Category: Beverage Industry News
- Business of Beer 775
- Commentary 159
- Crisis Response 190
Association of Brewers Recognizes Industry Leaders
As always, the Association of Brewers, host of the Craft Brewers Conference, recognized contribution to the brewing industry with awards announced at the Grand Banquet. This year the AOB Advisory Board Recognition Award went to Mary Ann Gruber of Briess Malting Co. with more than 40 years in the business. Her influence has touched the entire brewing industry and her recognition brought a standing ovation from peers.
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San Diego to Host Conference and World Beer Cup in 2002
The Association of Brewers announced that next year’s Craft Brewers Conference will be held in San Diego at the Town and Country Resort on April 14-17, 2004. The Town and Country is a large resort facility with four swimming pools, day spa, five restaurants on-site, and adjacent golf course.
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Washington State Allows Strong Beers
After passing Washington State’s House and Senate, SB 5051, which removes the sale of “strong beer” from the exclusive jurisdiction of Washington’s State Liquor Control Board, was signed by Gov. Gary Locke on May 9. Prior to passage and signature of this bill, private retailers were not allowed to offer beers containing more than 8% alcohol by weight (equivalent to 10% alcohol by volume). The state House added an amendment to provide that microbreweries may not sell strong beer at farmers markets, and that the Board will report to the Legislature by December 1, 2004, on the impact of the sale of strong beer. The bill will take full effect later this year, during the summer. For Washington state specialty beer aficionados, this opens the potential to buy beers like Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout, Eggenberg’s Samichlaus, EKU’s EKU 28, Schneider’s Weizen Eisbock, and other strong specialty beers from European and American brewers.
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Denver Brewpub Owner Leads in Race for Mayor
Brew pub owner John Hickenlooper is leading six other candidates in the race for mayor, according to new polls. Five of the other candidates hoping to succeed term-limited Mayor Wellington Webb are political veterans who started the race with a lot more name recognition. But with a week before the May 6 election, Hickenlooper’s campaign has apparently been helped by an aggressive advertising campaign promoting his outsider status. “Denver voters have been prone to go with the surprise candidate, the dark horse,” pollster Floyd Ciruli said Monday.
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Beer Wholesalers Association Named One of Top PACs
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), which represents the second tier before the federal government, is one of the top political action committees in the nation, according to a recent issue of Political Finance newsletter. The NBWA ranked 12th on a list of the “Top 100 PACs of the 2001-2002 Election Cycle,” spending a total of $2,065,250 towards electing pro-beer candidates to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. “The adversaries of our industry will do everything within their power, legal and illegal, ethical and unethical, to put us out of business,” said NBWA Board Director Rick Hanson, president of D.J. Reardon Co., Inc. in Massachusetts, in an email announcing the ranking. “For this reason, now more than ever, we need a strong voice in Washington.”
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Bavaria’s Hofbrauhaus Opens Brewery-Beer Hall in Metro Cincinnati
Bavaria’s Hofbrau, a brewery with over 400 years of history, has opened a Hofbrauhaus just across the river from Cincinnati, in Newport, Kentucky. It re-creates the original Hofbrauhaus in Munich, Germany, in many ways: a huge beer hall atmosphere with communal tables and sing-alongs, an outdoor beer garden and, most importantly, beer made with the original recipes and techniques. But in one element, the operators of this Hofbrauhaus hope their lack of faithfulness to the original will be an improvement. As the Cincinnati Enquirer notes, they have changed the food. Basically, they needed beer that was just as good and food that was better than the original. Bistro Management Inc. of Cincinnati, the company that is operating the Hofbrauhaus here, brought over a German beer master to oversee the brewery operations so Americans could drink good German helles, dunkles, and weissbier. But the German food, well, it wasn’t as good. Kind of bland, says Bob Conway Jr., Bistro Management vice president. The challenge in creating the restaurant, he says, was “developing a menu with traditional German dishes that are quality-controlled for Americans.”
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Peoples Choice Winners Announced At Portland Spring Beer Fest
The winners of the 2003 Portland Spring Beer Festival Peoples Choice Award have been announced. First place went to Walking Man’s Homo Erectus IPA. Second place went to Washington state’s Far West Ireland Brewing for its Connault Ranger IPA. Third place resulted in a three-way tie for Grant’s Mandarin Hefeweizen, Lost Coast’s Great White Belgian-style white ale, and Wild Duck Brewing’s Chocolate Milk Stout. As in the past, the stout and IPA categories received lots of votes, with Pelican and Liberator earning a lot of fans. The Oregon Brew Crew deserves credit for pouring over 120 different beverages, served up to a festival attendance that topped 20,000 thirsty beer fans.
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Siebel Institute Sensory Analysis Seminar at Craft Brewers Conference
The Association of Brewers is presenting professional-level brewing education from the Siebel Institute of Technology at the Craft Brewers Conference in New Orleans, LA (May 7-10, 2003). The 4-hour Siebel Institute Sensory Analysis Seminar is designed to train professional brewers in the process of sensory evaluation of beer. During this informative, practical presentation, students will learn to employ = techniques used in professional breweries worldwide to assess the quality of their ales and lagers. The seminar will follow the brewing process from brewhouse to packaged product focusing on positive and negative flavor compounds produced during the various stages of the brewing process. The origin and control of the various flavors will be discussed and students will have the opportunity to taste beers that have been spiked with the different flavor compounds. The seminar will = conclude with a “test” of unknown compounds to assess the student’s sensory skills. The Siebel Institute Sensory Analysis Seminar will be held in the Audubon E Room in the Radisson Hotel New Orleans, 1500 Canal Street in New Orleans on Wednesday, May 7, starting at 12:30pm. The $100 fee includes the 4-hour presentation, seminar notebook, and all tasting samples. To find out more about this presentation, contact the Siebel Institute of Technology in Chicago by phone at 773-279-0966 or by e-mail at info@siebelinstitute.com.
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Utah Beer Tax to Increase on May 1
Utah’s beer tax is set to increase May 1, after House approval Monday of a pair of bills that revamp state liquor laws and use some of the revenue from beer sales and increased license fees to combat over consumption and underage drinking. The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Utah Senate Bill 153, which overhauls laws governing sales of alcoholic beverages, and Senate Bill 66, which increases the tax on wholesale beer and creates a dedicated fund to help local governments deter and prosecute drunken driving offenses, passed the Utah House with amendments. The measures will be returned to the Utah Senate for acceptance of the amendments, but since the changes endorsed by the House were compromises negotiated with senators sponsoring the bills, the votes in the Senate are expected to be a mere matter of course.
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Washington State May Allow Strong Beer
For years, residents of Washington have been able to buy a wide range of beers, but retailers are limited by law to the strength of beers they can carry. Beers above 8% alcohol by weight (10% alc/vol) have not been allowed to be sold in the private retailing sector, denying Washingtonians access to specialty beers like Dogfish Head’s World Wide Stout, Belgium’s Scaldis
(Bush) Beer, Samichlaus from Austria, and EKU 28 from Germany. Senate Bill 5051, entitled “Removing the sale of strong beer from the exclusive jurisdiction of the liquor control board,” has been introduced to overturn this regulatory state of affairs. Now, The Washington State Senate has concurred with recent changes the State House made to SB 5051. The bill has been signed by the Senate, and filed with Governor Gary Locke as of 4/18/2003. Assuming Gov. Locke signs it, it will take effect on July 1, 2003.
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Boston Beer Down 1.8% First Quarter
The Boston Beer Company, Inc. announced last week first quarter 2003 volume, revenue and earnings compared to the first quarter 2002. For the 13-week period ended March 29, 2003, reported sales volume for the period was 270,000 barrels, a 1.8% decline from prior year. The Boston Beer Company recorded net sales of $45.3 million, a 0.7% decline from the 1st quarter in 2002. Net revenue per barrel increased by 1.1% during the quarter due to product mix changes and normal price increases. The Company recorded a net loss of ($109,000) or ($.01) per diluted share for the quarter versus net income of $1.3 million and $.08 per diluted share for the same period last year. Gross margins as a percent of net sales were 58.6% as compared to 59.5% in the prior year first quarter. The decrease in gross profit is due to a combination of factors including adjustments to the returns allowance to reflect increased wholesaler inventories, particularly of seasonals; and increased brewery operating costs in Cincinnati, that were partially offset by normal price increases. Significant changes in operating expenses included increased advertising and promotional expenses, primarily related to the continued support of Sam Adams Light. Boston Beer Brand distributor sales to retail (depletions) totaled 252,000 barrels, approximately a 2% increase from the same period 2002. Shipments and orders in-hand suggest that core shipments for April and May 2003 will be down approximately 13% as compared to the same period 2002. Actual shipments for the current quarter may differ, however, and no inferences should be drawn with respect to shipments in future periods.
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Brewery Director Admits Plotting To Contaminate Strongbow
Brewery director Michael Hancocks has admitted plotting to contaminate the products of rival firm Bulmers – which produces Strongbow and Woodpecker – so they would be recalled. Bristol Crown Court heard Hancocks was the instigator and prime mover in the plan to pour yeast-based contaminants into the production line of HP Bulmer. Hancocks’s British firm, Birmingham-based Aston Manor Brewery, was in direct competition with Bulmer’s in the cider market, and the court heard the 63-year-old had considerable animosity towards the rival company. Hancocks, of Hafod Road, Hereford, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud Hereford-based Bulmer’s by introducing yeast-based contaminants into their products between August 31, 2001 and April 5, 2002.
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Sea Dog Reopens
Shipyard Brewing Co. in Portland, ME has reopened two of the three Sea Dog brewpubs that it purchased last winter after the Sea Dog Brewing Co. declared chapter 7 bankruptcy. The Sea Dog in Topsham, ME has been serving customers since February, minus its brewing equipment. Topsham Pale Ale, an English-style pale ale, is being brewed especially for the pub by Shipyard, according to Shipyard co-owner and brewmaster Alan Pugsley.
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Barton Beer Awards Ad Account for Peroni and Tsingtao
In an attempt to extend the Peroni and Tsingtao brands beyond their core markets, Barton Beers named independent shop Hadrian’s Wall of Chicago, the advertising agency of record for the two imported beer brands. The agency will produce print and outdoor work for Barton’s Peroni and Tsingtao brands that will break any time between this summer and next spring. “Tsingtao is the No. 1 Chinese beer brand and Peroni is No. 1 Italian brand and both are easy to drink so they have potential to grow,” said Kevin Lynch, Hadrian’s Wall partner and writer. The contract raises its client roster to six, with billings totaling $17 million in 2002 for the 2-year-old agency. “This gets us into a category we know well,” said Mr. Lynch, who has worked on Anheuser-Busch brands, Barton’s Corona brands, and Stevens Point Brewery’s Point Beer while at previous agencies.
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Former Seagram Exec Is New Scottish & Newcastle CEO
Scottish & Newcastle Plc has named Tony Froggatt, a former executive of the Seagram wine and spirits group Seagram, as its new chief executive on Thursday, to steer Britain’s biggest brewer through a quickly consolidating industry. The British brewing giant, which makes of Kronenbourg, Foster’s, and Baltika beers, and owns 1,500 pubs in Great Britain, said Froggatt, 54, would join the firm on May 12, drawing a basic salary of 630,000 UK pounds ($985,900). Analysts and investors said Froggatt was not well known to the British brewing industry but had a strong background. “He’s got a good European background, which is where Scottish & Newcastle (S&N) are positioned now,” said David Liston, a fund manager at Gerrard Ltd. “He’s also got good experience in brands, which is obviously the key area at present,” he added. Some analysts were also pleased the firm had appointed an external candidate. Some analysts had expected the job to go to Finance Director Ian McHoul, who while widely respected is perceived by some to be too close to the long-standing head of the firm, Brian Stewart. S&N said Stewart would hand over his executive responsibilities to Froggatt and become non-executive chairman as of July 1.
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Little Guy Brings Quality Beer to Valley of the Sun
At this year’s Phoenix’s Great Arizona Beer Festival, among the 100-plus breweries pouring samples this weekend, there are a few new tastes on tap, thanks in large part to Valley upstart Little Guy Distributing. The year-old company will have three booths representing six breweries, which make up two-thirds of its list of suppliers. Little Guy is aptly named for it’s tiny size, but it’s big news to metro-Phoenix beer geeks, because it specializes in high-end, lesser-known brands that otherwise wouldn’t be available in the Valley. One example is Sonoma County’s superlative Bear Republic Brewing Co. Brewmaster Richard Norgrove Jr. says his company hadn’t planned to expand into Arizona until Little Guy made a pitch.
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