Becks Vier

Later in the week after the Ealing Beer Festival I was in my local, The Old Parrs Head W14 for dinner (they have an excellent Thai kitchen) when I noticed a new addition to the draught beer selection - Beck's Vier (4.0% abv) (named after German for four). Now come the question - What is the difference between Becks Vier and just regular ordinary Becks? Apparently from the label 1% abv, however upon tasting I noticed that the beer is a lot softer than standard becks with a more hoppy fresher taste.
Apparently Vier was initially tried as a lower alcohol alternative in 50 pubs and bars across the UK and was a roaring success. This led to a UK wide release in April 2006 in both draught and can forms. The launch was backed by a massive £4 million marketing campaign promoting the beer as a 'premium' or top shelf alternative to standard lagers such as Fosters and Carling. The advertising claims that Vier has the same colour and taste as the original, but with a lower alcohol level to appeal to UK session drinkers.
Overall I found the beer to be acceptable however slightly flat, but still leagues ahead of the usual suspects available. I think it will be interesting to see how the Vier brand fairs against its competition! Website: http://www.becks.co.uk