Category: Beverage Industry News
- Business of Beer 854
- Commentary 160
- Crisis Response 194
- Distribution & Retail 230
- Industry Events 23
- International 272
Green Flash Brewing, ReaperAle Form Strategic Alliance
Green Flash Brewing, Inc. and ReaperAle, Inc. have announced the formation of a comprehensive strategic alliance. Beginning immediately, Green Flash, Inc., brewer and marketer of Green Flash Brewing Co. beers, will produce and market the full range of ReaperAle beers. The alliance will bring together products that complement rather than overlap. Green Flash is known for microbrews that fit the laid-back Southern California lifestyle, while ReaperAle makes intense, high-octane ales with a macabre and humorous Grim Reaper theme. To facilitate the production of the ReaperAle products, Green Flash has invested in additional fermentation capacity and adapted their existing bottling line to fill both 12 oz. and 22 oz. bottles. The new capacity and capabilities will allow both companies to expand their respective product offerings and continue to grow strongly.
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Craft Brewers Conference Registrations Increase
Pre-conference registration for this years Craft Brewers Conference has already exceeded last year’s total attendance. The 2003 conference in New Orleans drew a little less than 1,000 participants, while so far this year, registration has surpassed 1,000. Cindy Jones, Sales and Marketing Director for the Association of Brewers, the conference host, expects total attendance this year to be over 1,100. “This is my third conference and I feel it is the best we’ve offered in my experience,” said Jones. “The San Diego and resort location seems to have helped.” The conference will be held in San Diego at the Town and Country Resort, a sprawling conference center with five restaurants, spa facilities, four swimming pools and golf course. This is the first time ever the CBC has been held in a resort-type setting and one of the few times the conference has been held in a relatively warm climate.
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It’s Scientific: Beer Bubbles Do Sink
Yes, it’s now been proven scientifically: beer bubbles can go down as well as up. Scottish scientists claim to have captured on video evidence that proves that bubbles in a glass of beer can move downwards. The Edinburgh University researchers used a high-speed digital camera to record the movement. By no small coincidence, the evidence was released to coincide with St Patrick’s Day, claiming that the effect is clearest in Irish stout. Sure, beer drinkers have claimed for years that they’ve seen bubbles sink to the bottom of their glass, but scientists had never really proved that it could happen. Now, scientists behind the joint Edinburgh University and Stanford University project said their study had given definitive proof. They found that bubbles touching the walls of a glass experience drag, and the drag prevents them floating upwards, while bubbles in the middle of the glass are free to rise. The result is a circular flow, which causes the bubbles near the edge of the glass to be pushed downwards, and was most observable in a dark beer like stout, as the contrast between dark liquid and creamy bubbles in stout made it most suitable for their research. The researchers employed an undisclosed quantity of beer in the experiments, but they insist that it was poured away afterwards to prevent any possible impairment of their judgment.
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Got Beer? It’s Good for the Bones
Another study has concluded that moderate beer consumption may have even more health benefits, this time by preventing osteoporosis through the bioavailability of silicon rooted in the beverage. The study was widely reported in the mainstream media last week after the findings were released.
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Food Network to Repeat GABF Special
The Food Network will once again broadcast the Great American Beer Festival special originally aired in October of last year. Broadcast times are: March 14, 2004 10:00 PM ET/PT
March 15, 2004 2:00 AM ET/PT
March 20, 2004 5:00 PM ET/PT
March 21, 2004 4:00 PM ET/PT
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Distilling Workshops Offered at Southwest Missouri State U.
Bavarian-Holstein Partners, the North-American representative of Arnold Holstein GmbH, have teamed up with Southwest Missouri State University to conduct workshops for the emerging distilling industry. The first workshop, the Distillery 101 class is scheduled to run March 30th-31st, 2004 at the SMSU Mountain Grove and the Mid-America Viticulture and Enology Center and will offer attendees hands-on experience with a 250 liter still. SMSU staff will conduct the class with guest speakers from Germany and the industry. Tuition is $485 per person. More information available www.potstills.com.
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Free Web Seminar on Keg Management Offered on March 17th.
A free online seminar, offered by MicroStar Keg Management, will be held this Wednesday, March 17th. The seminar will cover the advantages of outsourcing keg inventories. For small brewers, the cost of owning kegs can be a capital intensive burden. Keg outsourcing allows a third party such as MicroStar to own the kegs and lease them to the brewer. They also handle other aspects of keg management such as shipping, tracking, storage and picking up from distributors. The seminar is open to anyone in the industry who wishes to attend and takes place at 9:00 am Mountain time. Registering is required and can be done online at: http://www.microstarlogistics.com/webinar.html
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Brewer Can’t Make Health Caims
An English advertising watchdog has criticized Coors for making claims about health benefits in a four-page magazine insert promoting its Carling lager. The advertising repeats the oft-made assertions that beer in moderation protects against heart disease, reduces blood pressure and is a good source of vitamins.
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14th Annual NBWA/BREWERS Joint Legislative Conference
The 14th Annual NBWA/BREWERS Joint Legislative Conference will be held in Washington, D.C., April 25-28 at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill. The Joint Legislative Conference is a premier opportunity for wholesalers, brewers and other industry representatives to advocate before members of Congress and their staffs about the issues that affect their bottom line. This marks the first Joint Legislative Conference in two years; last year’s scheduled Legislative Conference was cancelled out of respect for U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq. Because of the cancellation, the NBWA considers it vital that this year the beer industry turns out in great numbers to lobby federal legislators. Top issues facing the industry include: Death Tax Repeal Permanency, Fighting Illegal Underage Drinking, Protecting the Three-Tier System, Repealing the ’91 Federal Excise Tax on Beer, and Industry’s Commitment to Real Progress. For further information, please contact Chris Blasinsky at 800-300-6417, e! xt. 123, or e-mail cblasinsky@nbwa.org
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Washington Brewers Guild Unveils New Marketing Campaign
The Washington (State) Brewer’s Guild has developed a new logo to promote Washington breweries as “Fresh, Local, Award Winning”. The Guild intends to provide display materials to stores and pubs with the image of an amber “W” in a pint glass. This will help consumers easily identify which beers are brewed locally in Washington state, and encourage retailers to group Washington products together, much as they now do with wines. They also plan to provide identifiers for tap handles so pub customers can make sure they’re getting locally brewed beers on draft. More information at www.washingtonbrewersguild.org.
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Micro-Distillers Conference Well Attended
The first Small Distillers Conference took place this last Friday and Saturday in the San Francisco Bay area to a crowd bigger than anticipated. Over 100 people attended the full day of talks and discussions on Saturday following Friday’s informal tour of various artisan distilleries throughout the region. Talks focused on start-up, marketing and distilling techniques. For more information on small distilling go to: wwwdistilling.com
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Big Dog’s Brewing Company Opens in Las Vegas
Big Dog’s Hospitality Group announced the opening of Las Vegas’ newest microbrewery, Big Dog’s Brewing Company. Big Dog’s Brewing Company is housed in a new 3,383 square foot addition expanding the company’s Big Dog’s Draft House Barn and Casino facility, located at 4543 N. Rancho Rd. The new facility houses a 15-barrel microbrewery system. The brewmaster is Dave Otto, formerly of the Holy Cow! Brewery on the Las Vegas Strip. The brewery now carries six handcrafted beers on tap, and will soon carry up to 12 at all times. Big Dog’s Brew will also be served at Big Dog’s Bar and Grill, 1511 N. Nellis at Owens and Big Dog’s Caf
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Utah 0.05% DUI Bill Gets Unanimous Approval
Utah, already noted for having some of the strictest alcohol-beverage regulations in the U.S., has stiffened drunk-driving rules in that state. Utah House members unanimously passed legislation that lowers the legal blood alcohol content (BAC) level for a second drunken driving stop to 0.05% for those with children in the car. Other provisions of the bill allow testing for five illegal drugs, and drivers caught with suspended licenses will face additional penalties. The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Dana Love (R-Syracuse), had originally proposed reducing BAC limits to 0.02% for first-time offenders driving with children, but revised Utah’s HB 128 to target repeat offenders at the slightly higher BAC limit. She used DUI statistics that showed high rates of child fatalities occurred when children were riding in a vehicle operated by an alcohol-impaired driver. In 2002, 6 children died in DUI-related accidents in Utah. Some lawmakers expressed concern about the stricter rules. One legislator wondered if a father who’d had a few beers after mowing the lawn would be penalized for picking up a sick child at school, citing an enforceability issue. Another legislator replied that it might be fine to go ahead and drink, but it wasn’t fine to get one’s children while under the influence. Love defended the new limits, and stated that they were not about limiting people to a set number of drinks, but about child safety.
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Glen Falconer Foundation to Provide Brewing Scholarship
The Glen Hay Falconer Foundation Brewing Scholarship, formed and directed by Glen’s family, is offering a full-scholarship to the November 2004 Siebel Institute’s Concise Course in Brewing Technology. The brewing scholarship is open to professional brewers and home brewers entering the brewing industry. This year, the scholarship is limited to candidates from the Pacific NW and Northern California regions, but the family has plans to expand the scholarship in future years. The long-term vision is to grant multiple scholarships annually, to offer grants to senior-level brewers for specialty brewing courses, and to expand the geographic scope to embrace qualified candidates from all regions of the United States. Application can be obtained at www.siebelinstitute.com and must be received no later than April 20, 2004. The selection committee is comprised of brewers and professionals related to the brewing industry.
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World Beer Cup Draws Record Entries
The Association of Brewers World Beer Cup 2004 competition received a
record number of beer entries, with 365 breweries or distributors from 39 countries entering 1,529 beers. “These record-breaking numbers show how truly international the World Beer Cup has become since its first year in 1996, where 600 beers entered from 250 breweries in 20 countries,” said Charlie Papazian, founder and president of the AOB. “The most exciting thing is that this competition keeps growing in both beer-entry numbers and consumer awareness.” A professional panel of beer judges from around the world will evaluate the participating beers in 81 categories April 13-14, 2004 at the Town & Country Resort in San Diego, Calif. The Association of Brewers will present the World Beer Cup winners with awards April 17 at the Gala Awards Dinner and beer tasting in San Diego.
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Boulevard Logo a No-go
Kansas City’s Boulevard Brewing Co. has been forced to scrap signs that feature the silhouettes of explorers Lewis and Clark. Following protests from the National Park Service, which holds the copyright to the image Boulevard planned to use, the company agreed to pull about $15,000 worth of metal signs bearing the image. They were ready to be shipped to accounts in several Midwestern states.
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Big Bonuses Dished Out for A-B Execs
Anheuser-Busch Cos. paid its president and chief executive Patrick T. Stokes a bonus of $3.14 million for last year, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing also showed that chairman August A. Busch III received a bonus of $1.35 million. The bonuses were based on pre-tax 2004 earnings, Anheuser-Busch said.
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