Three Horses Beer facts for kids
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| Type | Pilsner |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Star Breweries of Madagascar |
| Country of origin | Madagascar |
| Introduced | 1958 |
| Alcohol by volume | 5.4% |
| Variants | THB Special (6.2%), THB Lite (1%), THB Fresh (1%) |
Three Horses Beer, often called THB, is a popular light-colored beer made in Madagascar. It has been brewed by Star Breweries of Madagascar since 1958. THB is the best-selling beer in Madagascar and is seen as a symbol of the country.
You can find THB all over Madagascar. Since 2005, it has also been sent to other places like France, Reunion Island, Comoros, and Mayotte. This Malagasy beer is made at two factories in Madagascar. One is in Antsirabe and the other is in the northern city of Antsiranana.
The most common type, THB Pilsener, tastes light. It is made mostly from local barley, corn, and hops. Star Breweries also makes other types: THB Fresh (a very low-alcohol drink, less than 1%), THB Special (with 6.2% alcohol), and THB Lite (with 1% alcohol).
Because of rules about advertising, THB found new ways to promote their beer. They started sponsoring sports events like the THB Champions League, which is Madagascar's national football championship. They also hold yearly beer festivals and support local musicians. Star Breweries has even hired musicians to make music videos just for promoting the beer. In 2014, the THB label was changed. In 2015, a new slogan, "THB eo foana e!" (meaning "THB always!"), was launched. It is used alongside their older slogan, Soa Ny Fiarahantsika ("The Pleasure of Being Together"). Famous Malagasy musicians and public figures often help promote THB.
History of THB
In 1953, a French company called Rochefortaise started a business in Antananarivo, Madagascar. It was named Société Tananarivienne d’Articles Réfrigérés (STAR). This factory made and sold Coca-Cola in Madagascar.
In 1957, a beer maker was hired to create a local beer. He made 17 different recipes. He traveled around the island to test each one, using mostly local ingredients. The best recipe was a pilsener beer. This recipe was chosen to be made at a new Star brewery in Antsirabe. The company began making Three Horses Beer (THB) in 1958.
In 1968, Star Breweries opened another factory in Antsiranana. This factory made and sold THB, Coca-Cola, and other fizzy drinks in the northern part of the island. In 1980, the government partly owned Star Breweries. Then, in 1989, Rochefortaise sold Star Breweries to Groupe Fraise. The company became fully private one year later. In 2005, THB started being produced in cans at the Antsirabe factory. In 2011, Groupe Fraise sold Star Breweries to a French beer company called Castel.
How THB is Made
THB Pilsener is the oldest and most popular THB beer. It has 5.4% alcohol. It is a light-colored beer with a balanced, slightly bitter taste. THB Pilsener comes in brown glass bottles that you can return. These bottles are 33 centilitres (12 imp fl oz; 11 US fl oz) and 65 centilitres (23 imp fl oz; 22 US fl oz) in size. The pilsener is also sold in 33 centilitres (12 imp fl oz; 11 US fl oz) and 50 centilitres (18 imp fl oz; 17 US fl oz) aluminum cans. Since 2006, you can also find it on tap in some places in Madagascar.
Star Breweries also makes THB Fresh. This is a shandy (called panaché locally) with less than 1% alcohol. It is only sold in 65 centilitres (23 imp fl oz; 22 US fl oz) glass bottles. The original Fresh shandy tastes like lemon. Sometimes, it has also been offered in other flavors like mint, raspberry, and apple. Other types of THB include THB Special, which has 6.2% alcohol, and THB Lite, a low-alcohol beer with 1%.
THB is made in two factories in Madagascar. The first one is in Antsirabe, and the second is in Antsiranana. Since it started, THB has been sold in brown glass bottles. This color helps protect the beer from sunlight. The Antsirabe factory makes 100 million bottles and 100,000 cans of THB each year. Antsirabe was chosen for the first brewery because its water has low calcium and other minerals, which is good for making beer.
The ingredients for THB come from all over the island. Barley grown in nearby Betafo and Fianarantsoa is mixed with corn and hops from Toliara. More than 2,500 tonnes of malt and 3,500 tonnes of corn are grown each year in the Vakinankaratra region for THB. Around 1980, a group of 7,000 farmers called MALTO was formed in Antsirabe. They grow barley and turn it into malt for Star Breweries. Special malts are used to make different types of THB, like THB Special.
The process of making THB beer involves several steps. First, malt (sprouted barley) and corn are mixed in an 80/20 ratio with water and hops. This mixture is heated in a large tank for about two hours. Then, it is filtered and heated to 100 degrees Celsius to make it stronger and clean. The beer is then cooled for an hour at 10 degrees Celsius. Finally, a type of yeast is added to help the beer ferment. The beer ferments for a full week. The extra carbon dioxide made during this process is collected to make soft drinks at the factory. The beer then rests in tanks for several more days before being filtered again. After that, it is put into bottles and heated to 62 degrees Celsius for three minutes to keep it fresh. Machines then pack the THB bottles into crates, ready to be sent out.
Star Breweries spent over four million euros to improve its factories between 2009 and 2011. This helped them make 20% more beer. These improvements included fixing the production line equipment, like better mixers and belts, and a new system for moving bottles. In 2010, The Coca-Cola Company gave Star Breweries an international certificate for meeting high quality standards in making drinks. In 2011, Coca-Cola also gave Star Breweries a Gold Medal. This was for their high quality and care for the environment in making beer and other drinks, competing against 27 other African countries.
How THB is Sold
Star Breweries sells THB through a network of regional sellers. These sellers then provide the beer to local shops. Orders are usually sent to the factories every week and are ready within two weeks.
In 2005, Star Breweries started making THB in aluminum cans in Antsirabe instead of Mauritius. This allowed them to send the beer to other countries where many Malagasy people live, such as France, Reunion Island, Comoros, and Mayotte. All THB beer sent to other countries was packaged in cans made at the Antsirabe factory. Canned THB also became available in Madagascar that same year, alongside the traditional glass bottles.
In 2006, the Star Brewery had 1,500 staff. It was making 700,000 hectoliters of beer each year. The Antsirabe Star Brewery alone made 550,000 hectoliters. The Antsiranana factory has 140 staff. In 2010, it made 180,000 hectoliters of beer, which is 24 million bottles.
Marketing THB
When creating the first label for THB, Star Breweries decided to copy a label from a Dutch beer called The Holland Beer. This label had an image of three horses. This was partly because Antsirabe is known for horse breeding. The brand was named Three Horses Beer based on this design. The label also has the slogan, Soa Ny Fiarahantsika ("The Pleasure of Being Together"). The labels were first printed in the Netherlands and sent to Madagascar. Later, they were made locally. However, THB coasters are still made in Europe.
The bottle color, shape, and label have changed over time. In 2005, the label was made bigger and the colors were brighter. A band around the neck of the bottle was also made wider. A picture of a medal was added to it to celebrate the beer's first international award in 2004. A new logo was used for canned THB first. Then, in 2014, it was also used for the 33 cl bottled THB. The new logo shows three stylish white horses, now facing right. This represents looking towards the future. Red is still the main color.
Because of rules about advertising, THB found new ways to promote their beer. They changed the label for their Fresh shandy, which has low alcohol and was allowed to be advertised. This new label looked like the THB Pilsener design but had a green background instead of red. The pilsener is advertised in many different ways. This includes famous people promoting it in music videos and sponsoring music and sports events.
People in Madagascar see THB as something that promotes Malagasy culture and identity. This is especially true through its sponsorship of the yearly THB Tour music festival and the THB fête de la bière (beer festival). Three Horses Beer also sponsors the THB Champions League, which is the national football championship. Many popular musicians have advertised THB. These include famous stars like Jerry Marcoss, AmbondronA, Samoëla, Tsiliva, Tence Mena, and Jaojoby.
THB launched its first website in 2008. In 2015, to celebrate the 55th anniversary of Madagascar's independence, Star Breweries started a new campaign to promote the beer. The company announced a new slogan, "THB eo foana e!" (THB always!). This slogan is promoted alongside its old one. A song with the same name, sung by BIG MJ and the group Tambour Gasy, and a music video, will help promote the beer and the new slogan.
