DB sells more RTDs but profit down

Selling more Ready-To-Drink brands meant DB Breweries sold more alcohol in the December quarter but profit dropped 28 percent, according to its parent company Asia Pacific Breweries.

The company's financial announcements show its New Zealand arm, which it took full ownership of in 2004, made a $16.8 million profit before interest and tax for the three months to December 31, a 46 percent drop on the same period last year.

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Green Fern quenches on a warm day

SOMETIMES, well OK, all the time, it's good to be the beer columnist because you get calls out of the blue about beers you normally would not come across.

One such drop is Green Fern Organic Lager from the West Coast Brewing Company in New Zealand.

Now I must confess that I have found that some Kiwi beers have failed to live up to expectations, but Green Fern doesn't.

It is a clean crisp lager with a subtle bouquet and a golden colour.

The barley and hops combine to make this a crisp beer across the palate with a hint of bitterness which adds to its appeal, particularly in quenching a thirst on a hot day.

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Beer Haiku Friday and Service is Everything

It seems almost compulsory to use both these words in everything published these days so helpfully Captain Hops has written a Haiku called "Stimulus and Bail Out Package":

He needs a bail out
After too much stimulus
Last night at the bar

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

From the Malthouse blog, some musings about how to serve beer and how not to serve beer. It is called "Service is everything":

The revelation that I love trying new beers probably ranks between “the Hurricanes are inconsistent” and “Paul Holmes loves to offer unsolicited advice” on the Surprise Scale. If I see something new, the chances are that I will try it even if my beer senses are screaming that they have a bad feeling about the whole idea.

Glass Tip - The Malthouse

Beerly Writing: Ruffling Some Feathers

In my first Wellingtonian column of the year, I have a look back at my locals over the years and in particular the recently refurbished Featherston Tavern. The column is called "Ruffling Some Feathers":

It is apparently compulsory for all marketing and communications professionals to spend a lot of time in bars and our regular was The Feathers on, unsurprisingly, Featherston Street. This was a friendly place but a bit threadbare round the edges. The decor would not have been out of place in an old episode of Emmerdale Farm.

Glass Tip - The Wellingtonian

Beer Haiku Friday - Beer Haiku #4

Today's Beer Haiku offering is one of Captain Hops' earliest offerings. It is called "Beer Haiku #4" but has a deeper meaning:

never be afraid
to order something brand new
from the tap of life

Glass Tip - Beer Haiku Daily

An ale of Epic proportions

It's a sad fact that one of this country's most highly awarded beers of recent times, Epic Pale Ale, is available from just 250 outlets. Soon, however, that number is set to quadruple to around 1000; but it won't be Kiwis benefiting.

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How Many Hops In My Beer? - Epic Pale Ale

Epic Pale Ale to be brewed in UK

Luke Nicholas, of Epic Brewing Company is going to the UK to brew a batch of Epic Pale Ale for the World's Biggest International Real Ale Festival.

The two week festival is run by giant pub company JD Wetherspoons from April 15 to May 4 2009. During this time, their 700 British pubs will sell more than 2.5 million pints of real ale. Over 50 cask ales will be available during the festival but only six will be made by international brewers.

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Tax relief for US brewers. Where's NZ at?

"On Tuesday, members introduced H.R 836, the fantastically-named Brewers Excise and Economic Relief (BEER) Act, which repeals increases in the federal beer excise tax, effectively returning it to its pre-1991 level of $9 a barrel. The bill also includes specific provisions for small brewers, reducing their tax burden by half."

Far more useful from an economic point of view than sending good money after bad in the form of bailouts and "stimulus packages".

Here's hoping our Government sees fit to follow suit.

Full story from Draft Magazine.

Coca-Cola Amatil parent scuttles Lion Nathan merger

Coca-Cola Amatil has called off its $A7 billion takeover talks with Lion Nathan, saying its US-based parent has rejected the proposal.

Coca-Cola Company, which owns a 30% stake in Australia-based Coca-Cola Amatil (CCA), has written to Lion Nathan's major shareholder, Japan’s Kirin Holdings, calling off discussions, CCA says in a statement.

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Hopside Down Beer Mug Glass

Fred likes to glug his beer right from the bottle, but Mrs. Fred is appalled. So Fred went out and did something about it – he created this bottle-in-a-glass as an homage to real men like him. Hopside Down is hand-blown, precisely crafted, and unexpectedly deluxe. Since the bottle is double walled, it's insulated and prevents your hands from warming up the beer, keeping it nice and frosty like it should be!

Link

Beer Haiku Friday and More about Mayhem

This week's Haiku is designed to encourage people to enter a Beer Haiku contest but it is actually a great little poem in its own right. It is called "Flying Dog Haiku Contest":

Why do beer lovers
Gravitate to short poems?
There’s more time for beer.

Glass Tip - The always reliable chaps at Beer Haiku Daily

Blogging has resumed in earnest over at the Malthouse site with the latest offering called "On my command, unleash Mayhem":

It is more balanced than last years' offering when Luke declared that Mayhem would "wilfully maim and cripple the palates of the most extreme hop head" but, make no mistake, this is still a tremendously hoppy drop.

Glass Tip - Malthouse proprietor Colin the Handsome (self-proclaimed) and Softly-Spoken (media labelled) Scotsman

Epic Beer - Made From New Zealand

NEW BEER - Epic Mayhem

2nd February 2009
6.2% acl/vol
26 hops per bottle

Beer Awards
Best in Class - Festive Brew - BrewNZ 2006
Gold - Festive Brew - BrewNZ 2006

Available at the following festivals
14 Feb - Kumeu Beer Wine & Food Festival
28 Feb - NZ Beer Festival - Wellington
14 Mar - NZ Beer Festival - Auckland

Available On Tap -
The Malthouse
Hallertau
Regional Wines & Spirits

Available in 500ml bottles -
Outlets to be announced via Twitter
follow me on http://twitter.com/epicbeer

Brewed with
UK Pale Ale, Munich and Crystal malts
US Cascade & NZ Riwaka hops

Official Release can be read here

More on Epic Mayhem here