A-B gains, but Bud.TV’s future uncertain

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Anheuser-Busch reported short term gains Tuesday, saying that beer sales to retailers have rebounded in May after a disappointing April.

The brewer said sales from wholesalers to retailers for the whole company, as well as just for its core beer brands including Budweiser and Bud Light, rose at a mid-single digit percentage rate. So far, sales to retailers are up 1 percent quarter to date.

Executives also presented a broad overview of the future during A-B’s investor conference in St. Louis.

(The) told analysts that the company is focused on growing its core U.S. business even as it cranks up expansion in China and experiments in exotic drinks like a beer-tomato cocktail.

The nation’s largest brewery said it expected earnings per share to grow more than 10 percent this year, outpacing the company’s goal of 7 percent to 10 percent growth. Earnings per share in the current quarter will probably fall short of 7 percent, but growth should accelerate in the second half of the year, the company said. Last year, A-B earned $2.53 per share.

The company indicated it will again change its online marketing in response to the disappointing debut of Bud.TV.

A-B spent about $12 million to create 2,000 minutes of proprietary content for Bud.TV, which launched on Super Bowl Sunday in February.

But tight controls on the website — meant to stop underage viewers from accessing the skits and shows, some of which included beer — put the company in a “no-win situation.”

The site’s shows will likely be used at other A-B beer sites, although the company indicated Bud.TV would still play a role in marketing efforts.

Miller Chill goes national

Posted In Beers, Trends at   

Miller ChillIt seems we failed to report this earlier, but having passed test marketing with flying colors Miller Chill is going national.

Miller Brewing indicates the beer – 4.2% abv with 110 calories and 6.5 carbs – should be in all markets by the week of July 9th.

Miller Chill is modeled after a popular style of Mexican beer called a “chelada,” and flavored with lime and salt.

First Sam Adams beers brewed in Latrobe

Posted In Beers, Breweries at   

The brewing kettles at the former Rolling Rock brewery in Latrobe swung back into production Monday with the first batch of Samuel Adams beers that will be made under contract by City Brewery.

Boston Beer Co., brewer of Samuel Adams beers, signed a deal with plant owner City Brewing Co. in April to brew its products. Boston Beer said it planned to invest $3 million to $7 million to upgrade the plant in Latrobe, Westmoreland County, to accomodate its brewing processes, proprietary yeasts and extended aging time of its beer.

The plant expects to produce about 200,000 to 250,000 barrels of Samuel Adams beer through the rest of this year.

Summer beers

Posted In Beer culture, Beers at   

Woody Creek WhiteHope we’re not jumping he gun where you live, but everybody seems to be thinking about summer beers, including us.

– Don Russell suggests styles to consider today in his Joe Sixpack column, as well as individual beers to consider.

– Both Flying Dog Ales and Otter Creek have rolled out new Belgian-inspired wit/white beers.

Tom Havey of Wilsonville, Ore., won a three-day trip to Denver for for the Great American Beer Festival and VIP treatment at Flying Dog’s brewery by coming up with the name for the new Woody Creek White (pictured here). Flying Dog’s “Name our Summer Seasonal Contest” attracted about 1,500 entries.

“Woody Creek White was the perfect name because it reinforces Flying Dog’s remarkable story and the collection of social misfits that created the brand,” said Neal Stewart, Flying Dog’s director of marketing. “Woody Creek, Colorado, is a small, yet unconventional, mountain community that many people consider to be “Gonzo Ground Zero” and it is also home to our founder, George Stranahan.”

As you’d expect, Woody Creak White is cloudy – blame wheat proteins and unfiltered yeast – and has the spicy orange peel and coriander flavors associated with the style.

Otter Creek’s White Sail (5% abv) also leans on tradition, with a cloudy presentation and notes of orange and coriander. The brewery suggests serving it with an orange – ala Blue Moon Belgian White, the nation’s top-selling white beer.

– Samuel Adams’ Summer Variety Pack offers something of an instant party with two each of six different beers in the 12-pack. Three are wheat-based, including its Summer Ale – which reminds of a Belgian White. It is brewed with wheat malt, lemon zest and Grains of Paradise.

The other five: Boston Lager, Boston Ale, Cherry Wheat, Hefeweizen and Pale Ale.

Coors fights ‘warm beer syndrome’

Posted In Beers, Just for fun at   

To promote its new Cold Activated Bottle, Coors Light plans the “World’s Most Refreshing Happy Hour” to help “adult consumers nationwide to stop suffering from warm beer syndrome.” From the press release:

Coors Brewing Company executives, employees and distributors are joining forces to build awareness and trial of the company’s latest innovation, the Cold Activated Bottle. Mountains on the label turn from white to blue when Coors Light is at the optimal temperature for cold refreshment. In cities nationwide, Coors ambassadors will be working with retailers to engage consumers and encourage trial of the Cold Activated Bottle.

“When drinkers choose Coors Light, they’re looking for refreshment. The Cold Activated Bottle is designed to ensure that drinkers experience the coldest, most refreshing beer possible,” said Andy England, chief marketing officer for Coors Brewing Company. “On May 18, we are celebrating our newest innovation by inviting consumers to come out and raise a cold one for the World’s Most Refreshing Happy Hour.”

It seems we all have our own way of celebrating American Craft Beer Week.

How strong is that beer?

Posted In Beer culture, Just for fun at   

CBS 4 in Denver found out not everybody knows even close to how much alcohol is in their beer.

“Twenty eight percent?” said one man. “Seven percent,” said another.

Alan Gionet put together a story that explains why some beers are stronger, as well as listing their strengths. Pretty basic stuff if you’re already a beer enthusiast, but with more consumers turning to craft beer every day quite useful.

Things get confusing when you get to dark beers. Many think they have more alcohol. Not true. The chocolaty colored Guinness Draught sports only about four percent. That’s less than Bud Light, Coors Light or Miller Lite.

“That is one of the classic misperceptions about beer strength,” said Eric Warner, co-owner, or “Lead Dog” as he likes to title himself of Flying Dog Brewery in Denver.

“The strength in beer comes from how much grain you put in, not the color of the grain,” Warner said. “Alcohol actually has, contributes a flavor and a lot of times what you’re doing in the brewing process to create more alcohol, you’re going to get more flavor out of it as well.”

Warner said there seems to be demand for higher alcohol beers right now and his company is responding with some heavyweights.

“As the category of craft beer keeps evolving, people want to try newer bolder products,” Warner said.

We’ve got our own list at Realbeer.com that includes not only alcohol strength, but calories and carbs when available.

Westmalle goes big; Stone goes small

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New packages for popular beers:

– Merchant du Vin announces that Westmalle Dubbel will be available soon in a 750 ml bottle with a cork finish. The Trappist beer currently is sold in 330ml bottles (and still will be). For many, Westmalle Dubbel personifies (if a beer can have a personality) the dubbel or “double” style. The monks at Westmalle began brewing a dark beer in 1836, and in 1922 were the first to use a dark sugar syrup in their beer to make the beer stronger (the Dubbel is 7.3% abv) without bloating the body. That has become a hallmark of the style.

– Stone Brewing Co. announces that its Ruination IPA, previously available in 22-ounce bottles, will also be sold in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles. From the press release:

One of the most bitter beers in America, ringing in at over 100 IBUs (International Bitterness Units), Stone Ruination IPA was first released in June of 2002 and has since become one of the best respected beers in the “Double IPA” style category. Many brewers across the nation have even argued that “San Diego (Style) Pale Ale” is a more fitting name for this category, due to the origination of the style in the San Diego County region. Stone Brewing secured its position in that legacy at the very beginning by releasing some of the very first Double IPA’s in the world: the Stone Anniversary IPAs (1998 to 2001), followed by the release of Stone Ruination IPA in 2002. These beers were an instant hit with fans, many of whom are unapologetic “hopheads” (i.e., people who enjoy very hoppy, bitter beers such as India Pale Ales.) In fact, much of the initial prompting for Stone Ruination IPA, one of the first year-round bottled double IPAs in the world, came right from the fans themselves.

“Regardless of whether or not Stone Ruination IPA and the Stone Brewing Co. created ‘firsts,'” says Stone CEO Greg Koch, “the more important factor is that the beer has maintained its position as one of the principal leaders of the category. And now it leaps forward as being one of the first Double IPAs to be released with year-round availability in 12-ounce six packs.” So, why the change to smaller bottles? Since the beer is not only bitter but also quite strong (7.7% abv), it makes sense to have it available in conveniently sized 12-ounce bottles in addition to the 22-ounce “bomber” bottles (which will still be available). And if fans still want more? Well, there’ll still be five bottles left! Lucky them.

Belgian brewery rolls out Zer0% beer

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Alken-Maes has launched a new non-alcoholic beer in Belgium.

The subsidiary of Scottish & Newcastle plans to sell ZerO% in about 300 nightclubs throughout the country beginning in June.

Alken-Maes hopes Maes ZerO% will appeal to young adults who deliberately choose not to drink alcohol when they have to drive. The new beer, with a dash of lime, will be available in a trendy bottle and have a refreshing taste, the brewery says.

Previously, Belgian brewers marketed their non-alcholic beers to those with health concerns.

Lemon your Widmer

Posted In Just for fun at   

Warning: Do not visit LemonYourWidmer.com if you have any lemons watching your computer monitor.

This will devastate them.

What you will find there is a collection of videos revolving around lemons and Widmer Hefeweizen, the Oregon beer most often served with a lemon in the glass.

How the lemon gets in the glass is subject of many of these mini-movies, some more amusing than others.

Canadian beer industry ‘disappearing’

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Steven Poirier, president of Moosehead Breweries, sounded an alarm about the future of Canadian brewing in a speech delivered Monday.

‘‘Close to 90 per cent of all beer sold in Canada today is controlled by foreign brewers,’’ Poirier said. Moosehead is now the largest independent Canadian brewery, with just 5.5% of national beer sales.

Poirier said the three fastest growing beer brands in Canada are U.S. brands.

‘‘Are we destined to become the largest consumers of American beer outside the United States? From our perspective it certainly appears so,’’ he says.

The story.

Supermarket beer choices increase

Posted In Beers at   

What would you think a headline reading “Beer Fragmenting in Supermarkets” would mean?

That there are broken bottles all over the floor?

No, Miller’s Brew Blog reported: “For the 13 weeks ended April 28, the top 20 beer brands commanded 72.3% of supermarket volume, according to beer sales statistics from Nielsen. That’s down a point and a half from 73.8% share in 20004.”

That means more diversity and more access to what the blog calls “worthmore” brands.

Samuel Adams sales, profits soar

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Boston Beer Co., brewer of the Samuel Adams beers as well as other products, reported fiscal first-quarter profit more than tripled due to greater sales and higher prices.

Boston Beer said it sold nearly 400,000 barrels of its beverages, or 22% more than what it sold in the prior-year period.

Not all of that was beer, but by comparison only two other craft breweries in the country – Sierra Nevada Brewing and New Belgium Brewing – produced as in all of 2006 as Boston Beer made in the first quarter.

Martin Roper, Boston Beer Company President and CEO, predicted a good year, but not necessarily as robust as the first quarter.

“Looking forward, we remain confident that our full-year depletions growth will be in the low double digits just below last year’s depletions growth performance,” he said. “While we believe as the leading craft brand that we are well positioned in the better beer category, we anticipate increased competition this summer and matching first quarter depletions and shipment growth trends for the full year could be challenging.”

Alcoholic beer taster blames brewer

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A Brazilian court has ordered local brewer Ambev to pay $49,400 to an alcoholic beer taster who drank more than three pints a day. The employee alleged that the company did not provide the health measures needed to keep him from developing alcoholism, a labor court in the Rio Grande do Sul state said in a statement Friday.

The employee said in his lawsuit that for more than a decade, he drank between 16 and 25 small glasses of beer during his eight-hour shifts at the company.

An initial ruling had favored Ambev, or Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, which can still appeal the decision. The company alleged the employee already was an alcoholic before becoming a beer taster.

[Via Yahoo! News]

Craft Beer Week caters to beer tourists

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Great American Beer TourIs your passport up to date? That is your beer passport.

Small breweries across the country will be stamping those passports during American Craft Beer Week May 14-20. Frequent visitors on The Great American Beer Tour can earn a variety of prizes, including a trip to the American Beer Festival.

“America’s small brewers are part of a movement, a shift in consciousness, and the trading up of what beer people drink,” said Julia Herz, a spokesperson for the Brewers Association. “American Craft Beer Week will highlight craft brewers and the beer drinkers that support this grassroots effort.”

The tour supports the week’s theme – “Visit your local brewery.” Participants earn points for each brewery visit, allowing them to earn premiums such as beer mugs and logo shirts. The beer tour traveler who accumulates the greatest number of points will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two to the 26th Great American Beer Festival held in Denver, Colorado October 11-13, 2007. More than 850 Brewers Association member breweries will have passports to validate. They are also available online.

Many breweries plan special events during the week, and a list can be found at the Craft Beer Week website.

Among those with special plans is Flying Dog, which will conduct tours and give away prizes at both the Flying Dog Brewery in Denver and the Wild Goose Brewery in Frederick, Md.

In Denver, tour-goers will be registered to win a variety of Flying Dog prizes, including pint glasses, and one grand prize winner will receive a three-day pass to the Great American Beer Festival in October. All week, tours will be given by Flying Dog’s brewers, culminating with German-trained brewermaster and CEO Eric Warner giving the brewery tour on May 18. (Here’s a complete tour schedule).

“It’s rare that the brewers have a chance to get away from the Brewhouse to give a tour, so we think it will be a special treat for visitors to get an extremely inside look at our brewing process,” said Flying Dog’s director of marketing Neal Stewart. “And Eric probably only gives four or five tours a year, so this is an excellent opportunity for Flying Dog fans to interact with one of the country’s most knowledgeable brewers.”

World Beer Fest – Raleigh

Posted In Beer culture, Beers, Just for fun at   

Posted by Banjo Bandolas

Let me preface this fieldtrip report with a simple declaration. “I am not a beer writer, a beer judge, or a brewer. I simply work for a beer magazine and enjoy the side benefit of visiting breweries and attending beer fests immensely.” I recently returned from attending the World Beer Fest and thought I’d share the experience with fellow beer lovers in the Real Beer community.

There’s only one thing I like more than a Carolina pulled pork BBQ sandwich, that’s a fine beer to enrich the experience. So my attendance at the bi-annual World Beer Fest in Raleigh, NC was as close to a nirvanic experience as this son of the south has ever gotten.

The day was picture perfect in North Carolina’s capital city. Though the weatherman had been forecasting doom and gloom all week, the predicted storms never materialized and perfect spring weather rewarded the thousands of beer enthusiasts who attended the sold out event.

World Beer Fest

The festival was held downtown in Moore Square, a short walk from the capital building. The park was large enough to give everyone plenty of space to spread out and relax, unlike some fests I’ve been to where sitting in the grass to enjoy a beer puts you in serious danger of being trampled by other attendees.

The first thing I had to do upon entering the fest was decide which of the two huge tents sheltering the beer stations I’d visit first. With over 400 beers to choose from and only 4 hours to act on my selections I didn’t make the choice lightly. Fortunately I found Flying Saucer had created eight flight lists that took the pressure off.

The flights were as follows:

  • Hop Heads Delight – The festivals bitterest beers.
  • Going Green – Organic beers
  • Brews from Belgium – Belgian originals and American interpretations.
  • Tar Heel Beers – North Carolina breweries
  • Not Afraid of the Dark – Dark flavorful beers
  • Classic British Ales – Beers that were the inspiration for the American craft brew revolution.
  • Culture Clash – Original European styles and American interpretations.
  • You Put What In My Beer? – There’s more to beer than barley, hops, yeast, and water.

    I admit I felt a bit ambitious when I checked Tar Heel Beers, Not Afraid of the Dark, and You Put What in My Beer?. I took a deep breath, unsheathed my festival glass, closed my eyes and threw myself into the crush of humanity. It wasn’t too bad. The lines were seldom longer than 3 or 4 at any of the stations I went to as I sampled and checked off beer after beer.

    World Beer Fest

    I admit, my palette was a bit jaded, I live in Oregon and I’d just attended the Craft Brewers Conference in Austin, Texas the week before. That combination can make it a daunting task to find something really new and interesting. I was working my way thru the Tarheel beers which, though they were all well-built microbrews, didn’t really stand out for me, when a tall, flush-faced man broke from the crowd in front of me.

    I was at station 6, cleansing my palette with a sample of Rare Vos by Brewery Ommegang when he appeared and muscled his way thru the sea of happy beer drinkers. He squeezed by me and grabbed the arm of the young man directly behind me.

    “You have to try the Clipper City Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale!” he shouted over the din.

    “Yeah I’ll work my way over there!” the young man shouted back.

    “It’ll be gone! There’s a line and and and … it’ll be all gone dude!” the tall man said dragging his friend away.

    That sounded like a beer worth sampling to me so I leapt into action. Struggling against the tide I went for the nearest exit, burst from the East Martin St. beer tent, quickly consulted my station map, then ran (yes I said RAN) around the outside of the tent and dove into the crowd clogging the South Person St. beer tent entrance and worked my way to the Clipper City Brewery station.

    Compared to other stations there was a pretty good line. A dozen people waited in front of the popular Baltimore brewer’s station when I arrived and joined the queue, panting and clutching my glass. They all seemed to be asking for the Loose Cannon. I greeted the guys I’d heard about it from with a smug grin when they showed up minutes later. Yes! Beer fest training pays off once again.

    Two ounces of Clipper City Loose Cannon Hop3 Ale was worth the trouble. It was a complex with sweet and tart components that blended beautifully with the hop punch. I enjoyed it immensely and plan to work my way thru the rest of their Heavy Seas series when I get the chance.

    World Beer Fest

    After checking off several more good but, sorry, unremarkable North Carolina beers I made a beeline for the All About Beer tent for the first of three presentations slated for the afternoon.

    The sight of two clowns lounging on a bench pulled me up short half way to my destination. I’m not talking about people acting like jerks … These were actual clowns in full clown regalia. And they were, how can I put this nicely…a bit creepy. It was kind of a Stephen King moment that I decided to let go of before my mind went too far down that dark dark road. I did snap a picture though. You never know when the picture of a creepy clown might come in handy, like the next time a toddler gives me some sass. “You don’t want to see me mad son … I’ll go full blown clown on you!”

    The presentations; A Lightning Tour of Classic Beer Styles, Pairing Food and Beer, and Weird Beers of the Fest, were set and hour apart.

    I settled into my seat and beer writer Gregg Glaser launched into his talk about different beer styles and the history behind them. That’s when a wonderful thing happened. Servers started bringing beers to me! Excellent! Here I was, comfortable… getting educated on beer…and being served a selection of great brew. I could get used to this. In fact I decided to do just that. At the end of the first presentation, which was very interesting by the way, I searched out a few select beer stations for untried beers I’ve wanted to add to my list and hustled back for the next presentation. Weird Beers of the Fest with Rick Lyke. There seemed to be a problem with accessing the chosen beers unfortunately and in the end the beers presented weren’t nearly as weird as I hoped but it was all good. The one beer that really turned my head was…and I’m sure no one will be surprised…a Dogfish Head brew. I don’t know how Sammy does it but my god he comes up with some fantastic taste bud teasers.
    Dogfish Head Immort Ale is brewed with organic juniper berries, vanilla & maple syrup then aged in oak and fermented with a blend of English & Belgian yeasts. My first thought was a long Ernest worthy … ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

    Thankfully I’d already tried some before I heard the ingredients. It was, in a word, fabulous. The beer is a burnt orange in color and emitted a sweet aroma with hints of malt, juniper, and oak. The flavor was a smooth and sweet mixed with a gin-like juniper tartness that finished lightly bitter and dry. Very pleasing.

    World Beer Fest

    This time I filled the break with a wonderful combination of North Coast Red Seal Ale and a bit of BBQ at the bandstand. The band, Guta, was a cover band that did a pretty good job of reproducing a lot of great hits from the 60’s 70’s and 80’s. The music and food put me in the perfect frame of mind for that third and final presentation, Pairing of Food and Beer by Julie Bradford, editor of All About Beer Magazine. Now, not only was I being plied with beer, but getting fed as well. Score!

    Julie did a great job choosing and pairing the cheese, sausage, and chocolate to world class beer. It was a perfect end to the session for me and I enjoyed and savored all of it and unfortunately I can’t remember the name of a single beer from the presentation. Sorry, what can I say, I’d been drinking for over four hours by that time and even if I could find my notes from that presentation I doubt I could read them. So suffice it to say, it was all really, really good.

    The World Beer Fest, created and produced by All About Beer Magazine, was one of the finest beer fests I’ve ever attended.
    I don’t know if it was the perfect weather, the great selection of Import and American craft brew dispensed at the optimum temperature (not a clinker in the bunch I sampled), the food, the music, the mellow happy crowd, or the interesting beer education side events that pushed my pleasure buttons. But the overall effect wrapped it up into a pleasant little package and made it a great day to share beer and cheer with friends and family.

    Well done All About Beer, I look forward to WBF in Durham this fall.