Scottish&Newcastle announced on November 4 that their results for the first nine months of the year have been robust. The BBH business continues to show strong growth and despite soft Western European markets, third quarter volumes have improved throughout all regions.

This performance has been driven by continued focus on brand building and innovation. The strong growth of SuperChilled in the UK, Sagres in Portugal and Grimbergen in France and Belgium underline S&N’s success in this area.

Despite the weak consumer confidence and cost pressure from increasing oil prices S&N are confident that S&N will meet market expectations for 2005. The improving position in Western Europe as well as the good performance from BBH, should assure continued progress beyond 2005.

UK
Although S&N have seen an improving trend in the third quarter due to easier comparatives, the underlying market is still soft due to ongoing weak consumer confidence. In the 3 months to end September, the UK beer and cider market has grown by 1.8%, with off trade growth tempered by decline in the on trade. Within this environment S&N continued the strong volume performance of the first half of the year.

The total branded beer and cider volumes are up by 5.6% ...More Info

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AmBev, Latin America's largest brewer reported on November 3 its third-quarter earnings more than tripled year-on-year as beer sales jumped in Brazil, its main market, where it has nearly 70 percent of all beer sales, according to Reuters.

Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, a unit of Belgian beverage giant InBev , posted net profit of 399 million reais from June to September, compared with 131.7 million reais a year earlier and 305.2 million reais in the second quarter.

The result hit a Reuters forecast based on a survey of five analysts who, on average, had expected net profit would be 384.2 million reais. Shares of the company gained 0.25 percent on the Sao Paulo Stock Exchange after the news, while the benchmark Bovespa index closed 0.65 percent higher.

AmBev, the maker of Brahma and Skol beer said sales volumes in Brazil rose 3.4 percent from July to September of 2005 compared with the same period last year.The performance lead AmBev to raise to 7 percent from 6 percent its forecast for the growth of beer sales volumes in Brazil this year. Last month, the company said total volumes of beer sales rose 4.4 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier.

AmBev's ...More Info

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The beer producing and storing establishments in Germany sold 29.0 million hectolitres of beer in the third quarter of 2005, as reported by the Federal Statistical Office on October 27. That was a decrease of 0.5 million hectolitres (– 1.6%) from the corresponding period of the previous year.

The figures do not include alcohol-free beers and malt drinks as well as beer imported from countries outside European union. Sales of beer-mixed drinks accounted 3.2% of all bees and registered an increase of 11.6% year-on-year compared to 0.9 million hectolitres in the third quarter 2004.

Beer exports to other EU countries fell by 3.9% to 3.3m hectolitres, and beer exports to non-EU states came in at 800,000 hectolitres, a drop of 6.1%.

Taxed beer sales on the domestic market were down by 1.5% to 24.8m hectolitres, while non-taxed beer sales totalled 4.2m hectolitres, down 2.1%, the office said.

The figures released do not include alcohol-free beer, malt drinks or beer imported from non-EU states, the office noted.

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China's third-biggest brewer by output, Beijing Yanjing Brewery Co., has entered the bidding for a stake in Fujian Sedrin Brewery Co., pitting it against potential rivals including Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Heineken Holding NV., Bloomberg communicated on November 2.

Yanjing spokesman Liu Xiangyu said in a telephone interview from Beijing said: “We have made a bid for Sedrin''. He didn't specify any price. Foreign brewers including Anheuser-Busch and Heineken are in talks to buy a controlling 39.5 % stake in Sedrin that could value the company at about $800 million, the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the situation.

A takeover would boost Beijing-based Yanjing's sales in the world's largest beer market by more than a quarter based on 2004 figures. China's last major brewer without a foreign partner would also extend its foothold in the southeastern province of Fujian after completing the 494 million yuan ($61 million) purchase of Fujian Yanjing Huiquan Brewery Co. in March.

The Sedrin sale marks a “new consolidation of China's fragmented beer industry,'' Zhao Lin, an analyst at Shenyin Wanguo Research & Consulting Co. in Shanghai. ``Demand is strong in the Fujian market.''

The number of breweries in China dropped to about 400 by ...More Info

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Czech breweries produced 14.42 million hectoliters (hl) of beer for the period of January-September 2005, an increase of 2.5 % or 357,000 hl yr/yr, the chairman of the Czech Association of Breweries and Malt Houses (CSPS) Jan Vesely told Interfax on November 2.

"Small and mid-sized brewers were great contributors to the positive result, their output rising by almost 16 % in the first three quarters of the year," stated Vesely.

The output of the seven big beer groups, which now accounts for 86.5 % of the market, was slightly higher, rising 87,000 hl on the year, with growth slower compared to the increase seen for the sector as a whole.

About 30 small breweries, which at present account for some 13.5 % of the Czech beer market, showed an rise in output of 272,000 hl in the monitored period.

The exports as well contributed substantially to the growth in beer output in 9M 2005, but data on sales abroad are not yet available, said Vesely. "Small and mid-size brewers were more successful mostly ...More Info

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The Boston Beer Company, Inc. announced on November 2 that it achieved third quarter 2005 diluted earnings per share of $0.29 and net income of $4.2 million, up $0.08 per share and $1.2 million, respectively, from the same period last year. Net revenue increased by 15.5% to $63.2 million in the third quarter of 2005, driven by an 11.8% increase in shipment volume and a 3.3% increase in net revenue per barrel as compared to the same quarter last year. For the nine months ended September 24, 2005, the Company recorded diluted earnings per share of $0.91 and net income of $13.3 million, up $0.24 per share and $3.6 million, respectively, versus the same period in 2004. Net revenue increased by 7.5% to $173.6 million during the first nine months of 2005 compared to the same period in the prior year.

Jim Koch, Chairman and Founder of the Company, cotmmented, "We are very pleased by the almost 9% depletion growth achieved in the third quarter, which resulted in almost 5% growth for the first nine months as compared to the first nine months of 2004. The craft beer category has grown this year, despite price increases, while the beer industry as ...More Info

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EU malt export license bookings from July 1 till October 25, 2005, were 658,000 tones, 210,000 tones or 24 % less than at the same date last year.

The total includes approx. 649,000 tones of Pilsen and 9,000 tones of roasted malt. Converted into a (hypothetical) year figure, the export volume of Pilsen malt would reach 1.95 Million tones, 270,000 tones less than in 2004/05 and even 530,000 tones below the figure of 2003/04.

The German newspaper "Ern?hrungsdienst" even dared a guesstimate of 600,000 tones less exports in the span of two years.

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Malt demand in Nigeria appears to increase from year to year after a switch-back of local brewers from sorghum to barley malt. The country imported 62,000 tones in 2004 after 55,000 tones in 2003. It is rumored that Belgian and U.K. sales for 2006 are very substantial.

SAB is in the market for a quantity of high quality (Heineken A) malt. Tunisia has purchased 5,000 tones, probably from France.

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ABB Grain announced on November 3 that the three-pronged strategy developed by SAFF and ABB in August this year to enhance the transparency of the operation of ABB Grain Export’s single desk for barley exports from South Australia is coming to fruition. The first prong of this strategy is the provision of pool access by traders.

Trader access via deliveries direct to the legislated barley pool is conditional on a set of rules which are available on the ABB website (www.abb.com.au). Amongst the conditions are:

• Access is to ABB’s legislated barley pools only, and deliveries may be made to SA silos only. No third party access to ABB pools will be given outside SA unless by separate negotiation.

• Traders must register interest in access to pools by 18 November for the coming season.

• Tonnage contracted is restricted to 5,000 tonnes per day by any trader and its associates, and access to the pool is via contract only (no direct delivery).

• Parties may negotiate with the pool at any time for a cash sale to the pool.

• Washouts will apply and swaps may be negotiated.

• Trader access applies only while the single desk legislation exists in its current form.
...More Info

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Analysts report that world markets of barley have been inactive in October. Nevertheless supply and demand appear to be in fine balance. After all, the EU crop was 9 Million tones less than a year ago, old crop intervention stocks are little more than half a Million tones, and the Commission has not granted any export restitution for free market exports since many weeks.

Early in the season barley exports were surprisingly large from Russia and the U.S., but they are drying up due to lack of supplies. It remains to be seen, whether the Ukraine will reach its export target of 4 Million tones, as sellers of all grains have become more reluctant in face of a possible crop failure of winter grains in 2006. Canada has reentered successfully the export market of feed barley and may have further supplies, but much less malting barley than hoped for.

Australia expects a large barley crop, and will have no problem to sell its export surplus. Demand for feed barley is larger than a year ago in North Africa (e.g. Morocco 800,000 tones), and almost unchanged in the Middle East. Turkey sold 260,000 tones for export, but Bulgaria and Romania will almost ...More Info

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OSU Scientist, Fred Stevens has been studying the compounds found in hops for the last ten years. He says the small yellow powder is generating a lot of interest across the globe,

OSU Scientist Fred Stevens said: "Now people are duplicating our results and building it further so theres now a lot of literature appearing on this particular compound." The value may be huge for preventing prostate, breast or colon cancers.

OSU Scientist Emily Ho says, "Xanthahumol is able to stop the cell growth. Basically with the Xanthahumol we can see the slows the cell growth of cancer cells compared to the untreated cells. So that's a good thing for cancer.You want to slow growth."

This doesn't mean you should go out and hit your local pub or pick up a six pack. Scientists don't go as far to say drinking beer will prevent cancer, they still don't know how well the body absorbs Xanthahumol. But you should know not all beer is equal.

The domestic brews have low levels of the compound while porter, stout and ale brews contain higher levels. The compound also appears to be a powerful antioxidant, even more so than vitamin E. It also looks ...More Info

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