wine micro-cellar setup but even the idea is quite perky. If we are capable of putting a man on the moon, this one shouldn?t require advanced astrophysicists working overtime really.
Meanwhile, for the time being, I am proud that we are not just a nation of sots anymore. The irony is that while it is scientifically known that alcohol destroys brain cells, somehow we, the really serious tipplers, only seem to be becoming more intelligent and diligent about the poison we choose to love.
The writer is a sommelier