DB takes measures as changes brew

At the same time, the tough economic conditions meant the trend for beer drinkers to trade up to premium brands had slowed, and many had gone back to cheaper brews.

And many consumers were saving money by having a drink at home rather than going out at night.

Blake estimated overall beer consumption declined 4-5% in the year to September, compared with the previous year.

"It's been a huge category shift and I've never seen that sort of momentum before in the market," Blake said.

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(NOTE: The Brewers Guild of New Zealand has done a craft beer survey which showed that for the first six month of the year craft beer bottled sales had increase 10%)

DB CANCELS SAISON TRADEMARK

DB Breweries is in the process of cancelling the registration of its Saison trademark with the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ). The company has held the trademark since April 2002.

DB Breweries’ general manager marketing Clare Morgan says the decision to cancel the trademark was a logical one given the company hasn’t produced Saison for a considerable time.

“We haven’t brewed Monteith's Saison for six years and we have no intention of re-launching it to the market as it no longer fits our current Monteith’s portfolio. The brand was very well received when it was first launched but we ceased production in 2003.”

Clare Morgan says the cancellation of the Saison trademark has no bearing on the company’s ‘Radler’ trademark.

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Lion Nathan affected by competition, supermarket sales

But DB is a discounter. It has been selling Heineken at prices significantly lower than the comparable Heineken selling prices in Australia, the report said.

Also, de-regulation of the New Zealand liquor industry in 1999 allowed supermarkets to sell alcohol for the first time.

"This changed industry dynamics as it led to significantly more competition at the off-premise retail level," the report said.

As a result off-premise sales increased at the expense of on-premise sales.

The combination of the impact of supermarkets, discounting and other minor factors had resulted in a 6 percent reduction in the real price of off-premise beer since 1999.

"Competition in New Zealand is expected to remain tough, with price discounting from DB Breweries and smaller participants expected to continue," the report said.

"Supermarkets, which represent some 30 percent of all alcohol sales and 22 percent of beer sales, now hold significant buying power in what is already a very competitive market."

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Row over name leaves DB in froth

The trademarking stoush between a multinational brewery and a bunch of Kiwi beer enthusiasts over the use of the beer term "radler" is starting to froth.

DB Breweries, which is now wholly owned by Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries, last week signalled its intention to fight a legal application filed in May by the Society of Beer Advocates (Soba) to invalidate its trade-marking of radler, in what is shaping as a David and Goliath beer battle.

Soba's strategy would be to establish that New Zealanders, particularly brewers, were aware of the generic nature of the term before that date.

"We may soon require the assistance of all brewers in New Zealand in our quest to show that DB are either malicious in registering a trademark they knew was a generic brewing term, or incompetent in not knowing it was, when every other brewer worth their salt did," Mr McGill said.

"One outcome means they lose the trademark, the other means they lose huge amounts of credibility by being a brewer without a clue about beer."

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Radler - the battle lines are drawn

In a cynical, but widely predicted move designed to maximise the distance from May's negative publicity, DB has waited until the very last day possible to defend its trademarking of 'radler', the name of a recognised beer style.

On Friday 10th July, the last day permissible, DB's lawyers, Simpson Grierson, submitted a counterstatement to the Intellectual Property Office of New Zealand (IPONZ), registering the brewer's intention to contest the Declaration of Invalidity filed by SOBA's patent attorneys James & Wells Intellectual Property.

What happens now?

Read the full story here to find out.

DB buys Hurricanes' home bar

The NBR understands DB has injected about $387,000 into the new company along with $258,000 from Three Jays in order to buy the bar, manage it and also operate a microbrewery on the premises.

DB, which was the head leaseholder of the bar, sent in receivers to take control of The Temperance earlier this year after concerns about its management, which sub-leased the venue.

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Good Bastard has Swipe at Radler Debacle

“Who do this arrogant bastards think they are.” Is the comment from a bemused Paddy Sweeney at the Thirsty Bloke Bottle Shop in Victoria Street.

Often referred to as the original Good Bastard, Sweeney is referring to the German owned DB and their subsidiary Montieths and their registering the German beer style Radler and the subsequent fallout with the Green Man Brewery in Dunedin.

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Big guns to fire for small NZ brewery

Beer boffins have enlisted some high-powered legal help to fight one of New Zealand's brewing giants over a trade mark.

The Society of Beer Advocates (Soba) has filed a legal application to invalidate DB Breweries' trade-marking of the beer term "radler".

The move comes after a leading firm of patent attorneys, James & Wells Intellectual Property, waded into the brewing industry stoush, originally reported in the Waikato Times on April 4, by offering the services of its specialist intellectual property litigation group on a pro-bono basis.

Earlier this year DB Breweries forced the small entrepreneurial Green Man Brewery to stop using the generic term radler and re-label its bottles, because it had trade-marked the name in New Zealand in 2003.

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Beer lovers to take on DB Breweries over trademark

In response to the frustrations expressed by the Society of Beer Advocates (SOBA) Inc about DB Breweries trade marking and preventing others from using the generic term “radler” in relation to their beer, James & Wells Intellectual Property has offered SOBA Inc the services of its specialist intellectual property litigation group on a pro-bono basis to invalidate DB Breweries' trade mark registration for RADLER.

SOBA campaigner Greig McGill says “We greatly appreciate James & Wells' involvement. As a young organisation, we couldn't have afforded to challenge this cynical misuse of trade mark law without their assistance. We look forward to justice and common sense prevailing, and the return of radler to a generic term defining a style of beer, as it should be.”

DB Breweries seems to have made a habit of trying to monopolise generic terms for beer styles and along with Radler, has also sought to register “Oud Bruin” and “Saison” with mixed success.

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Beerly Writing - St George and St Greig

From the Malthouse blog, the latest post takes a look at England, Saint George, the Bottle of Britain, London Pride and Old Speckled Hen. It is called "A most quaffable ale, by George":

In keeping with their famous reserve, English people traditionally tend to acknowledge Saint George’s Day rather than celebrate it. It is not a public holiday and, apart from a few parades and occasional happy hours, April 23 passes relatively uneventfully in the mother country. Saint George, who may not have even existed, certainly got around if he did. He is the patron saint of at least eight countries – including England, Ethiopia and Russia – and revered by diverse groups including butchers, soldiers, boy scouts, Freemasons and people with syphilis. Assuming he was a real historical figure, Saint George was certainly not English and it is possible he never even visited those green and pleasant lands.

Since I noted gently that Greig does in fact live in Hamiltron, he has done two excellent blog posts, achieved saturation media coverage and publicly attacked DB, The Herald and The Independent. I should become a motivational coach.

How can a company own a style?

Wine lovers, ask yourself how you would feel if there was only one brand of sauvignon blanc allowed to be sold in New Zealand.

What if one winery was allowed to trademark a varietal name and, in so doing, prevent anyone else from using it?

You might think it's unbelievable, but it's precisely what's happened in the case of a beer style. DB Breweries, producer of the Monteith's range of beers, has been granted a trademark on the name Radler and is now preventing other brewers from using it.

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Storm in a pint pot over radler beer - Green Man and DB slug it out

A boutique Dunedin brewery is being forced to rename its Radler beer after being told DB breweries has exclusive rights to the name.

Overseas, radler is a generic term to describe a style of shandy, but in New Zealand DB has claimed copyright on the word.

As a result, some beer lovers are now calling for a boycott of the brewing giant.

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DB goes on bar buying spree

DB Breweries is taking advantage of the slumping market to add to its hospitality portfolio, buying up three popular bars, and is in talks to build a new site in Auckland’s Botany.

DB, in conjunction with its hospitality joint venture Barworks, has purchased Takapuna’s Copper Room, Christchurch’s Soho bar, and is in discussions to purchase Degree Bar in Auckland’s Viaduct.

Barworks is a partnership between DB and JAG Hospitality, which runs the operations end, and the partnership has been responsible for a variety of popular mid-to-high end pubs such as Auckland’s successful Sale Street Brewery and The Tap Room in Christchurch.

DB owns 60% stake in Barworks, and JAG Hospitality 40%, which is run by serial-bar entrepreneurs Andrew Clapham, John Hellebrekers and Gavin Cowell.

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Sunday Fun - English Beers, Pub Reviews and Moose Hunting

Things at the Real Beer Blog have been a bit quiet of late with Luke working in England, me being in Melbourne and Greig living in Hamilton. However, with the Impish Brewer back on board with 1,374 photos and 877 tweets about his brewing and quaffing exploits still to post, there should be a lot more activity here in coming weeks.

To kick things off, my latest Wellingtonian column looks at the unlamented demise of POD and the new Green Man pub which comes complete with moose shooting mayhem:

POD was a restaurant which never suffered from self-confidence issues but perhaps should have. It was pretentious without actually being any good and had so little atmosphere you may as well have been dining on the moon or, even worse, at Eden Park.

Finally, a write up of the recent Cellar Vate tasting of English beers where 4 proper English beers went up against 4 antipodean pretenders:

As much as it may pain us to admit it, New Zealand owes much of its beer culture and beer history to England. It was Englishman Captain James Cook who brewed the first beer in Australasia and for many years our breweries produced their own colonial takes on classic British beer styles.

Glass Tips - The Wellingtonian and Cellar Vate

Beer Style - Radler - Trademarked in New Zealand by Heineken

There is some heated debate currently on the RealBeer.co.nz Forums regarding the trademarking of the beer style 'Radler' by Heineken/DB/Monteith's in New Zealand.

Back Story Here by NBR


Should a company be allow to trademark a beer style?

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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WELLINGTON BIGGEST BAR GOES BROKE AND OTHER RESTAURANT GOSS

We have it on good authority that DB stepped in and dealt a death blow to what was arguably Wellingtons biggest Bar - the Temperance complex. this morning. It was viewed as an ambitious complex by Wellingtons hospitality industry. It's fit out was estimated to be around $3 mil. DB and the Wellington Rugby Union were significant investors. Everyone is asking what Wellington Rugby is up for after the bars and restaurants failed to make good. Sad really - it would have been good to see it take off but we understand that fit out, cost overruns and very high rents meant it was an intemperate investment from day one.

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Price war flattens beer profits

The price war for packaged beer has become so intense that between them, brewers and supermarkets missed out on a whopping $66 million in the past year, DB Breweries says.

The two big brewing companies DB and Lion are now planning price rises this year of five percent and up to 10 per cent respectively.

Despite significant inflationary pressures, primarily raw material costs and wages, the price of supermarket stocked beer has stayed stagnant for well over a decade, with DB's promotional price range for mainstream beer the same today as it was 15 years ago.

In theory, a brewer needs to increase its price by a percentage that recovers input cost increases and protects existing margins, but at present input costs are rising much quicker than selling price increases.

Mr Blake estimates that raw material costs for malt, sugar, glass and aluminum have risen between 10 percent and 70 percent in the past year alone, while rival Lion has pencilled in a seven percent cost increase for 2009.

DB's beer prices went up by 5.5 percent in July, partly due to the annual excise tax increase, although many supermarkets absorbed the rise.

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DB warns of packaged beer price rise next year

DB Breweries says the price of packaged beer will "inevitably" go up by as much as 5 per cent from March 1 next year due to spiralling costs.

Liquor is living up to its reputation as recession-proof for both brewers. Lion's New Zealand managing director Peter Kean said the performance of premium brands was still strong.

"I don't think it's drinking to forget, it's more a case of not giving up all your luxuries or all your treats."

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Lion unfazed by Liquorland sale

There has been speculation over Lion Nathan’s ownership of Liquor King and Super Liquor since Foodstuffs clinched the Liquorland deal last week.

However, Lion Nathan’s New Zealand head of corporate affairs Liz Read says there are no sale plans in the works, and no one has made an offer for Liquor King or Super Liquor.

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