Category: Beverage Industry News
- Business of Beer 854
- Commentary 160
- Crisis Response 194
- Distribution & Retail 230
- Industry Events 23
- International 272
‘The Beer Show’ takes Entries for Best Beer Name and Best Slogan
The Beer Show on 990 AM Main Street Radio, serving the Dallas/Ft. Worth area will feature the 10 best brewery slogans and the 10 most unusual beer names in one of its upcoming shows. Brewers can submit your entry to eric@eurosourceamerica.com or fax them to (214) 357-5280. Breweries making the list in either category will be mentioned on the air and informed by e-mail.
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Off-Sales Approved for Hawaii Brewpubs
On July 10, 2004, Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle signed into law Hawaii’s SB2606, a bill that allows brewpubs to sell sealed containers of beer manufactured on the premises to be consumed elsewhere. The bill specifically amends brewpub licensing law to authorize brewpubs to sell beer for consumption off-premises. Until SB2606 was signed into law, brewpubs in Hawaii had to go through a distributor to offer their beers for off-premises consumption, but with the low potential volume of off-sales, the law was seen as one that discouraged distributors from getting involved. Hawaii state senators passed the law, saying that letting brewpubs sell sealed containers of their beers would give smaller, locally owned brewpubs in the state a way to tap into a larger segment of the beer consuming market, which in Hawaii is dominated by large national breweries based on the mainland USA. In addition, allowing brewpubs to sell beer for off-premises consumption was seen as a way to provide increased jobs in Hawaii’s brewing industry and increase revenues for the state.
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BAA Offers Third Web-inar
Representatives of over two-dozen small breweries, as well as industry association executives and allied industry members, recently participated in the latest Brewers’ Association of America Professional E-Conference Seminar
(PECS) on Tax and Trade Bureau tax audits. Victoria McDowell, TTB’s Assistant Administrator for Field Operations, led the presentation titled “TTB Tax Audits: What You Need To Know.”
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German Specialty Brewer Fights Reinheitsgebot
There was a time in bygone centuries when German brewing offered a dizzying range of styles, many of them unique to their home regions. Then came unification in the latter part of the 19th century, and with it the nationwide adoption of a version of Bavaria’s centuries-old Reinheitsgebot, the beer purity law that limits ingredients used in beer to malt, hops, and water – and yeast, but the nature of yeast wasn’t understood in the old days, so it was added to the modern purity law. But many ingredients used elsewhere as brewing adjuncts remain forbidden to modern German brewers. From the end of World War II until the German Reunification, German brewing again went two separate ways for a while; the Communist government of the former German Democratic Republic allowed the use of some adjuncts in beer brewing. One such brewery that made use of these adjuncts was the small brewery in the town of Neuzelle, near the border with Poland. The brewery made a dark specialty beer with invert sugar syrup, an ingredient allowed by the former Communist regime, and permitted for a few years after Reunification. But eastern German brewers are now supposed to obey the country’s purity laws, and this has created friction between Helmut Fritsche and Germany’s regulatory authorities, making him something of a beer outlaw. Fritsche took over the Klosterbrauerei Neuzelle in 1993, buying it from the Treuhandanstalt, the agency set up to sell off former GDR state-run businesses. Now, German regulators are threatening Fritsche with a 20,000-euro fine. The charge is illegally labelling his brew, made with a mixture of black beer malts and sugar syrup, as “beer.” The addition of syrup to the brew makes it illegal to be labeled as beer under German law. Fritsche is not taking the matter lightly, declaring that the law is “infringing on the creativity of small brewers.”
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Strong Beer not Showing up in Georgia – Yet
July 1 marked the date that the new higher limits on beer-alcohol content took effect in the state of Georgia. The new law raises the allowed beer-alcohol limit from 6% to 14%, allowing all but a very small number of commercially produced beers to be sold in that state, but direct results of the change may not be seen until later in the month. Under the new law, distributors can now stock stronger drafts, but it may take some time for the beer to arrive at bars in the state. Georgia’s new law, which passed the state Senate in February, makes Georgia one of 39 states to permit the sale of high alcohol content beer. At the beginning of July, distributors in the state hadn’t announced new brands that they’d be stocking, leaving managers and bartenders to guess at what would eventually be available. Distributors cited the typical lead time involved in getting shipments into their warehouses, and each new beer brought into Georgia will require proper state regulatory approval before it can be stored and distributed.
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Cargill Opens New Seattle Warehouse
Cargill Malt/Specialty Products Group has opened a warehouse in central Seattle to better meet the pale- and specialty-malt needs of regional brewers, microbreweries, and brewpubs in the Pacific Northwest. “We have chosen a United Warehousing location for our site, given its superior facilities and extensive trucking fleet,” said Ron Ryan, account executive for Cargill Malt/Specialty Products Group. The Cargill Malt warehouse is adjacent to Safeco Field at 1750 Occidental Avenue South, providing easy freeway access to customers for all of their malt needs. The warehouse offers Cargill’s proprietary malts and also carries the full lines of Dingemans, Pauls, and Meussdoerffer malts, as well as a selection of Weyermann, Crisp, and Gambrinus malts, in 50- or 55-pound bags. In addition, regional customers now have direct access to a full line of flaked and torrified malt products. “This convenient location enables us to provide next-day delivery of our products to customers in the greater Seattle and Portland areas,” said Ryan. “Having a presence in this region also translates into significant savings for our Pacific Northwest customers through dramatic decreases in transportation costs.” Ryan said that the new Seattle warehouse is a key addition to Cargill Malt’s nationwide malt distribution network. That network also includes warehouses in northern California, Denver and Minnesota; bulk trans-load sites in Washington, northern and southern California and Vermont; and malt-houses in Wisconsin, North Dakota and Saskatchewan.
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Craft Brewer Opens the Doors to Homebrewers
Looking for a way to create good will among your local homebrewers and beer fanatics, perhaps your best most loyal customer base? Fantasy Brew Day. That’s what Dillon Dam Brewery calls this open house brewing event, where homebrewers, beer connoisseurs, or anyone else willing and able can fulfill their fantasy – brewing beer in a real brewery. “They’ll get a little dirty,” Brewmaster Matt Luhr said. “It’s going to be real hands on. They’ll do transfers, analysis, dilution – the whole process. Most home-brewers are in the 5-gallon range,” Luhr said. “Here they’ll be dealing with a 16-barrel system.”
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Michigan Brewery Offers Unique Ownership Opportunity
Robert-Thomas Brewing Company of Grand Rapids, Michigan has a for sale sign on the front door – but this is not your typical sale. The owners, Robert Kowalewski, Thomas Prame, and Jim Roffey are looking for someone to take the business over and gain full ownership for “sweat equity and working capital,” said Prame. “We tried for six months to sell, but potential buyers just wanted the equipment. We just don’t want to shut the place down,” he said. “Before we sell it all off and leave the industry, we are willing to try to fulfill someone else’s dream of owning a brewery.”
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S&N Plans Major Investment in Caledonian Brewery
Number One British brewer Scottish & Newcastle will upgrade its Caledonian brewery, investing 2 million pounds. The upgrade will double the brewery’s capacity to brew flagship brand McEwan’s, which is currently produced at the Fountain Brewery. S&N has already announced the impending closure of the Fountain Brewery, and will move McEwan’s production to Caledonian. The Fountainhead closure is part of a 45 million-pound cost-cutting and consolidation effort; S&N will also close its Newcastle plan, shifting production of its Newcastle Brown Ale brand switch to the Federation Brewery at Gateshead.
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Top Stories of the Year – So Far
It has been an exceptionally busy first half of the year in the specialty beer business. After a slow non-news January, February started out with the major announcement that Pyramid Breweries acquired Portland Brewing. And from then on, the news just kept on pouring. The following top stories were reported in full detail in BEERWeek, the weekly emailed newsletter from ProBrewer.com, covering trends, news and analysis of the specialty beer category. To find out more about BEERWeek, go to: www.probrewer.com/pb/subscribe.php
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Union Colony Brewery Closes
The past few years have not been kind to the Union Colony Brewery, in Greeley, Colorado. It’s slumped through a down economy since 2001, and the city’s smoking ban, enacted last December, didn’t help either. The brewery and pub, in business since Nov. 14, 1994, finally threw in the towel, and closed on May 26. One regular likened the brewpub’s closing to a blow to the community’s soul, and the Union Colony Brewery was the only brewpub in Greeley. Business conditions were aggravated by the sudden appearance of chain restaurants and bars in the city, which one regular dubbed “the Wal-Marts of the food and drink business.” There was also the general economic fallout of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, and the smoking ban saw Union Colony Brewery’s business drop by about 25 percent, as smoking customers gravitated to bars in nearby areas that didn’t prohibit smoking. The pub was known for beers such as Homestead Honey, Pawnee Buttes K
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AOB Increases Brewery Representation on Board of Directors
The Association of Brewers Board of Directors recently filled three At-Large positions, growing the board to 19 members. The AOB announced last week the addition of Steve Bradt, head brewer of Free State Brewing Co. in Lawrence, Kansas, Sam Calagione, brewer and owner of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Milton, Delaware and Brock Wagner brewer and owner of Saint Arnold Brewing Company in Houston, Texas. All of these At-Large Board of Director members also hold positions on the Association of Brewers Advisory Board.
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Mid America Brewing Supply Buy’s Brewer’s Supply Group
Mid America Brewing Supply, a Minnesota based distributor of brewing ingredients that is wholly owned by Rahr Malting Company of Shakopee, MN, has purchased Brewer’s Supply Group, a wholesale distributor of brewing ingredients with operations in Newport, RI (Brewer’s Wholesale Supply), San Leandro, CA (Premium Brewer’s Supply) and Yakima, WA (Brewer’s Lemmens Hops). Mid America has also purchased an interest in Superior Malt Handling of St. Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada. The Mid America Brewing Supply name will be retired in the near future and the Brewer’s Supply Group name will be adopted. Brewer’s, Mid America, and Premium Brewer’s customers may continue to place their orders through the individual company’s toll free order lines.
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Beer Radio to get National Syndication
The producers of Beer Radio – The Official Radio Program for the U.S. Beer Drinking Team (USBDT) have selected McMahon Media to spearhead national and international syndication expansion for Beer Radio. Beer Radio is the only national radio program dedicated to the 90,000,000 beer drinkers who spend $75 billion per year in the USA. Beer Radio celebrates “your best beer on your best day with your best friends”. Beer Radio’s host “Big Don” O’Brien and his beer buddies talk about “everything beer,” including Budweiser, Miller, and Coors, as well as great microbrews and international beers. Segments include: Beer and Sports, Beer and Music, Beer Careers, Cooking with Beer, Beer and Fitness, Defenders of Beer, Draft Report, Home Brew, Think B4U Drink! and more. Beer Radio broadcasts during Saturday sports and tailgating drive-time from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM (eastern). A 90 second daily vignette called “The Beer Minute” will be included in each affiliate package. Beer Radio is the only syndicated radio program with a “built in” loyalty program. The USBDT is the only national loyalty program for American beer drinkers. As part of Beer Radio’s affiliate marketing and loyalty program, each affiliate station will have access into the USBDT’s national loyalty and promotion database.
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A-B, Miller split court decision
A federal judge has ordered Anheuser-Busch Cos. to pull one of its of ads in a new campaign that targets its chief rival, Miller Brewing Co., as being South African-owned – but ruled that A-B can continue running most of its new commercials. U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman said posters displayed in liquor stores falsely state that Milwaukee-based Miller is owned by South African Breweries.
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Hawaii Brewpub Off-Sales a Signature Away
Hawaii’s state Senate Bill 2606, allowing small brewpubs to sell their customers kegs and half-gallon jugs to go, is awaiting Gov. Linda Lingle’s endorsement. The bill, which passed unopposed, would permit brewpubs to sell beer to customers for off-premises consumption, by eliminating the requirement of having the product go through a distributor. Supporters promoted the bill as an economic incentive, arguing that it would open new markets and thus add to sales for the state’s brewpubs. Brewpubs were made legal in Hawaii in 1994, but have found the going difficult, and many that opened in that state over the last ten years have not survived; only nine remain of the 25 brewpubs that have opened. In addition to selling to-go beer, brewpubs would also have the potential of selling kegs directly to restaurants without going through the distribution tier. If Gov. Lingle signs the bill, county liquor commissions would have to determine if new language is needed to permit off-premises sales.
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Alcohol shipping showdown
The Supreme Court agreed this week to decide if states can ban direct shipments of wine to consumers from out-of-state wineries. Ultimately, the decision could also affect smaller breweries that hope to sell directly to consumers, bypassing traditional distribution channels.
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