Biofuels to blame as beer prices soar 40 per cent in Germany

Biofuels may be good for the environment, but they are bad news for German beer drinkers. Prices in the country's pubs look set to rise by 40 per cent this year, because Germany's farmers are growing less barley for beer production and more crops for biodiesel and bioethanol.

The head of the German brewers' association, Richard Weber, has caused outrage among friends of the annual Oktoberfest beer jamboree by predicting the hefty price rise. He pointed out that the German barley crop has been halved this year and that prices have soared by 50 per cent within 12 months. Poor-quality harvests, caused by unusually hot weather, have not helped either.

Full Story

Brewers get a reprieve on organic hops ruling

An interim rule may help clear up some confusion among organic brewers. Organic hops had been required in organic beers since June 9, when a previous allowance was struck down. Several small brewers worried that their supplies of rare organic hops soon would run out.

Full Story

10 Most Bizarre Beers

The Oddee website ("Quality Entertainment") has compiled a list of the ten most bizarre beers in the world.

Their picks include:

Beer for the Blind
Pizza Beer
Beer for Kids

I've tried two of the beers listed.

How many have other people had?

And what bizarre beers have they missed?


Glass Tip: Big Norm from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Guinness Leaving Dublin?

From NAM News:

Diageo has said it is reviewing brewing operations in Ireland after local media reported the drinks giant may quit the Dublin city centre site where Guinness has been brewed for almost 250 years. "The Diageo brewing business is considering a number of important investment decisions on upgrading and renewing its brewing facilities in Ireland in the coming years," the company said in a statement.

The review was at a "very early stage" and a report in the Sunday Independent newspaper that the company was preparing to move from its landmark St James's Gate site on the banks of Dublin's River Liffey was "speculation", Diageo added. "No decisions have been made or will be made until the assessment is completed," the world's largest alcoholic drinks company said.

The site, where Arthur Guinness took out a 9,000 year lease on a disused brewery in 1759, has grown into what the brewer now describes as "a prime 64 acre (25 hectare) slice of Dublin". The Sunday Independent reported the land could fetch as much as E3bn if Diageo implements plans to move production to a greenfield site on the outskirts of the Irish capital.

Beer at the end of the rainbow

USDA Helping or Hurting Organic Beer Brand Naming?

I am very interested to see the brouhaha that is developing over whether most organic beers can legitimately claim being "organic" at all, not least because it turns out that "almost all U.S.-made organic beers contain hops that have been chemically treated to fight mildew and insects."

...and others are trying to take advantage of a clause in the law that says just 95% of a product's ingredients need to be organic to be classed as USDA Organic on the label.

Full Story

Monteith’s drinks to Toast festival

New Zealand beer brand Monteith’s has announced it will be supporting the Toast festival in London next month.

Monteith’s launched in London last month and is set to focus its marketing activities in pubs and bars, before the brand is rolled out nationally.

From Here

Kevin Roberts do you just drink brands?

Saturday came with a lot of catch-ups with ex Lion Nathan friends such as Dennis Pickup, Peter Keane, Steve Smith, Fraser Holland and other Steinlager advocates. Steinlager, New Zealand’s finest beer, has been revamped brilliantly with a new flanker called Steinlager Pure. It comes in very modern packaging, with no additives or preservatives, and beautifully captures New Zealand’s pure green global positioning. For those of us brought up on Steinlager, it has suffered over the years from its reputation for delivering the most potent of hangovers. When I worked for the company, our brewers always told me this was not justified and had more to do with the quantity consumed! Steinlager Pure, however, really attacks this issue head-on and in a positive way. It is a terrific piece of positioning. Unfortunately, Sod’s Law kicked in and I wasn’t wasn’t able to taste it as the product didn’t arrive in time for the Wellington test. They did have some in the Air New Zealand Koru Club Lounge on the way home, but 8:30am on a Sunday morning was too much for even for me.

Full Article

Steinlager Win Nick’s Life In New Zealand

Steinlager, a lager-style beer brewed by New Zealand Breweries in Newmarket, has a series of viral advertisements promoting a competition aimed at Americans. The premise of the series is that Nick, an employee of the Steinlager brewery in Auckland, will travel to New York as an ambassador for Steinlager. While he is in the United States, one lucky man will get to take his place in New Zealand, living with his parents, getting to know his girlfriend Emma, and enjoying the New Zealand scenery.



Win Nick's Life

Nelson Beer Fête

Dead Good Beer Events

Nelson Beer Fête

Featuring beers and ciders from:

Croucher’s (Rotorua), Emerson’s (Dunedin), Founders (Nelson), Green Man (Dunedin), Mussel Inn (Golden Bay), Renaissance (Blenheim), Tasman Brewing (Nelson), Townshend’s (Upper Moutere) & The Twisted Hop (ChCh).

Fri 29 June, 5.30-10.30pm

The Granary, Founders Heritage Park, Nelson

Admission $10 Ticket price includes: FREE 1st beer, FREE souvenir beer glass, FREE bus service all evening between Millers Acre Visitor Centre & Founders Park (5.20 to 10.40pm). Hot food, non-alcoholic drinks, wine and EFTPOS (no credit cards) also available.

TICKETS ARE LIMITED More info 027 416 3452/021 178 5675

Epic Pale Ale guest stars on Diggnation

Background on how the beer got to Kevin & Alex visit here

For the full episode of Diggnation visit here and here at Revision3

Digg.com

Around the world

Three beer snippets from the Kamcity website, not sure if any of them are good news though!

Item 1: A merger between brewers InBev and Anheuser-Busch is inevitable in the long run, according to a report in Belgian business weekly Trends. The magazine said that senior figures at InBev believed a merger with Anheuser-Busch at some point "belonged to the nature of things".

Item 2: Carlsberg is considering closing its Tetley facility in Yorkshire as part of a cost reduction programme in the UK, the Times newspaper reported. The brewery group is believed to be reviewing the future of the Leeds facility as part of a restructuring of its UK operations, which is aimed at reducing its cost base and stemming the steady decline in sales volumes, the report says without citing sources.

Item 3: The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has come out in defence of the supermarkets, saying they do not cause excessive drinking. In fact they are at the forefront of the drive to encourage responsible consumption and prevent under-age sales. BRC evidence shows supermarkets are rarely the outlet of choice for people buying alcohol to drink immediately. Overwhelmingly alcohol is bought from supermarkets as part of a routine shop for a full range of groceries with only one in a hundred transactions being of alcohol alone. Promotions are concentrated on larger volume purchases which are usually consumed over an extended period or at domestic social events. Stores discount alcohol in exactly the same way they do other products, to make the most competitive offer to customers. Lower prices do not create problem drinking. Banning discounting would simply penalise the vast majority of customers who drink responsibly.

Richard Emerson and Paris Hilton

Last week's column in the Wellingtonian newspaper continued the southern theme by covering Emerson's Brewery - “a craft brewery with big brewery production.” Reprinted as always with kind permission.

Home made beer from first time brewers rubbed shoulders with classic Trappist ales at the latest beer tasting at M-co. It was a two-part tasting – a standard commercial beer tasting and the grand finals of the M-co personal beverage production competition.

The final Salient column of term one was an exposition on Beer Wisdom.

And finally, a random question: Paris Hilton was the face of Bondi Blonde Low Carb beer. Will her going to jail (twice) push sales up or down?

Visit the website to vote on whether Paris should serve her sentence in Australia because (in their words) it is the world's largest penal colony and confirm that the beer's motto is "nothing goes down like a bondi blonde..."

I can't make this stuff up.

Top 21 Innovations in Beer - From Beer Milk to Beer for Dogs (GALLERY)

Fake beer bellies, beer for the blind, beer spas and beer for the kids? The world is crazy about beer and this list features the top innovations.

Full Article

Banking on the taste of a beer nation

Speight's elevation has seen Lion Red, a brand the brewer has struggled to market effectively in recent years, repositioned as an upper-North Island beer, pegging it back to what has traditionally been its strongest market.

Pure is being pitched as a smoother drink than the traditional Steinlager, made entirely of New Zealand ingredients and free of additives and preservatives.

'You're even saying no to additives in your beer now'."

MASH..."We got it from whoa to go in 11 or 12 weeks, which is pretty impressive for a big corporate like us."

Former senior Lion executive Doug McKay is now Independent's executive chairman and Kean's predecessor as head of Lion Breweries, Julian Davidson, is working with McKay in a senior financial role.

One of Kean's main challenges is dealing with a price war Lion is locked into with rival DB, a battle that led to beer prices hitting a 20-year low last Christmas as the companies jostled for market share.

Full story

Ale Life Long

What I love is the volume change that occurs in a room 20 minutes or so after everybody has grabbed a glass of beer, or wine. Laughter comes more easily, tongues loosen, voices rise, community is created in a room of individuals.

As pundits bemoan the atomisation, the individualism of modern life, it pays to remember that there is fun to be had in a group, and beer can be a useful way to get it started.

Aaron Watson keeps it real, and down to earth, with his latest beer comment in Wellington's weekly pick-me-up.

Full story here at the Capital Times website.

New beer aimed at the anti-politically correct

The flamboyant boss of a newly purchased West Coast brewery is aiming at a lucrative national market that sees around 350 million litres drunk each year.

Paddy Sweeny says the “Genuine Coast” brew is pitched at those who cannot swallow political correctness.

Watch the video from TV3

What's in a name?

Here's something worth a read this week:

In his monthly Caital Times beer post, Geoff Griggs addresses the age old consumer problem. Corproate lies.

"The prevalence of misunderstanding", Geoff states, "is exacerbated by our largest brewers who have a penchant for labelling their beers incorrectly."

I couldn't agree more. And it's not a problem limited to New Zealand, big brewers, or the even beer industry alone.