The construction of international brewer Heineken’s first South African brewery would be accelerated, building contractor Grinaker-LTA was quoted as saying by Engineering News on August 7.

The company, which formed part of the JSE-listed Aveng group, has been awarded the R549-million contract to build the brewery South East of Johannesburg.

According to a media statement, the building contractor Grinaker-LTA is working on a “fast-track construction programme” and the new brewery will be completed by June next year.

Heineken’s new 70 000 m2 brewery is designed to brew a range of Heineken and Diageo brands. Initially it completion was planned for the end of 2009.

Amm said that Grinaker-LTA’s building and civil engineering business units were undertaking the project in a 50:50 joint venture.

“The programme is very tight as process contractors are required to be given access to each building and sections of each building on sectional completion dates,” he stated.

The brewery would comprise production buildings and cool cellars, as well as a bottling and distribution warehouse for Heineken SupplyCo, the brewing and distribution company for beer brand Amstel.

Molson Coors Brewing Company reported higher sales volume and net sales and lower earnings per share for the fiscal second quarter ending June 29, 2008, the company’s official site posted on August 5.

Key results for the Company's fiscal second quarter ended June 29, 2008, compared to the fiscal second quarter ended July 1, 2007, include the following:

- A major achievement during the quarter was the formation of MillerCoors, creating a single, stronger, more competitive American brewer with a powerful portfolio of brands and economies of scale to win in the U.S. beer market. - Net sales increased 4.8 percent to $1.76 billion. - Net sales per barrel increased 3.9 percent. - Sales volume increased 0.9 percent to 11.6 million barrels, or 13.6 million hectoliters (HLs). - Total Company sales-to-retail (STRs) rose 2.3 percent. - Cost of goods sold per barrel increased 5.9 percent. - Marketing, general and administrative expenses rose 1.4 percent. - Income from continuing operations, a U.S. GAAP earnings measure, was $93.3 million after tax, compared to $184.3 million in the second quarter of 2007. The change is attributable to higher special charges, increased energy and commodity inflation in all markets, and a higher effective tax rate ...More Info

Canada barley production is forecast by Statistics Canada to decrease by 4%, as the decline in area is partly offset by higher yields Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) communicated on July 2. Barley Supply is expected to fall by 7% due to lower carry-in stocks.

Total barley exports are expected to decrease significantly due to lower exports of feed barley while exports of malting barley are forecast to remain stable. Carry-out stocks are forecast to remain stable at near record low levels. The average off-Board feed barley price is forecast to increase from 2007-08 due to lower supply and higher US feed grain prices.

Canada production of grains and oilseeds (G&O) for 2008-09 is forecast by Statistics Canada to increase to about 64 million tonnes (Mt) from 60 Mt in 2007-08.

It is assumed that precipitation will be normal for the remainder of the growing and harvest periods, and that the abandonment rate and crop quality will be normal. Slightly above trend yields are now expected for most crops in western Canada, due to improved moisture and warmer weather. Normal yields are expected for eastern Canada.

World and Canadian prices for G&O are expected to remain historically high due to strong demand ...More Info

Markéta Dvoráková, Luis F. Guido, Pavel Dostálek, Zuzana Skulilová, Manuela M. Moreira, and Aquiles A. Barros

Abstract

J. Inst. Brew. 114(1), 27–33, 2008 Ten different barley cultivars and their corresponding malts were used to obtain different fractions. Phenolics extracted belonged to free, soluble esters and insoluble-bound fractions. Total phenolic content (TPC) of the free fraction, as measured according to the Folin-Ciocalteu method, ranged from 37.7 to 167.2 mg gallic acid equiv/kg of dried material (GAE/kgdw) for barley and between 34.1 and 72.3 mg GAE/kgdw for malt. The bound phenolic content ranged from 210.3 to 320.5 and between 81.1 and 234.9 mg GAE/kgdw for barley and malt, respectively. The contribution of bound phenolics to the TPC was significantly higher than that of free and esterified fractions. Catechin and ferulic acid, quantified by high performance liquid chromatography with diode array detector (HPLC-DAD), were the most abundant phenolics in the free and bound fractions, respectively. The p-coumaric acid content was lower in hulless genotypes, as compared to hulled genotypes, showing that it is mainly concentrated in the hull. The antioxidant activities of the phenolic fractions were investigated using the radical scavenging assay (DPPH) and ferricyanide reducing power. The bound phenolics demonstrated a significantly higher antioxidant capacity compared to the free and esterified phenolics. During the malting process, a significant decrease of the bound phenolics was observed with a corresponding increase of the esterified fraction. Key words: Antioxidant properties, barley, free phenolics, insoluble- bound phenolics, soluble ester phenolics, malt. Load full article, 7 pages, 558 Kb, PDF file