The Washington Post reports the long-expected sale of Old Dominion Brewing could be announced any time.
Sale would involve Ram’s Head Tavern, a Maryland brewery chain, and beer giant Anheuser-Busch.
“We have signed a letter of intent with someone, but we are not confirming or denying any of the other stuff,” said founder Jerry Bailey, adding that he was selling the company in order to liquidate his equity.
From the press release:
“Anheuser-Busch, Inc., the U.S. beer subsidiary of Anheuser‑Busch Cos., Inc., increased U.S. shipments to wholesalers to 102.3 million barrels in 2006 – up 1.2 million barrels or 1.2 percent over 2005, it was announced today by Anheuser-Busch Cos., Inc. president and chief executive officer, August A. Busch IV.”
Why?
Because of “success of its initiatives to grow core brands, led by Bud Light, and by expanding its portfolio of products including the addition of the Rolling Rock brands, and imports Grolsch and Tiger.”
The Seattle Times reports that Redhook Ale Brewery and Widmer Brother Brewing plan to start merger talks.
The Times’ story points out why this makes sense: “Redhook brews Widmer beer on the East Coast, and they share a sales and marketing operation in the West. More than a third of each company is owned by megabrewer Anheuser-Busch of St. Louis.”
Interestingly, the possible merger was revealed in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by Anheuser-Busch on Wednesday. The Anheuser-Busch filing says it anticipates Redhook would be “the surviving company in any transaction” with Widmer.
Redhook and Widmer considered a merger in 1996, Redhook founder Paul Shipman says in the story, but it “didn’t come together.”
“If you name breweries around the Pacific Northwest,” he says, “it wouldn’t take long before you named one that we had discussions with along the way.”
Brandweek reports that mass-market brewers aiming for the high-end beer market are basing their strategy on the success of Stella Artois.
Some of the things Stella has done:
– Instead of using babes and sports in advertising, owner Inbev has promoted signature beer glasses and proper beer care.
– Appealed to foodies by hosting Belgian dinners and landing editorial mentions in Bon Appetit and Gourmet.
– It became the badge beer for the independent film community through release-party sponsorships at Sundance and other film fests.
“Discovery” has been a key element of Stella’s plan, one that Anheuser-Busch will likely continue as it takes over distribution of Stella this year, and one that Miller and Coors are emulating with brands of their own.
Beginning Monday, a new California law will allow manufacturers and distributors to give free beer samples to patrons at restaurants and bars, a marketing practice previously banned in the state.
Anheuser-Busch lobbied hard for the new law, but insists that it only plans to conduct small educational tastings about new beers, such as its latest winter sampling.
”It’s an opportunity for us to get consumers to sample some of our new products,” said Andrew Baldonado, Western region vice president of government affairs for Anheuser-Busch. ”The Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale is a seasonal beer that we’re doing. The best way to introduce those new products to consumers is to be able to have them sample them.”
Brewers, particularly small ones, already offer tastings at their own facilities in much the same way wineries do. Even Anheuser-Busch offers free tastings at its plant in Fairfield. But state law did not allow for beer samples beyond a brewer’s own tasting room.
The new law specifies that a beer tasting at a bar or restaurant cannot exceed eight ounces per person per day and that it must be served in a glass.
Fred Jones of the California Council on Alcohol Problems certainly doesn’t give beer much respect in knocking the law.
”It was jokingly referred to as the ‘free Happy Hour’ bill (in the Capitol), so I think that gives you an image of what could happen,” Jones said. ”What is the reason behind giving someone eight ounces of beer free? One could argue that with wineries, each winery is different and every bottle is different depending on age or season. But we’re talking about beer here.”
And this guy lives in California? Apparently with blinders on.
Karl Strauss, consultant to scores of craft breweries and founder of San Diego;s first microbrewery himself, has died. He was 94.
Strauss was born in a small brewery in Minden, Germany, where his father was the president. He lived in the family quarters at the brewery while he was growing up, the went to study in Bavaria, where he earned his degree in the science of malting and brewing from the Technical University Munich at Weihenstephan.
The Strauss Brewing website offers a photo montage and “The Truth About Karl Strauss.”
Scottish and Newcastle has informed wholesalers in the UK that the cost of beer will go up 3.5% next year.
Chances are we’ll be seeing more of the same from brewers, small and large, everywhere.
A spokesman for Scottish & Newcastle said the entire industry faced cost inflation of between 7% and 9%, pointing to the rising of energy, aluminium, diesel and water.
“We’re trying to make our increases reasonable but have to acknowledge there’s been some huge inflationary costs on our business,” he said.
Fifty Fifty Brewing in Truckee, Calif., took another step toward reality last week when equipment was delivered. We offer you the pictures because we we can never get enough of brewery pictures and because we thought we should update you. When we last reported on this brewery it was called Truckee Craft Brewery.
Don’t expect beer before February (and that might be optimistic) but the beer menu is already available.
From NBB-BUZZ, a newsletter from New Belgium Brewing:
The brewer of Fat Tire will begin distributing into Iowa and Minnesota in 2007.
Also, look for a new beer called Springboard quite soon. It’s made with Chinese spices.
A Reuters interview with Brooklyn Brewery co-founder Steve Hindy reveals that Brooklyn has expanded distribution into new states and headed to more.
Brooklyn – previously focused on the states closest to New York – has moved into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Alabama, and plans to soon add Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
In chronicling craft beer growth, the story does offer a cautionary note from Benj Steinman of Beer Marketer’s Insights.
“Some people might be getting ahead of themselves. There are a number of companies that are spending many, many millions of dollars to greatly expand capacity,” Steinman said, questioning whether there is enough demand to justify the added production. He did not include Brooklyn Brewery in that group.
The Brewers Association Export Development Program in partnership with American Craft Beer Partners announced the first, to their knowledge, mixed container shipment of American craft beers to be shipped mainland China.
An assortment of American craft beers from Rogue Ales Brewery, Brooklyn Brewery and North Coast Brewing Co. is about ready to go.
This shipment is a culmination of a three-year effort consisting of market research into opportunities for US craft beer in China and reverse trade missions to the US by leading Chinese beer distributors. Funds for this work came in large part from the United States Department of Agriculture’s Emerging Markets Program.
The beer will be available in early January at high-end bars and restaurants in Shanghai at a range of 35 RMB ($4.50) to 55 RMB ($7) per bottle. American Craft Beer Partners is working on agreements with on and off-premise accounts to order larger volumes if sales targets for the first shipment are met and distribution goes as planned.
Consider this scenario:
”Frat guys, 2021: Dude, it was so weird. My frat brother John had his wacky uncle Russ in town, and he came to our Alpha Alpha October bash. Old dude, in his 40s, but still likes to party. He actually brought an entire keg of beer to the party. Who was going to get through that? I think we all had one or two, but it doesn’t mix well with vodka, so there was a ton left over. You know anybody who still drinks this stuff?”
Futurist Eric Garland offers this in the book ”Future Inc.: How Businesses Can Anticipate and Profit From What’s Next.”
The book isn’t really about beer, but Garland uses beer often to illustrate points. The same method that he uses to forecast the future of beer, he writes, can be applied in all other spheres. The crucial element of that kind of ”futuring,” Garland writes, is thinking of everything within the context of society, technology, economics, ecology and politics.
What he writes about beer – that it continues to lose ground to wine and spirits – is hardly news. However he does see globalization as the hope for the future of American brewers.
”I have heard of Americans visiting Ireland expecting to see everyone drinking pints of Guinness, and instead shocked to see people in dance clubs pounding Budweiser and Bud Lights,” he writes.
Boston.com spend the day with Maria Poulinas, head brewer at John Harvard’s Restaurant and Brewery in Framingham, Mass., documenting it in photos.
Poulinas previously worked as a civil designer.
She also feels her work is “much more appreciated here. No one cares about your design for a new office park,†she says. “But the customers are enthusiastic about the beer.”
Fortune Small Business takes a trip to Colorado and writer Christopher S. Stewart writes about “Small breweries, big beer” – giving attention to assertive beers from Great Divide, Oskar Blues and Avery.
He finishes with a sample of Avery’s The Beast (14.9% abv):
“At first there are outward signs of normalcy – the dark color, the unctuous texture and the fizzle when it’s poured into a glass. But when the smell of molasses gets in your nose, and the first thick drop hits the tongue, and you taste the myriad dark fruits and this buzz goes on in your head, it’s just not normal. But I like it. I think.”
UK brewer Fuller, Smith & Turner (Fuller’s ales) may be hunting for more acquisitions given its initial success since buying George Gales & Co. and its pub properties.
“There’s a great pressure on companies to consolidate at the moment and I suspect it will continue,” Michael Turner said. “We would be happy to expand if the right opportunities arose. For example, if a family business was finding it hard to compete we could offer a similar culture.”
[Via The Independent.]