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Little Kings Acquired By Moerleins

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Christian Moerlein Brewing Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, announced today that they’ve purchased the brand Little Kings. The Little Kings Cream Ale, especially in the little 7 oz. green bottles, is a local favorite.

Little Kings Cream Ale

“What we’re about with the return of Little Kings is the same thing that we’ve been doing with Christian Moerlein Lagers and Ales the last four years, which is repositioning the brands to make them relevant with today’s consumers,” CEO Greg Hardman said. Two years ago, he also acquired local beer brands Burger Beer, Hudepohl 14K and Hudy Delight.

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Alaskan Brewing Releases Vintage Barley Wine

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Alaskan Brewing Co. announced that it will expand the limited release of its award-winning Alaskan Barley Wine to all ten western states where Alaskan beer is distributed. Alaskan Barley Wine has been produced in limited edition batches each year since its introduction at the Great Alaska Beer and Barley Wine Festival in 2003.

“It is a big beer for our big Alaska winters,” said Co-founder and Brewmaster Geoff Larson. “This brew garnered a steady following in Alaska, but people from all over the country were asking when they could buy Alaskan Barley Wine in bottles.”

The brewery finally answered the call last January, releasing the 2007 Alaskan Barley Wine in 22-ounce bottles for the first time in Alaska, Washington and Oregon, but it wasn’t available for long.

“It was in and out,” says Matt Maples at Liquid Solutions, a national internet-based beverage distribution company, of the 2007 Alaskan Barley Wine. “We started with 55 cases – they sold out in less than a week.” Maples was not surprised about the high demand for the 22-ounce bottles, “People make a lot of crazy barley wines, but this one is so well put together and balanced it’s quite the hot ticket.”

Alaskan Barley Wine is a full-bodied ale, deep mahogany in color and brewed with an array of complementing malts to achieve its high original gravity. Multiple hop additions in the boil and dry hopping during fermentation provide contrast to the big malt character resulting in the smooth balance that distinguishes this specialty brew.

Alaskan Barley Wine

Like a fine wine, Alaskan Barley Wine can be aged for years. The bottling of each vintage of Alaskan Barley Wine will allow individuals to age it to their liking. “Those that prefer a fresh, dynamic and flavorful barley wine can enjoy it right away,” says Quality Assurance Analyst Darin Jensen. “This is also a great cellaring beer that will gain deeper malt complexity and smoothness over time.

The balanced flavor collaboration between hops, malt and high alcohol showcases the barley wine style, scoring high marks from judges and winning first place at the 2007 Toronado Barley Wine Festival and bronze at the 2008 World Beer Cup.

“Many American barley wines tend to go to flavor extremes; it can taste like there is a mosh pit going on in your mouth,” says the musically inclined Jensen. “The beauty of Alaskan Barley Wine is in the balance between hop bitterness, big malt sweetness and high alcohol. This one crowd surfs over your palate, especially with age.”

The 2008 vintage of Alaskan Barley Wine will be available in January in select retail locations in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming. For those who live elsewhere, it will be available online at www.liquidsolutions.biz.

Alaskan Barley Wine

The label comes from the Alaska Natives who first trained dog teams for winter transportation to the Russian and American settlers of the 19th century to today’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the history of Alaska is tethered alongside the history of dog mushing. Dog teams were the primary source of winter transportation in Alaska before the advent of the airplane and are widely used even today for sport racing as well as travel in remote areas of the state.

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Saskatchewan’s Savior of Suds

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26-year old Monique Haakensen, a graduate student at the University of Saskatchewan, has spent her years in college obsessed by beer. But not in the way you might think. She’s a doctoral candidate in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and her area of study is beer spoilage.

As she says on her student webpage:

Through my background in microbiology and bioinformatics, and current work with beer-spoilage bacteria within the medical pathology department, I have learned of the many parallels and interconnections that exist between all areas of science and witnessed the synergistic benefits to be gained through interdisciplinary utilization of knowledge. My unique blend of interests and background has given me a distinct advantage in developing diagnostic tools directed towards beer-spoilage bacteria. My current research focus in on the genetic basis for the ability of Lactobacillus and Pediococcus isolates to grow in the inhospitable environment of beer.

Monique Haakensen

Lethbridge Herald is reporting that she’s “helped discover three new methods of detecting beer-spoiling bacteria, including a DNA-based technique, that has big breweries around the globe hoisting pints in celebration.” Her work will help breweries get their beer to market faster and also reduce laboratory costs because based on her work, using DNA methods, it can now be determined in one or two days whether or a particular batch of beer will spoil prematurely. Normally, this process can tale 2-3 months.

“Part of her research also includes the discovery of two new genes involved in beer spoilage and three new groups of bacteria that can ruin beer.” Another masters student working with Haakensen, Vanessa Pittet, has been helping sequence the spoilage genes in beer and they’re “also researching hops and how bacteria can grow in the presence of ethanol. She says the knowledge will also be valuable to the ethanol fuel industry.”

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Three Sheets’ New Year’s Eve Pub Crawl

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Comedian Zane Lamprey (below, right) joins his Danish friend Lars (left) in a “drinking roulette” game as part of The Second Annual Three Sheets New Year’s Eve Pub Crawl from London. An exclusive webcast of this new original special begins on www.mojohd.com at the stroke of midnight, ET on Thursday, January 1 (it will be available on the site throughout January).

Three Sheets

The show celebrates New Year’s Eve by traveling to the geographical heart of time’s measure (Greenwich Mean Time). Zane’s mission is to visit London’s watering holes with international themes plus make a few stops at traditional British establishments. He begins at James Bond creator Ian Fleming’s favorite drinking location (Dukes Hotel) and goes on to England’s “oldest coaching inn,” The George Inn (no one’s sure of when it opened, but it was rebuilt after a fire in 1676). Almost lethal drinks imbibed by Zane and friends include “A Bunny with a Gun,” “Extra Añejo,” a “Chilly Willy,” “Ice the Cake,” a “Leg-Over-Land,” a “Monkey Shoulder” and “Bitter and Twisted Beer.” Ultimately, will Zane survive after meeting “Barry the Poisoner” or a visit from his most celebrated Three Sheets drinking partner Steve McKenna?

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Lighthouse International Beer Festival

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The 7th Annual Lighthouse International Beer Festival, Wilmington, North Carolina

Lighthouse Festival

By Banjo Bandolas

I attended this beer festival after the Great American Beer Festival in October. I apologize to my Carolina homies for letting it slip to the bottom of my to-do pile several times in the last month or so. One of the things that lit a fire under me to get it done was an article I saw in the Wilmington Star News that didn’t seem to have a lot of good things to say about the festival. This fest didn’t go off exactly as planned due to reasons you’ll read further in, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t succeed in its initial goal of showing people a good time and exposing them to some really good beer.

Wilmington, North Carolina is a special place for me. Though I live in Oregon, my heart, and most of my family, stays in Carolina. Wilmington, once the heart of Carolina shipbuilding industry and the last port to fall to the damn Yankee’s in the civil war, has retired from working for a living and become the Hollywood of the East coast film industry and seaside tourism destination.

Wilmingtonian’s, and Tarheels in general, have always been partial to beer. Not craft beer of course, the dreaded fizzy yellow beer. If you were drinking beer it was Bud, Miller, or whatever was on sale at the Piggly Wiggly. If you really wanted to put on the dog, you’d pick up some Lowenbrau or Michelob.

Those days are gone now, I don’t mean there’s not a lot of fizzy yellow beer consumption still going on. Heaven forbid we forget our roots! What I mean is since the successful NC Pop-the-Cap push for repeal of the 6% alcohol-by-volume limit on beer, there has been a craft beer explosion in the state whose motto is “First in Freedom”.

Wilmington has 2 breweries of its own, Front Street and Azalea Coast, the Wolf Beer brand is distributed locally but actually contract brewed in Farmville at the famous Duck Rabbit Brewery. Duck Rabbit makes a damn fine lineup of dark beers. The state boosts around 35 breweries the last time I counted. Whereas my best bet for a decent craft beer during a visit home used to be limited to Lager Heads, Mello Mushroom or the Front Street Brewpub, the beer selection at the local stores and restaurants gets a little better every year. Great bottle shops like Lighthouse Beer & Wine in Wrightsville Beach and Topsail Island lead the way and show the rest how it’s done.

When I walked into Lighthouse Beer & Wine for the first time an old friend met me at the door, a display of everything Oregon’s Rogue Ales makes occupied a hallowed centerpiece display. They even had Brewers Strong Ale with the dog tags! I looked around; a huge selection of the best craft beer has to offer filled the cooler cases. The labels of breweries large and small from coast to coast and around the world lined the shelves, Avery, Bosteels, Dogfish Head, Spaten, Bear Republic, Chimay and the 21st Amendment. I could go on but I think you get the point.

If the store itself was an indicator, this boded to be a most excellent beer festival. Little Ol’ Hugh MacRae Park, a good place to catch turtles and snakes when I was a kid, was the October 18th destination for a day filled with live music and beer from 50 International Breweries.

Any sailor who’s ever sailed the waters off Cape Fear will tell you, the weather changes on a whim here. So it wasn’t a total shock when the gods conspired to ruin the day. The morning of the dawned slate gray, dark clouds gathered and winds rose. My nephew Nathan Greenough, who’d volunteered to help me photograph the event, wondered aloud if anyone would show up as he squinted at the sky through slapping windshield wipers.

“I guess this’ll be a good test of how Die-hard the local beer enthusiasts are, I replied.

Long Lines

The question was answered as we approached the parking area for the event. The beer festival gate had just opened and the line stretched back for about a quarter mile. Slickers and gum boots was the style for the day and Wilmington’s faithful were here-for-the-beer come rain or shine.

Mix rain with beer and tents and what do you get? Lots of people jammed under tents drinking beer, that’s what you get. Each line was a struggle to get to the tap and then another to make it back out with your sample intact. I don’t blame the event planner, it was an unforeseeable problem and the group seemed to take it in stride. There wasn’t any pushing or heated words exchanged, it was miles of smiles from moist beer enthusiasts shouting happy recommendations to one another as I moved from line to line and tent to tent.
I had hoped to connect with a group of ladies called the Wilmington Beer Girls I met via myspace (ain’t the internet great!) but I didn’t expect the crowd to be so large so finding the ladies, or should I say ‘Girls”, wasn’t possible. Next trip we’ll do a tasting girls!

Atlanta Brewing

I started out looking for beers I hadn’t tried before. There weren’t many, I had just come from GABF after all, but I found a few. The Atlanta Brewing Company, “Oldest in Georgia” brews Red Brick Beers. They had a nice Brown Ale on tap I added to my repeat list. Big Boss Pumpkin Ale was excellent and I had to sample my other Big Boss favorite Angry Angel Kolsch while I was there. Wolf Beer Company’s White Wolf Golden Ale was pretty good. I was disappointed the Azalea Coast Brewery didn’t have any of their Teach’s Chocolate Stout on tap. (Named for Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, a frequent visitor to the Cape fear area.) I’d been dreaming of getting my hands on some since I’d tried it last year at the Charlotte Oktoberfest. I’d have to actually go out and buy some the next day. (Gasp!)

The selection was pretty good; the South was well represented as were the heavy hitters of American and international craft beer. As the rain dropped to a drizzle the people ventured out from under cover and the crush in the tents eased. Old timey music, the sound of home for me, filled the air as Woodwork Roadshow did there thing. The music warmed my heart and made the beer taste even better.

Crazy Vikings

This was a special moment for me. My niece Susannah and her husband Bill, joined Nathan and I. They’d never been to a beer festival before and I was happy I could share there first experience with them. They were having a blast and found several new favorite beers. Sure it was raining, cold, and there were long lines at the port-a-potties, but the music was playing, the beer was good, and so was the company. I’ve been to Raleigh and Charlotte and seen their large craft beer communities turn out for some excellent festivals, but Wilmington is home and now craft beer is part of everything I have to look forward to when I return and come hell or high water (but I really hope it doesn’t come to that next year), I’ll be there for the 8th Annual Lighthouse International Beer Festival in 2009. See you there; I’ll be the one holding a beer and wearing a big smile.

More information about the Lighthouse International Beer Festival can be found at their website.

Pictures from the 7th Annual Lighthouse International Beer Festival can be viewed on Flickr here.

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EU Court Rules For Budvar

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The EU’s Court of First Instance ruled yesterday that in prior rulings, the European Trademark Agency had “made several errors,” when they went against Budejovicky Budvar and accepted Anheuser-Busch’s arguments over trademark issues in Europe between the two rival breweries. This effectively undoes the trademark for A-B’s “Bud” brand name in the EU’s 27 member nations.

According to the AP report, the upshot is that “Anheuser-Busch can no longer claim trademark rights for the entire EU region but must rely on separate national trademarks.”

From the AP Article:

The Czech company said it had already registered “Bud” under a 1958 agreement which protected the name as a geographical indicator of origin in France, Austria and the former Czechoslovakia.

The court ruled the trademark agency had to “take account of earlier rights” protected in member states, adding the agency had “made an error of law” in rejecting the use of the word and signs in the context of a commercial activity.

There were actually three separate judgments rendered today by the Court of First Instance over different aspects if this on-going dispute. If appealed, the case will go to the European Court of Justice.

The rulings, while each is distinct, all follow similar language, as follows.

Judgment T-225/06 BudÄ›jovický Budvar v OHMI – Anheuser-Busch (BUD) Intellectual property

Community trade mark – Action, brought by the proprietor of the right to use the protected appellation of origin ‘BUD’ to designate beer, for the annulment of Decision R 234-2005-2 of the Second Board of Appeal of the Office for Harmonisation in the Internal Market (OHIM) of 14 June 2006 dismissing the appeal against the decision of the Opposition Division which refused the opposition filed by the applicant against the application for registration of the word mark ‘BUD’ in respect of goods in Classes 32 and 33

Forbes has additional analysis on the ruling entitled AB Inbev suffers a setback in its attempt to win Europe-wide rights to the trademark the name ‘Bud.’

Their take:

Czech beer maker Budejovicky Budvar won its attempt to ban AB InBev’s application for a community trademark that would have given the Belgian brewer the exclusive right to use the word “Bud” on its beers across all 27 member states of the European Union. A firm cannot acquire region-wide rights if another company holds a separate national trademark, even if it is just in one of the states.

Budvar had used what is referred to as “appellation of origin”–used to protect a name on the basis of geographical origin–to claim trademark rights in several countries such as France and Austria. Budejovicky Budvar was founded in 1895 in the Czech city of Ceske Budejovice—an area called “Budweis” by the German-speaking people that lived there at the time, according to the Associated Press. The founders of Anheuser-Busch had thus originally picked the name “Budweiser” because it was well-known in their German homeland.

An Appeal by A-B InBev is likely, so I don’t think we’ve heard the last of this dispute, which so far is more than 100 years old.

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Holiday Ale Festival Serves 17,000

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Sunny skies and mild temperatures set the mood for the 13th annual Holiday Ale Festival in Portland, Oregon, which witnessed attendance consistent with the year prior: final numbers reached 17,000. The West Coast’s most prestigious winter beer festival took place Dec. 3 through Dec. 7 at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Holiday Ale Festival

Organizers added a fifth day to the event this year, which was well-received by the public. According to event manager Preston Weesner, the goal was to have 500 attend on opening day: more than 1,000 turned up, many to sample an additional eight special beers that weren’t available the rest of the weekend. A new annex with a third bar was also deemed a success, as it helped to alleviate the crowds in the main tent.

Holiday Ale Festival

The Belgian Beer and Brunch, an auxiliary event held on the Sunday of the festival, sold out, with more than 80 people sampling prestigious beers and noshing on pastries, meats and cheeses.

The Holiday Ale Festival presented more than 50 robust winter craft beers on draught, all of which were either created for the event, or were rare or vintage beers not readily available in the state. These winter warmers were all designed to ward off the chill of winter and warm both the palate and soul. Complex in aroma and flavor, these beers were rich in color, big in body, and high in alcohol.

Holiday Ale Festival

The People’s Choice winner, which was determined by the beer that went through the most kegs, was Collaborator’s Hallucinator Olde Ale, followed by the Holiday Ale Festival/Hair of the Dog Commemorative Blend Jim II.

Festival attendees stayed warm and dry under a large clear-topped tent that covered the venue while allowing for views of the city lights. Gas heaters created a cozy ambiance under the boughs of the city’s Christmas tree.

Holiday Ale Festival

In addition to beer tasting, the Holiday Ale Festival also featured on-site food from Rogue Ales, event merchandise, complimentary Crater Lake Sodas for designated drivers, organic cheese pairings, mead sampling, and seasonal background music.

Next year’s Holiday Ale Festival will take place Dec. 2 through 6, 2009. For more information about the Holiday Ale Festival, visit www.holidayale.com.

Photographs courtesy of Bonne Bandolas.

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Nebraska Brewing 1st To Comply with Digital Conversion Mandate

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I got the following press release from Nebraska brewing in Papillion, Nebraska last week, suggesting things have been a little quiet around the brewery lately. But at least they’re keeping their wits about them.

Nebraska Brewing Company is pleased to announce the completion of Phase 1 of its Analog to Digital Craft Beer Flavor Conversion in compliance with Federal Mandates. The Congressional mandate for the cessation of full power Analog flavor is to take effect on February 17, 2009 and requires that all analog flavors be converted to digital by that time.

“We believe our efforts to be ground breaking in the sense that while all Craft Beers are required to make the jump, we believe that we are the first to undertake the initiative.” Said Paul Kavulak, Owner of Nebraska Brewing Company. “Over the past year, our R&D department has been able to convert our Brunette Nut Brown and Cardinal Pale Ales to the new format with only minor incompatibilities with the old Analog Growlers, we’re in great shape to be fully converted by the mandated date.”

Digital flavor enables Hi-Def aspects which drinkers cannot experience using the older Analog 16 oz. Pint Glasses. While the newer digital 16 oz. glasses have been on the market for years, drinkers will not be able to experience a true HD experience without the new beverages.

Nebraska Brewing

Photo of Pre and Post-Digital Conversion Craft Ales
(Digitally Enhanced Ale on Right)

Nebraska Brewing Company Public Service Ads have been running for months but unfortunately, the marketing department missed a significant error introduced by the Ad Agencies just prior to roll-out. “TV Ads in thousands of markets have mistakenly used the word TV instead of Beer in our commercials” Said Paul. “We’re doing our best to rectify this situation but our ad dollars are already spent. Just think Digital Beer when you hear Digital TV and you’ll be fine. Also, we expect some consumer backlash when they realize they should have been spending their monies on our Craft Beer instead of buying new TVs.” Nebraska Brewing Company Digital Beers use a special digital tap and binary beer lines which maintain the beverage integrity from tank to glass. “The biggest hurdle we’ve encountered to-date was the difficulty in the acquisition of digital yeast but our suppliers have worked very hard alongside us in our efforts”. Said Paul.

News within the industry has been reporting for some time that many of the larger factory breweries appear to have already tried and failed in their digital flavor conversion efforts as evidenced by the absence of flavor in many major brands. Further evidence of this appears in new ads touting drinkability, color changing mountains, or wide mouth cans instead of directing attention to the problems with flavor. Nebraska Brewing Company remains committed to quality, flavor, and an ongoing effort in remaining the people’s choice in these difficult economic times. In the days leading up to the full digital conversion, Nebraska Brewing Company consumers are urged to try these converted beers soon and often to evaluate personal compatibility with the new format.

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First “No Carb” Beer?

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A Queensland boutique brewer has today made brewing history with the launch of BIGHEAD — Australia’s first no-carb beer. BIGHEAD is the brainchild of Burleigh Brewing Company, an independent craft brewery based in Burleigh Heads on Queensland’s Gold Coast.

Burleigh Brewing’s CEO, Peta Fielding, said BIGHEAD’s arrival would be welcome news for men and women across Australia who are conscious of their carbohydrate intake, but love their beer.

“There are a lot of low-carb beers on the Australian market, but only one no-carb – and that’s BIGHEAD Beer,” said Fielding. “For the past year, our customers have been asking us when we were going to create a low-carb beer and today, we’ve not only delivered, we’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations with a beer that is truly unique. We don’t know why this hasn’t been done before now, but we’re thrilled that the idea and ability has been developed by an independent Queensland company.”

BIGHEAD is a full-flavoured, full-strength lager that is 100% natural, free of additives and preservatives, and has a smooth, clean taste – with zero carbs and only 88 calories per bottle.

Bighead

BIGHEAD is named after its place of origin – Burleigh Heads – which was originally dubbed ‘burly head’ (meaning ‘big or brawny head’) by surveyor James Warner in 1840. The name also celebrates the fact that this is a big idea, and a big beer, for an independent brewery.

So how has this little company from the coast managed to create something that no-one else in Australia has? Understandably, they’re not wanting to share too much of their secret, but surprisingly, its based more on tradition than modern technology.

“We use a very authentic brewing process to ensure all our premium beers are fresh and pure. And adding the no-carb element to our brewing involved even more attention to times and temperatures – and required plenty of patience,” said Fielding.

The Burleigh Brewing team, led by Masterbrewer and co-founder, Brennan Fielding, has spent the past year researching, developing, testing and refining the no-carb recipe, which has also been tested by an independent lab in accordance with Australia and New Zealand Food Standards to substantiate its no-carb claim.

But for Brennan and Peta Fielding, this process has been largely a labour of love. “As a craft brewery, we’re passionate about making great beers that taste great and make our customers happy,” Peta Fielding said.

“One thing we wouldn’t compromise on when we were creating this no-carb beer is the quality. BIGHEAD is full of flavour, fresh, pure and balanced, with the added bonus of no carbs. Low-carb beers may have been the ‘it’ drink of 2008, but looking towards the new year, we see the launch of BIGHEAD opening up an entirely new beer category. We hope Australia enjoys drinking BIGHEAD as much as we enjoyed creating it.”

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Budweiser Announces Massive Layoffs

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Anheuser-Busch announced today their intention to layoff a number of A-B employees (though the press release is on the InBev website, not A-B’s nor the new ABIB website). The plan is to cut around “1,400 U.S. salaried positions in its beer-related divisions, affecting about 6 percent of the company’s total U.S. workforce,” three-quarters of which were at A-B HQ in St. Louis. Also, 250 vacant position will now not be filled and 415 independent contractors will also be terminated.

Anheuser-Busch InBev

From the press release:

“To keep the business strong and competitive, this is a necessary but difficult move for the company,” said David A. Peacock, president of Anheuser-Busch. “We will assist in the transition for these employees as much as possible. The people of Anheuser-Busch dedicate themselves to the business, and we appreciate all of their contributions.” The company will provide employees severance pay and pension benefits based on age and years of service. Employees also will be offered additional benefits during the transition, including outplacement services.

The announced workforce reductions are in addition to the more than 1,000 U.S. salaried employees company-wide who accepted the company’s voluntary enhanced retirement program, which closed November 14 and provided special benefits for eligible employees retiring by the end of 2008. The retirements were part of planned cost reductions of [$1 billion dollars US], called project Blue Ocean, announced by Anheuser-Busch in June 2008. At that time, the company announced plans to reduce its company-wide U.S. full-time salaried workforce of 8,600 by 10 to 15 percent before the year end. The company’s other Blue Ocean cost reductions remain on track. Bargaining unit employees at the company’s 12 U.S. breweries are unaffected by the reductions announced today.

“Managing our costs is important in building and maintaining a successful business, especially in a challenging economy,” said Peacock. “We are pleased with our U.S. beer sales, we will continue to invest in growing our brands and we will always look for ways to become more efficient. Decisions like this are never easy, but they will ensure the long-term success for
Anheuser-Busch and our employees.”

The company anticipates that the aggregate pre-tax expense associated with the reduction will be approximately 197 million USD. Approximately 150 million USD of this expense will arise from severance arrangements with terminated employees and the remainder will arise from enhancements in the pension benefits required by the terms of the defined benefit plan because the terminations are occurring within three years of the change of control of the company. The company anticipates that cash expenditures from the reduction will be approximately 213 million USD. The plans announced today are an integral part of the at least 1.5 billion USD in annual synergies identified by InBev when it announced its combination with Anheuser-Busch in July. The company is confident in its ability to achieve against this synergies projection by 2011.

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Happy Repeal Day

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Today is, of course, the 75th anniversary of the repeal of the 18th Amendment with the ratification of the 21st Amendment. Drink a toast to the freedom to have a legal alcoholic beverage today. See where your state fell in the ratification process below.

Repeal

The following states ratified the amendment:

1. Michigan (April 10, 1933)
2. Wisconsin (April 25, 1933)
3. Rhode Island (May 8, 1933)
4. Wyoming (May 25, 1933)
5. New Jersey (June 1, 1933)
6. Delaware (June 24, 1933)
7. Indiana (June 26, 1933)
8. Massachusetts (June 26, 1933)
9. New York (June 27, 1933)
10. Illinois (July 10, 1933)
11. Iowa (July 10, 1933)
12. Connecticut (July 11, 1933)
13. New Hampshire (July 11, 1933)
14. California (July 24, 1933)
15. West Virginia (July 25, 1933)
16. Arkansas (August 1, 1933)
17. Oregon (August 7, 1933)
18. Alabama (August 8, 1933)
19. Tennessee (August 11, 1933)
20. Missouri (August 29, 1933)
21. Arizona (September 5, 1933)
22. Nevada (September 5, 1933)
23. Vermont (September 23, 1933)
24. Colorado (September 26, 1933)
25. Washington (October 3, 1933)
26. Minnesota (October 10, 1933)
27. Idaho (October 17, 1933)
28. Maryland (October 18, 1933)
29. Virginia (October 25, 1933)
30. New Mexico (November 2, 1933)
31. Florida (November 14, 1933)
32. Texas (November 24, 1933)
33. Kentucky (November 27, 1933)
34. Ohio (December 5, 1933)
35. Pennsylvania (December 5, 1933)
36. Utah (December 5, 1933)

Ratification was completed on December 5, 1933. The amendment was subsequently ratified by the following states:

1. Maine (December 6, 1933)
2. Montana (August 6, 1934)

In addition, the following state rejected the amendment:

1. South Carolina (December 4, 1933)

North Carolina voters rejected a convention to consider the amendment on November 7, 1933 The following states have not ratified the amendment:

1. Nebraska
2. Kansas
3. Mississippi
4. Oklahoma
5. Louisiana
6. North Dakota
7. South Dakota
8. Georgia

For more information, check out Celebrate the Repeal of Prohibition.

Celebrate Repeal

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New Belgium’s New Glass Creates Rolling Carbonation

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New Belgium Brewing, makers of Fat Tire Amber Ale and lovers of all things bicycle, has introduced new glassware that is guaranteed to stir the senses. Tapping into the world of physics, artistic bike-shaped etchings on the bottom of each glass create bubbly nucleation, resulting in rolling carbonation throughout the beer. The glass will help enhance beer’s flavor by delivering a greater olfactory experience through carbonation.

The new glassware is a traditional Belgian globe shape, crafted with thicker, more durable glass, a beaded lip and a narrow opening that enhances the beer’s bouquet. The reinforced stem keeps hands from warming the beer and also allows one to cradle the beer to the desired temperature.

New Belgium Glass

“We’ve always had our own unique stemware that maximizes the sensory experience of drinking a beer,” said New Belgium’s Sales Co-Pilot Brian Krueger. “The opportunity to introduce nucleation really took it to the next level and we wanted to add a little heft for durability while we were at it. We worked stateside with Libbey Manufacturing, who helped us create a glass with great form and function, and we are more than ready to raise a new glass this holiday season.”

The new Belgium glassware, which holds 13.5 ounces, is available in certain New Belgium markets, in the brewery’s Liquid Center, and will soon be revealed at New Belgium’s website.

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Ipswich Celebrates 375 Years

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In the small town of Ipswich, Massachusetts, the new year will mark a milestone in the city’s history. In 2009, Ipswich will celebrate its 375th anniversary. Throughout the year, the town will hold a multitude of community events, educational programs, and outdoor activities to commemorate the past, present, and future of Ipswich, Massachusetts.

As part of the festivities, local brewery Mercury Brewing will be releasing, in limited quantity, 1.5 liter bottles of strong ales. The series will include an Imperial Stout, a Summer Barley Wine, a Double I.P.A, and a barrel aged Old Ale. The first strong ale to be released will be the Choate Bridge Imperial Stout.

Ipswich Ale

Russian imperial stout was originally brewed to satisfy the Czarist courts. Because it was transported across the freezing Baltic from England, imperial stout was brewed with a high level of alcohol. Our Choate Bridge Imperial Stout may not be sailing over the Baltic Sea anytime soon, but the rich, flavorful, deep chocolate color and flavor will remain true to the style. The use of roasted barley gives this hearty ale its subtle coffee aroma and taste.

The first 20 cases, or 80 1.5L bottles of Imperial Stout will be sold right out of the brewery on a first come, first serve basis. Each of these bottles will also be numbered as they come off the bottling line.

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Bell’s To Brew At De Proef

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SBS Imports of Seattle, Washington has announced that Bell’s Brewery has agreed to be the 2009 partner for the latest brew in the De Proef Brewmaster’s Collaboration Series. The yet to be designed beer will be brewed in March at De Proef in Lochristi, Belgium and released to the USA market in September 2009.

The initial beer in the series was Signature Ale – originally brewed in 2007 with Tomme Arthur of Port Brewing/Lost Abbey. Jason Perkins of Allagash collaborated in 2008 on Les Deux Brasseurs. Both beers have been exceptionally well-received by beer enthusiasts.

De Proef

“Each year it is my pleasure to invite a noted American brewer to participate in this series,” noted SBS Founder Alan Shapiro. “I am thrilled that John Mallet & Bell’s have agreed to be the 2009 partner.”

“I am really looking forward to this project,” added Bell’s Production Manager, John Mallet. “I have several family ties to the area which makes this invite to brew with Dirk Naudts at De Proef even more special.”

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Old Rasputin XI

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North Coast Old Rasputin XI Available Friday, November 28th Only At the Brewery in Fort Bragg, California.

Old Rasputin XI

North Coast Brewing has been making exceptional beers for over 20 years now. The Brew Guide has called them, “very big, very complex and downright kick-ass.” And, one of the biggest and most kick-ass has been their Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout. With a string of 12 Gold Medals dating back to 1996, Old Rasputin has developed a cult following. So would it be possible to improve upon that huge, robust coffee and chocolate flavor profile?

Old Rasputin XI

Check it out! On Wednesday, November 26, North Coast will bottle the long-awaited Old Rasputin XI to celebrate the eleventh anniversary of the first bottling of Old Rasputin. This special batch of Old Rasputin has been aging for a year in oak bourbon barrels, and it is truly amazing — even more depth and complexity than we had hoped for. Old Rasputin XI will be available only at the Brewery retail store in Fort Bragg beginning on Friday, November 28 — the day after Thanksgiving. It will be packaged in a 500 ml bottle with commemorative label and a cork and cage finish at $12.95 per bottle. Limit is one case per customer. Some for now, some for cellaring. Sorry, they are unable to ship beer to consumers.