After running a lengthy teaser campaign, CUB has formally relaunched the Power’s brand in Queensland.

The move signals an important shift in focus towards strong state-based brands for the nation’s largest brewer.

Power’s exploded onto the Queensland beer scene in the late 1980s quickly taking 20 per cent of the beer market before withering following its 1993 acquisition by CUB. At that time CUB was focused on taking brands such as VB and Carlton Draught national.

However, CUB’s Queensland state sales manager Ian Giles said the company had learned a lot.

“That was 25 years ago, so it’s hard for me to comment on what the team at the time were thinking,” he said.

“But what I can tell you is, you know, we’re very, very aware now of what works within Queensland, we’ve had a couple of successful brands with a reasonable idea what the recipe for success is.

“The focus for Power’s Ultra smooth Lager for us is Power’s will be just focusing in Queensland with a beer from our world-famous brewery at Yatala.”

Giles said the launch may inform the company’s strategy in other states.

“There will be a lot of learnings to take out of the way we’ve relaunched Power’s in Queensland and we’ve kind of broken the mould with a couple of things that we’ve done,” he said.

“So there are the other states are watching and taking some learnings out of this state-based bit and I’ve no doubt you’ll see others pop up.

The re-freshed beer is described as an ultra smooth and crisp lager, “specifically brewed for warm weather, modern tastes and with a packaging that pays tribute to a pivotal time in Queensland’s history.”

Giles said that the launch had seen pre-sales to more than 300 venues state-wide, with the beer initially targeted at older drinkers who fondly remember it from its early days, though he said he hoped the beer would attract a younger audience over time.