Anheuser-Busch executives told The Associated Press in an interview on July 17 that the beer maker will maintain its high level of sports marketing and sponsorship under new owner InBev. In fact, they said, spending could increase.

"There's nothing at all for those of us that are at the pulse of all this to suggest that our sports are cutting back at all," said Tony Ponturo, vice president of global media and sports marketing for Anheuser-Busch.

Sports marketing accounts for two-thirds of Anheuser-Busch's overall marketing, but InBev's reputation as a cost-cutter had raised speculation that the huge budget could get the ax, leaving many a drinker to wonder "Whassup?"

InBev SA, the maker of brands such as Stella Artois and Beck's, solidified its $52 billion takeover of the St. Louis-based brewer earlier this week. The company has said it has plans to make Budweiser and Bud Light into worldwide icons like Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Carlos Brito, chief executive of the Belgian brewer, has said he knows that his new company's ability to reach consumers through sports is one of the reasons it's such an attractive brand, and added that there wouldn't be cuts.

Ponturo and Dave Peacock, vice president for marketing, emphasized that Thursday and ...More Info

Sapporo Breweries Ltd. said on July 17 it will raise the annual sales target of its third-segment beer-like drink "Mugi to Hop," launched in June, to 5.5 million cases from the previously planned three million cases, according to Jiji Press.

One case contains the equivalent of 20 633-milliliter bottles.

The company will increase the number of production sites from four to five on July 24 to raise shipment volume to 50 pct more than that of June.

Sapporo Breweries, which has recently adjusted shipment of "Mugi to Hop" due to short supply, intends to shore up its beer product market share, which dropped to fourth place from third on a half-year basis in January-June.

Demand for the third-segment drinks, which are cheaper than beer and "happoshu" quasi-beer products, are growing at a time when prices of items such as foodstuffs are going up.

Competition is increasing among rivals such as Asahi Breweries Ltd. and Suntory Ltd., which plan to boost production of their third-segment quasi-beer products "Clear Asahi" and "Kinmugi," respectively.

With increased energy costs, rising hops and aluminium prices and an unusually cool start of the summer in some parts of the country, the Canadian beer industry is facing a sobering year, Brunswick News communicated on July 17.

Breweries large and small are doing what they can to weather the storm without passing the buck to their customers, but some say it's only a matter of time before beer prices go up.

"We've been able to shield the consumer up till now, we've been able to absorb those costs," said Paul Gautreau, brewmaster and vice-president of operations for Calgary-based Big Rock Brewery. "How long that will go on I'm not too sure, but at some point there's going to be a break point and we'll have to share some of those costs with the consumer."

Brewers are currently coping with several different factors that are affecting their bottom lines. One factor is the end of a decade-long oversupply of hops - a key ingredient in beer. Farmers have abandoned the crop and now there's a worldwide shortage.

At the same time, aluminum prices have soared in recent years as a result of growing demand in rapidly growing economies such as India ...More Info

With its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch, InBev inherits more than 100 legal disputes, mostly over versions of the Budweiser trademark, in more than 30 jurisdictions around the globe, Deal Journal posted on July 16. On the other side there is Czech state-owned brewery Budejovicky Budvar, which has Bud and Budweiser brand trademarks and appellations of origin registered in 28 European and 37 non-European countries. Anheuser sells Budweiser in 16 countries and the Bud brand in 15.

Anheuser and Budvar have fought for solo control of the Budweiser brand and its various mutations for a century, though more so in the past decade as Budvar’s exports have increased. One way for InBev to solve the problem would be to buy Budvar, which produced 1.25 million hectoliters in 2007.

That could cost more than $2 billion for InBev, which brewed 273.9 million hectoliters last year, or more than 200 times more beer than Budvar. Czech trade minister Martin Riman put that price tag on Budvar predominantly because of the value of the Czech brewer’s Budweiser trademarks. The Czech government is preparing to sell Budvar before the cabinet’s term in office ends in 2010, and a sale could be discussed this year.

Some analysts ...More Info

The domestic beer volume expanded 3-5% to roughly 46-mn cases in the first three months, falling way below the 15-20% growth witnessed in recent times, according to data from the brewers, India Economic Times communicated July 19.

The beer depletion recorded robust double-digit increase for the last 12 successive quarters riding on economic buoyancy, lifestyle changes and fall in beer prices helped by trade and excise reforms across several states.

The momentum suffered a jolt in the just-concluded quarter, which covers the peak consumption summer months. It may be early days to blame economic slowdown, but there are direct linkages between beer consumption and economic buoyancy, industry observers said.

The major domestic brewers now expect the domestic industry to grow at around 10% during the current financial year, FY09. The beer growth stood at 14% and 27% in the two preceeding financial years. Researchers in the past have suggested an income elasticity of three for beer. This, simply put, means that for every 1% GDP growth consumption moves up almost 3%.

"The economic outlook may have an impact on consumption going forward, since beer is mostly a celebratory drink," said SABMiller director (corporate affairs) Sundeep Kumar.

However, the muted first ...More Info

The R3 billion Heineken plant and depot which is being constructed in Sedibeng, southeast of Johannesburg, will be a catalyst for economic growth as it would inject about R7 billion into the provincial economy, Business Day (Johannesburg) cited Gauteng finance MEC Paul Mashatile saying on July 17.

He said the investment was proof that international investors had confidence in the province despite challenges SA was facing - such as the electricity shortage. "There are a lot of other investors who continue to knock on our doors," said Mashatile.

The brewery would have an initial capacity of 3-million hectolitres, but its construction would allow for expansion. It will brew Heineken, Amstel and other brands within the stable.

It is expected to create 225 permanent jobs as well as service-related opportunities.

The MEC could not hold back his smile when he told reporters yesterday that the presence of another brewer would create competition and "hopefully" beer prices would go down. "Heineken is a very nice drink," he added. The brewery project would be completed next year.

GrainCorp Ltd has announced the signing of a land and services agreement with Barrett Burston Malting (BBM) for the co-location of BBM's new malt house at the GrainCorp port terminal in Pinkenba, Brisbane, Australian “The Land” communicated on July 18.

GrainCorp will provide barley accumulation, storage, handling and logistics services for Barrett. "The Pinkenba terminal will undergo a $10 million upgrade to provide dedicated services to BBM," GrainCorp's general manager of ports and new business, Nigel Hart, said.

Construction on the malt house, which is subject to development approvals, will start at the end of 2008 and will process 100,000 tonnes of barley per annum. Malt produced at the plant will service Carlton and United Breweries and the expanding export market.

There are few or almost no sellers in domestic EU malting barley markets, experts commented. French producers had sold a good percentage of their crops and now seem to wait for the real crop results.

Danish sellers had been very aggressive earlier in the campaign, but now have not only withdrawn from markets, but try to wash out earlier sales.

U.K. traders profited from the Danish situation and sold already 200.000 tons into export.

German farmers had hoped to obtain a price of EUR 300,- ex farm, and are stubbornly sitting on their crops without selling. The trade does some selling, covering industries that continue their back-to-back buy barley-sell malt policies.

Early yields of barley look significantly better than last year, according to Norfolk grain merchants, Eastern Daily Press communicated on July 17.

Matthew Adams, joint managing director of independent merchants, Adams & Howling, said: "What a difference a year makes. We're seeing some good-quality barleys coming from quite light land areas."Last year, the crops were full of second growth and low yields. This year, it is full of high-quality bold grains and high yields. It's looking good, very good at the moment.

After the wettest summer for decades last year, crops on the lighter sandy soils have been able to keep growing.

South Norfolk grain merchant Stephen Howlett, of Grainfarmers at Bressingham, near Diss, said: "Crops haven't died; they are ripening and not dying. We have seen some winter malting barleys which look good."

Mr Adams, who is hoping that a new 5,000-tonne grain store will be completed at the firm's Little Plumstead headquarters ready for the bulk delivery of Maris Otter malting barley next week, has seen a range of feed and malting samples.

On one large Breckland estate near Thetford, the malting variety Flagon yielded just under eight tonnes per hectare, or 3.23 tonnes an acre, while last year, the typical ...More Info

The barley harvest is about ready to start in some areas of the region and the July 7 USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service report estimates 71 percent of the barley crop in North Dakota to be in good to excellent condition, with 25 percent of the crop in fair condition, 3 percent in poor condition, and 1 percent in very poor condition Farm & Ranch Guide posted on July 18.

In general, an average crop is anticipated, according to Steven Edwardson, executive administrator of the North Dakota Barley Council.

“However, cool temperatures have delayed crop development,” he noted, “with only 1 percent of the barley crop turning as of July 6, compared to 7 percent turning one year ago.”

The USDA acreage report on June 30 indicated nationally barley plantings increased by 2.7 percent, from 4,020,000 acres in 2007 to 4,130,000 acres in 2008. North Dakota growers also planted more acres to barley with 1,500,000 acres seed this year, which represents a 2 percent increase over 2007. Earlier acreage reports were suggesting the barley acres might be higher, but Edwardson said higher wheat prices stimulated a shift in acreage to more wheat production. According to the season's first production report, ...More Info

During the crop year 2007/08 the EU exported 3.9 million tonnes of barley compared to 3.2 million tonnes a year before, the latest figures show. Overall grain exports rose from 17.3 to 18.6 million tonnes.

Imports of corn and sorghum were 20 million tonnes vs. only 6 million tonnes in 2006/07. Tight corn supplies of the U.S. and high world market prices will reduce EU coarse grain imports in 2008/09 drastically.

The comparison of world market and domestic EU price levels below shows particularly steep price rises of corn and soybeans. According to analysts, feed barley is attractively priced, and its consumption in the feed sector is expected (much?) higher than last year. At the same time EU barley exports face a stiff competition from the Black Sea.

Karel Krofta, Alexandr Mikyška, and Danuša Hašková

Abstract

J. Inst. Brew. 114(1), 3-13, 2008 The method based on the reaction of stable DPPH radical proved to be the best for the determination of antioxidant characteristics of hops and hop products. Antioxidant activity is expressed as the rate of decline in absorbance of the reaction environment and assessed in relative percents. Differences in the values of antioxidant activity were determined in Czech and foreign hop varieties. The highest antioxidant activities in the scope of 70 to 80% rel. were measured in Saaz and Spalter Select. Antioxidant activity in most of the varieties moved in the scope of 40 to 60% rel. A part of antioxidant activity of hops is irreversibly lost in the course of drying. The loss does not usually exceed 5% of the original RADPPH value. Drying also resulted in a decrease of polyphenol compound contents. Drying in belt and chamber kilns is comparable from the point of view of preserving hop antioxidant properties. Results of determination of antioxidant activity in hot water extracts of raw hops and ground hops were comparable and statistically non-significant. The same held true for pelletizing of ground hops. The antioxidant activity of raw hops declined in the course of long-term storage in dependence on storage temperature. Storage temperature had no effect on the antioxidant activity of the hop pellets packed in a multi-layer foil without air access.... Load full article, 7 pages, 246 Kb, PDF file