Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co will raise beer prices and start processing its own barley this year, as it joins other Chinese food and beverage companies moving into upstream production processes to battle rising raw material costs, Reuters reported March 5.

Yanjing Brewery said it would lift prices of select products in certain regions.

It will also establish barley processing operations in two provinces and push sales of high-end products, its annual report said.

Chinese makers of beer, wine and dairy products are moving to protect margins after prices of agricultural products, including wheat, raw milk and sugar, surged in 2007 and are still rising.

"Inflation actually benefits big players in the industry, like Yanjing and spirits maker Moutai (Kweichow Moutai Co Ltd, as it gives them an excuse for raising prices," said Guo Changsheng, analyst at Shanghai Securities.

"Rising costs would also help to eliminate smaller rivals with less pricing power and accelerate consolidation."

Yanjing's profit jumped 33 percent last year, outpacing its 15 percent gain in sales despite cost increases, as it sold more premium products and raised prices of six products in December.

Yanjing, which dominates the Beijing beer market with an 85 percent market share, also said it expected sales volume to double by ...More Info

A brewery has taken a major step towards being self-sufficient in energy. Scottish and Newcastle (S&N) will be the first in the world to produce both electric and heat from spent grain, a by-product of the brewing process, Energycurrent reported March 3.

Wartsila has been awarded two contracts to supply and install equipment for two biomass-fuelled combined heat and power plants (CHP) at premises in Manchester. The CHP plants will each have a thermal output of 7.4 MWth and an electrical output of 3.1 MWe. The plants, which will burn a mixture of spent grain and wood chips from local sources, are due to start operations in the first and second quarters of 2009, producing steam and electricity for the breweries' processes and exporting excess electricity to the local electricity network.

S&N will earn Renewable Obligation Certificates for its production of renewable electricity. These BioPower plants will help the UK meet its target of having renewables power 10 percent of the country's electric supply by 2010.

S&N Project Manager Andrew McMurtrie said, "We believe the investments make good commercial sense, providing some protection from the volatility of the energy markets, as well offering additional security of supply."

Heineken N.V. announced that it is to acquire the Romanian brewer Bere Mures, in a press release, February 29. The transaction will strengthen Heineken’s number one position in the country, increasing both its market share - to 31% - and its volume to 6 million hectolitres.

The acquisition price has not been disclosed and the transaction will be funded from existing cash resources. It will be earnings enhancing in 2009 and value enhancing in 2012. The proposed acquisition is subject to approval by the Romanian competition authority.

The brewer, established in 1992, is situated in Targu Mures in the Transylvania region, 300 km north-west of Bucharest and employs 394 staff. The business is profitable with 2007 sales volumes of 1.2 million hectoliters and a production capacity of 1.6 million hectolitres.

Bere Mures has a beer portfolio which includes Neumarkt, one of the country’s leading beers, and the smaller Dracula and Sovata brands. All brands are available in one-way PET packaging.

The company also owns two profitable mineral water brands, Cezara sparkling mineral water and Cheile Cibului still water.

Nico Nusmeier, Regional President, Heineken Central and Eastern Europe, commented: “This transaction enables us to consolidate our leading position in Romania. It creates a stronger, more diversified ...More Info

Southeast Asian food and drinks company San Miguel said net profit at its flagship Philippine beer unit grew 9 percent to 8 billion pesos ($196 million) in 2007, according to Reuters, March 3.

The Manila-headquartered company expects to rise up to 25 billion pesos from listing the beer group in the first half of this year to partly fund a foray into heavy industry in the Philippines.

San Miguel Brewery, which dominates the local market for beer, said net sales rose nearly 9 percent to 44.14 billion pesos in the year, with volume growth of almost 8 percent. The company benefited from improving demand and from congressional elections, which saw free beer distributed at some rallies.

In 2006, San Miguel Brewery's revenues fell 1 percent as consumption suffered from a higher sales tax.

San Miguel's chairman Eduardo Cojunagco was reported by local media on Monday as saying he was open to selling his 17 percent stake, valued at around 26 billion pesos, if a good offer came along.

San Miguel has been selling businesses to raise funds for a push into power, mining, infrastructure and real estate at home. Last year, it sold its biggest overseas business, Australian dairy and juice manufacturer National Foods, to ...More Info

The Saigon Beer Alcohol Beverage Corporation (Sabeco) held an inauguration ceremony for its new brewery in Ho Chi Minh City’s outlying district of Cu Chi, Thanhniennews reported March 3.

The VND1.9 trillion (US$119 million) beverage factory, on a 50 hectare site, will have an initial output of 200 million liters a year, which may soon be lifted to 300 million liters.

The brewery will produce one billion liters of beer by 2010 and the product will be exported to the world, according to plant management.

Sabeco said the brewery, which will use German technology, was the most modern in the Southeast Asia.

Carlsberg Serbia has announced that it will invest EUR 30 mln in its Čelarevo brewery, Beta News reported March 3.

The money will be spent on development and expansion of the capacities, Carlsberg general director for Southeast Europe Isaac Sheps told Beta.

This investment would allow for beer production in Čelarevo to increase from 1.5 million hectoliters in 2007, to two million hectoliters this year, Sheps added.

Carlsberg is ranked second on the Serbian market with a 22.4 percent share, the agency said.

East African Breweries posted a 22 percent rise in first-half pretax profit to 6.45 billion shillings, ($94.85 million) for the six months ended December 31, 2007, boosted by sales in its main Kenyan market, the company said, according to Reuters, March 3.

"We have delivered extremely good profit before tax growth of 22 percent. Kenya has provided the powerhouse of revenue growth," group commercial director Chris Caldwell told a briefing for investors.

Kenya contributed 66 percent of the group's 16.1 billion shillings of revenues in the first half to end-December, up 27 percent from the previous year's total.

The company, majority owned by the world's biggest drinks group, Diageo, had pretax profit of 5.3 billion shillings in the first half a year ago.

EABL said post-election unrest in Kenya had disrupted transportation of products and fuel to plants in Uganda for five days in December, and slowed sales in January and February.

A disputed presidential vote triggered violence that killed at least 1,000 people, displaced 300,000 and interrupted economic activity.

The company hopes to recover in the second half, after President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga signed a power-sharing deal last week, helping ease tension in the country and restore investor confidence.

"In the last ...More Info

Malt markets have been inactive, prices have not moved much, analysts reported February 29. They have followed weaker malting barley prices only to a small extent, which seems to prove once more the tightness of malting capacities and malt supplies.

Present prices range from EUR 540,- to 570,- CPT breweries, delivery 2009. Only a few export contracts were reported, at prices of EUR 560,- to 570,- FOB seaport, in bulk in container.

Old crop markets are much weaker than in January, the analysts reported February 29. The reason is an unexpected large offer of French winter and spring barley of crop 2007, which put price levels of old crop and new crop almost at par, basis July, at EUR 280/282 FOB Creil and 290/292 FOB Moselle.

The amount of old crop barley offered is even more surprising, when one looks at the existing quality problems. Many brewers complain about major gushing problems of European malt. A technical solution seems out of the question, and Euromalt considers taking joint action to protect their members from negative contractual consequences. EU barley of several origins has shown a weak germination since the beginning of the campaign, lately the number of rejections has risen, and maltsters are apprehensive about the performance of barley in spring and summer.

New crop barley has also traded at lower prices in February. French spring barley markets are mentioned above, winter barleys Esterel and Vanessa are quoted EUR 260,-, basis July, FOB Moselle, Cervoise another EUR 10-15 lower. Danish two-row spring barley, basis first half October, FOB seaport, is quoted EUR 275, English barley for the same positon was sold at EUR ...More Info

Winter is over, and it has been warmer again than in former years, analysts reported February 29. There has been sufficient precipitation except for the Iberian Peninsula, which had been extremely lucky last year. Winter grains are in good shape, and spring planting has begun very early.

France reports spring barley planting south of Paris almost finished, north of Paris at least 50 % done. The same goes for the U.K., where South England has planted almost all its spring barley, while East Anglia, Lincoln and Yorkshire have also seeded about half of their intended acreage. In Germany the Upper Rhine, Main and Neckar valleys have finished planting. If the mild weather continues, also Northern Europe will start seeding in March.

The Conservatives introduced a bill to end the Canadian Wheat Board's monopoly on sales of western barley, a move that opponents see as the start of a sinister scheme to eliminate the marketing agency, Canadian Press reported March 4.

The opposition parties all oppose the legislation and the government has mused about making it a matter of confidence, in essence daring them to vote it down and force an election.

Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz, who says it is simply a matter of allowing producers the choice of selling their barley crops themselves or through the board, suggests the Liberals may back down.

"I'm hearing a glimmer there that they may decide this isn't the hill they want to die on," he said.

The board has a monopoly on sales of most western grain crops, in what is known as "single-desk" selling. Supporters say this helps farmers get the best prices. Opponents say farmers could do better cutting their own deals.

The Liberals are trying to kill the bill by claiming it doesn't meet legal requirements set out in the existing Canadian Wheat Board Act.

Wayne Easter, the Liberal agriculture critic, says the bill flies in the face of a key section of that Act.

"The section is ...More Info

D. Evan Evans and Anne Surrel, Tasmanian Institute of Agricultural Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia; Megan Sheehy and Douglas C. Stewart, Joe White Maltings Ltd., Adelaide, SA, Australia; and Louise H. Robinson, Lion Nathan Limited, Lidcombe, NSW, Australia


Abstract
J. Am. Soc. Brew. Chem. 66(1):1-10, 2008 Rudin, NIBEM, lacing index, cylinder pour, and shake foam quality tests were comprehensively compared to evaluate their utility and responsiveness to beer components that are thought to influence foam quality. Each of the tests responded differently to beer characteristics that influence beer foam quality. The Rudin and shake tests responded positively to the level and content of foam-promoting proteins (i.e., protein Z4) and also to the level of isomerized hop a-acids in beer. However, the shake test did not differentiate between isomerized and hydrogenated hop a-acids, whereas the Rudin test did. The lacing index responded positively to isomerized hop a-acids, hydrogenated in particular, but possibly negatively to alcohol. Hydrogenation of hop a-acids and protein Z4 increased foam stability as measured by the cylinder pour test, whereas alcohol, higher pH, and CO2 level tended to reduce foam stability. A positive association with the level of isomerized hop acids was not observed; however, further investigation is required to clarify this. Finally, the NIBEM test results were influenced positively by the level of isomerized hop acids and protein Z4, while they were negatively correlated with viscosity and final gravity. Hop a-acid hydrogenation substantially improved NIBEM foam stability compared with isomerized hop a-acids. The NIBEM test was correlated positively with the Rudin, cylinder pour, lacing index, and shake (foam quality generated) tests. These comparisons and observations suggest how these foam quality evaluation tests may be best used for quality control/assurance and beverage development.
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