Opinion – Copo Cheio: Backer Brewery tries to remake itself with a new name 2 years after tragedy

In early April, a piece of news drew the attention of the brewing sector in particular, the return of Cervejaria Backer to its factory in Olhos d’Água, near Belo Horizonte. The return itself had already happened, when the Captain Senra label was relaunched by the miners. However, the production at that time was gypsy, at the Germania facilities, in the interior of São Paulo.

Back in its own space, the brand posted on its Instagram profile: “Cervejaria Três Lobos informs that it has obtained approval for the resumption of beer production in its industrial park. The reopening process was accompanied by the authorities and competent bodies and observed all legal and technical criteria (…)”.

This is only the brewery’s third visible post since the tragedy in early 2020, when a few dozen people were contaminated by diethylene glycol poisoning and ten died. In the first, in January 2020, she called for a recall, following a court order. And it still called itself Backer Brewery.

In May 2021, he returned to the networks to say that he would return to marketing Captain Senra “to honor his commitments”. But the name was already different, Cervejaria Três Lobos Ltda, the same name it maintains in this month’s post.

The name Três Lobos is part of Backer’s history, and named after a nightclub opened three years before the brewery, in 1996. Later it was also used in a line of four labels that were very successful in the artisanal market, mainly in São Paulo, and was found even in the markets, alongside large-scale beers. Today it is also associated with the whiskey produced by the factory.

It may not seem like a big deal, but behind the action there is a clear intention to lessen the impact of the “Backer” name on consumers. The Cervejaria Três Lobos Instagram profile is now available, and should be activated soon. The domain of the brewerybacker.com.br website was also changed to Três Lobos.

On the site, when the user clicks on the “About” tab, the message that appears is: “Founded in 1999, Cervejaria Três Lobos manufactures Capitão Senra, Tommy Gun and Medieval beers, Lebbos gin and Três Lobos whisky.” No mention of Backer in the statement. The timeline discreetly features Backer’s presence in unexplained topics. It does not hide the closure of the factory in 2020, but it does not explain why. And highlights the reopening this year.

Among the products on the site, there are ten beer labels, three with the name Backer (pilsen, wheat and pale ale). No sign of Belorizontina, the main contaminated beer — diethylene glycol was also found in lots of other labels, such as Captain Senra.

Before the tragedy involving the brewery, Backer was seen as one of the main “cases” of success among the artisanal companies in Brazil. Its production line already surpassed the mark of 800 thousand liters per month, after an expansion in 2018, large, very large brewery numbers.

In 2019, the traditional Brazilian Beer Festival, in Blumenau, crowned Backer as the best large brewery in the country. In its return, Três Lobos probably dreams of the glories conquered, but it is not possible to erase or disguise the scar left by Backer.