Dutch brewing giant Heineken has struck a deal to acquire Czech brewer Drinks Union, which will boost Heineken’s share of the Czech market from 9% to 12%.
The company cites “considerable growth opportunities in the Czech market” as the reason for the acquisition.
Drinks Union owns the popular Zlatopramen brand and three regional brands, Breznak, Louny and Dacick. Heineken already operates Starobrno, Hostan, Zlaty Bazant, Krusovice and the Heineken brand in the Czech market.
A sports bar in Atlanta now allows customers to pour their own beer while seated at their own table.
Jeff Libby, 26, invented and patented the system.
Taps boasting two beer spouts are built into tables dotting Atlanta’s swanky STATS sports bar. Each is hooked into a cooler of kegs in the bar’s basement through a network of tubes and pipes.
To fly with state officials, serve-yourself beer had to include some built-in deterrents.
A waitress must first check IDs before turning on the tap. When the digital ticker counting each ounce hits 180 — or about three pitchers — the taps shut off until a server comes by to check on the table. Bigger parties keep servers running back and forth fairly often, while it’s rarer for smaller groups to hit the limit.
Each tap has two spouts offering a selection of the bar’s more than a dozen beers, including Miller Lite, Guiness Stout, Newcastle and a house brew called Numbers Ale. Customers can only pick which taps they get by reserving a private party table.
Call is customer friendly.
“Sometimes you’re with your husband and he drinks twice as fast as you _ and you can only down a quarter beer,” said 31-year-old Jennie Olshaske, nodding toward her husband. Now, she said, she can pour as little beer as she wants.
Libby is looking to expand, and has approval from the states of North Carolina, South Carolina and California.
The Daily Mail found the perfect headline for a story after construction workers uncovered a skeleton that archaeologists believe is 4,000 years old and holding a type of beer mug: “At least he died happy.”
Marion Green, of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust, said that the find last week was one of the best preserved Bronze Age skeletons she had ever seen.
She added: “It is a beautifully decorated pot which could have been used as a type of beer mug.”
A new study finds that wine may do more damage to your brain than beer.
The study, reported in the medical journal Alcohol & Alcoholism, saw researchers carry out detailed brain scans of men and women diagnosed with alcoholism and compared them with brain scans of healthy adults. The size of the hippocampus was largest in the healthy group – 3.85ml. In beer drinkers it was 3.4ml, while the average for spirit drinkers was 2.9ml, and for wine drinkers, 2.8ml.
The study shows that the hippocampus, the part of the brain involved in memory, spatial tasks and many other functions, was more than 10 per cent smaller in those who preferred wine to beer.
A Michigan barber hopes to convince the state’s attorney general’s office to reinstate his cut-and-a-beer service.
Thomas Martin, who has 11 shops in the Grand Rapids area, used to offer customers one complimentary beer until authorities told him to stop.
State Rep. Kevin Green says he doesn’t see why Martin’s clients can’t have a beer since no one is looking to get drunk. The Wyoming Republican has asked the Michigan attorney general’s office to research whether giving customers a beer violates state law.
Excise duty on alcohol will rise by 6% above inflation from midnight on Sunday, Chancellor Alistair Darling has announced. The government has taken the action in an effort to curb binge drinking.
Duty on beer will rise by 4p a pint, cider by 3p a pint, wine by 14p a bottle and spirits by 55p a bottle. Duties will continue to rise by 2% above inflation for each of the next four years.
The increase comes at a time when Britain’s pub industry is suffering. Already truggling in the wake of smoking ban laws, pub trade has been steadily losing ground to supermarkets offering deeply discounted promotions on multi-packs of beer.
Rob Hayward, chief executive of the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) said: “The government is punishing all beer drinkers rather than punishing the minority of drunken hooligans.
“Its policy is fueling Britain’s binge drinking problem by driving people away from beer, out of the pub into the arms of the deep discounting supermarkets.”
The brewer of Samuel Adams beers surprised Wall Street with its earnings. Boston Beer reported profits were up more than 270% in the fourth quarter.
The company also forecast 2008 earnings above analysts’ estimates, and said it plans to increase prices by 5 percent to counter rising costs.
The company posted fourth-quarter earnings of $6.8 million, or 46 cents per share, compared with $2.5 million, or 17 cents per share, a year earlier.
Heineken USA launched of BeerTender for the U.S. market. The devide is designed exclusively for the Heineken and Heineken Premium Light DraughtKegs. The countertop cooler uses a patented carbonator pressure technology to “deliver a perfect pour every time.”
Engineered by Krups, the BeerTender works this way: Insert a Heineken or Heineken Premium Light DraughtKeg into BeerTender, connect the included disposable draft tube, close the lid, and serve.
“BeerTender is an innovation in draft technology and a must-have for any beer aficionado who values a premium-quality draft beer experience and stylish product design,” Ken Kunze, senior vice president, chief marketing officer Heineken USA, said for a press release.
Not surprisingly, he is referring to drinking Heineken products.
Selected models allow the consumer to adjust temperatures to 36°F, 39°F or 42°F to accommodate a personal drinking preferences. And there is a 30-day freshness count-down indicator available on some models.
The BeerTender, designed to sell for between $279 and $299 depending upon the model, is already available in the Netherlands, France, Austria and Switzerland. More information is available at www.BeerTender.com.
Port Brewing In San Marcos, California, will release the 2008 Bourbon Barrel-Aged version of Lost Abbey The Angel’s Share on Saturday. This first bottled release of the highly coveted beer.
Expect a line by the time the doors open at 10 a.m., so the brewery has set some ground rules:
– Bottles will be $15 per cork finished 375ml bottle.
– Limit of 12 bottles per person.
– Beer will be sold only at the brewery. No email orders or holds for pick up at a later date.
– There are approximately 120 cases available. Once it is gone, it is gone.
– Be on the lookout for Terrapin Hop Shortage Ale some time this month. The Georgia brewery is celebrating get the doors open for its new brewery by creating a “Side Project” series to be sold in 22-ounce bottles. From the press release
2008 will forever be known in professional brewing circles as the year of the hop shortage. Brewers everywhere are scrambling to find hops just to produce their standard line of beers. Some brewers are so nervous, they are even cutting back on brewing hoppy beers. “Not us,” states John Cochran, Founder & President of Terrapin Beer Co. “If there is going to be a shortage of hops, why not put them all into one hop bomb of a beer?”
Look for a new “Side Project” beer every few months.
– Mendocino Brewing has released its Limited Edition Spring Seasonal Bock Beer. A press release describes the beer as “golden hued lager . . . created to celebrate the coming of Spring and the start of a year that is replete with the promise of things to come.”
– Anheuser-Busch has a new spring release and is making a beer previously sold regionally available across the country. Sun Dog Amber Wheat is the spring release, replacing Spring Heat Spiced Wheat. That beer became redundant when A-B rolled out Shock Top Belgian White on a full-time basis.
“Wheat beers are one of my favorite styles to brew because of their versatility. From Bavarian to Belgian to American, each style has its own color, aroma and taste,” Florian Kuplent, brewmaster, said for a company press release. “Our take on the American amber wheat ale is a luminous deep amber color with a slight caramel sweetness and refreshing citrus note.”
Previously available in Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri, Wild Blue Blueberry Lager now will be sold nationally. The beer was created by Blue Dawg Brewing – a group within Anheuser-Busch.
“We’re focusing our efforts on getting Wild Blue in adults’ hands at local food and film festivals and even fun events like pet parades, where dog lovers can get to know Wild Blue, with its feisty bulldog label,” said Jeff Pierson, innovation manager, Wild Blue. “We aren’t taking this beer down the traditional path. Wild Blue is going places we haven’t been before and we know having the beer at places where adults like to get together, socialize and try new things will be key.”
File this press release under the business of beer.
Fort Worth-based Ben E. Keith Beverages — one of the largest beverage distributors in the United States and one of the largest independent Anheuser-Busch wholesalers — has acquired the Texas division of College Station-based C.R. Goodman Distribution Company, a distributor of more than 60 high-end craft and import beer brands. As part of the deal, Ben E. Keith assumes ownership of C.R. Goodman’s business in Texas, while C.R. Goodman’s founders retain ownership of its Colorado business and its import company, Belukus Marketing. All Texas operations, which include 63 employees in its Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio facilities and sales offices, will remain the same under the Ben. E. Keith Beverages’ name. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition increases Ben E. Keith Beverages’ overall beverage distribution area to include the entire state of Texas. The company’s distribution area for Anheuser-Busch products will not expand.
“We are thrilled to add so many key specialty brands and dedicated employees to our company,” said Kevin Bartholomew, president of Ben E. Keith Beverages. “C.R. Goodman is renowned for its strong craft and import brands portfolio, and it is our number one priority to continue to build this business.”
Founded in 1982 by Ken Goodman and Chuck Robertson, C.R. Goodman distributed more than 60 brands of high-end craft and import beers, including Spaten, Fireman’s #4 of Real Ale Brewery, Full Sail, Anchor Steam, Dogfish Head, Ace Cider, Breckenridge, König Stone, Duvel, Samuel Smith and Chimay. The company sold approximately 700,000 case equivalents in 2007.
There’s a reason that distributors want more specialty beers in their portfolio. That’s what consumers are buying.
Madonna and her husband Guy Ritchie have bought a traditional London pub near their home. The couple paid $5 million for the Punchbowl in Mayfair, buying it from friend Greg Foreman.
“She absolutely adores the pub. They pop in regularly to get away from it all,” according to the Morning Advertiser.
The Brewers Association reports it estimates sales of what it defines as craft breweries rose 12% by volume in 2007 and 16% in dollars. Craft brewers’ share of the beer category is 3.8% of production and 5.9% of retail sales.
“Since 2004, dollar sales by craft brewers have increased 58 percent,” Paul Gatza, Director of the Brewers Association, said in a press release. “The strength of this correlates with the American trend of buying local products and a preference for more flavorful foods and beers.”
The BA estimates the actual dollar sales figures from craft brewers at more than $5.74 billion, up from $4.95 billion in 2006.
More craft beer statistics from the BA.
Matt Venzke of Yorktown, Va., has won Wynkoop Brewing Company’s 2008 Beerdrinker of the Year contest.
Venke, an aircraft maintenance manager, is the second straight Virginia resident to win the competition. Diane Catanzaro of Norfolk won in 2007.
Venzke beat out finalists J Mark Angelus Oregon and and Richard Pedretti-Allen of Texas.
As the 2008 Beerdrinker of the Year, Venzke wins free beer for life at Wynkoop, a $250 beer tab at the Taphouse on Queensway and clothing proclaiming him the 2008 Beerdrinker of the Year.
The Colorado Senate has approved a bill that would allow Sunday alcohol sales. Sponsor Jennifer Beiga said that when the old law was passed, most businesses already were closed Sunday. Now, she said, Sunday has become a day when consumers do a large amount of their shopping and businesses get a sizable amount of their revenue.
The measure must still pass another vote in the Senate and then would move on to the House, however Friday’s vote indicated a change from three years ago, when the proposal never made it to the Senate floor.
More liquor store owners support Sunday sales this time. They see it as an alternative to allowing supermarkets to sell full-strength beer and wine.
Heineken expects the cost of producing beer to increase 15% in 2008 and plans to pass those costs along to consumers, reports the Morning Advertiser in Great Britain.
Heineken’s announcement is the third warning of rising beer prices in two days following Carlsberg and S&N yesterday.
Heineken said the intended acquisition of S&N’s UK business would help it drive “premium Heineken brand growth.”
It said: “The acquisition will also add attractive brands such as Newcastle Brown Ale, Foster’s, John Smith’s Bitter and Strongbow cider to Heineken’s brand portfolio.”
The list is noteworthy for the brand not mentioned —Kronenbourg. Speculation is that the brand will be axed in the UK in favor of Heineken.
Added later Feb. 20: The Associated Press reportts that in the United States Heineken already raised wholesale prices, leading to a 5.5% increase for consumers at the cash register.
“Seeing that the domestic brands are not following that, we have not planned a price increase in the USA for 2008,” a spokesman said.