President Dmitry Medvedev is ordering new restrictions on the sale of beer and similar beverages in what appears to be his first effort to battle Russia's rampant alcoholism, The Associated Press communicated on September 11.

Medvedev has publicly decried Russia's drinking problem and its effect on the nation's well-being.

The planned new restrictions would bar the sale of beer in cans or bottles larger than 330 ml. The new rules apply to "light alcohol" beverages but not to wine, vodka or other hard liquors. The proposals also include tougher sanctions against retailers who break alcohol sale laws, which may lead to criminal proceedings against repeat violators. The law will as well enable regional authorities to introduce restrictions on the times, conditions and locations of alcohol sales.

Beer and other low alcoholic drinks are currently sold in Russia in cans and bottles with volume ranging from 100 ml to five liters and more.

The Russian Public Chamber said in a report in June that around 500,000 Russians die from alcohol-related deaths annually. A study published in June in The Lancet medical journal found that drinking has caused more than half of deaths among Russians aged 15 to 54 since the 1991 Soviet collapse.

The average Russian ...More Info

Despite a less favourable political and economic environment, Europe has defended its leading position as the world’s largest beer producer, according to an Ernst & Young report presented by The Brewers of Europe in Brussels on September 8th.

With a yearly production of 427 million hectolitres (hl), Europe remained ahead of China (393 million hl) and the US (234 million hl), the report stated, which was conducted in all 27 EU countries plus Norway, Switzerland, Croatia and Turkey.

Germany remained Europe’s largest beer producer (103 million hectolitres), followed by the UK (49.5 million hl), Poland (36.9 million hl) and Spain (33.4 million hl). Germany also has by far the most Breweries (1,330), the report pointed out.

“What’s even more interesting is the fact that the number of breweries across Europe has grown almost 25% in the last three years, up from around 3,000 in 2006 to 3,733 today,” The Brewers of Europe Secretary General Rodolphe de Looz-Corswarem said at the presentation of the report, further adding, “National governments, the European economy, and European citizens benefit hugely from the production and sale of beer in terms of jobs, revenue and indeed enjoyment.”

Directly and indirectly 2.5 million jobs in Europe can be ...More Info

Kirin Holdings Co. and Suntory Holdings Ltd. plan to ask the Fair Trade Commission for a preliminary investigation into whether their proposed merger runs counter to the Antimonopoly Law, Kyodo News cited industry sources saying on September 8th.

Kirin and Suntory have been in talks to reach agreement as early as this year on integrating themselves into one of the world's largest beverage makers.

But as their combined share of Japan's beer market would exceed 50 percent, they are concerned about whether the FTC would approve the deal.

If the FTC gives its preliminary approval to the proposed merger, the talks may make progress, according to the sources.

Kirin spokeswoman Marina Totsuka and Suntory spokeswoman Naoko Tsuda both declined to comment on the progress of merger talks when contacted by Bloomberg News.

Japan's beer market has shrunk 15 percent in volume terms in the past decade as the nation's population rapidly ages -- a demographic shift that has prompted Suntory and Kirin to aggressively diversify out of Japan and away from beer.

Kirin and Suntory said in July they had begun preliminary talks to create a food and beverage giant with around $40 billion in annual sales, and a Kirin executive said last ...More Info

Filip Van Opstaele, Koen Goiris, Evelien Syryn, Luc De Cooman and Guido Aerts

Abstract:
Hops (Humulus lupulus L.) are an essential raw material for beer preparation, mainly on account of the typical bitterness and hoppy aroma of beer. A fine, harmonic, non-lingering bitterness and a pleasant hoppy aroma are key elements of high flavour quality and drinkability. However, by applying conventional hopping using pellets and/or non-isomerised extracts during wort boiling, the intensity and the quality of beer bitterness and, in particular, hoppy aroma are difficult to control. In this paper, high tech hopping, i.e. the use of highly advanced hop products containing bittering principles, hop aromas or hop polyphenols is discussed on the basis of practical brewing research carried out at KaHo-St.Lieven. The emphasis is put on the sensory aspects of different types of pre-isomerised hop extracts, hop aromas, and hop polyphenolic fractions. In respect of hop aromas, a novel hop aroma technology for the production of varietal total hop oils and highly enriched hop oil fractions with distinct organoleptic properties, is presented. It is concluded that fully advanced hopping, i.e. advanced bittering in combination with appropriate hop oil and hop polyphenol preparations, has high potential to improve beer drinkability due to enhanced control of bitterness intensity and quality, hoppy aroma, and mouthfeel, in accordance with the beer style, type, and brand. Descriptors: high tech hopping, drinkability, bitterness, hoppy aroma, hop polyphenols Cerevisia, 33(1) 2008 Load full article from site www.cerevisia.eu