Brewer SABMiller is expanding its operations in Russia after agreeing to buy LLC Vladpivo, the largest brewer in the Russian Far East Primorie region, London City News reported June 10.

The purchase price has not been disclosed but the value of the gross assets to be acquired is approximately $69m.

It will be SABMiller's third production facility in the country.

The group said the Russian Far East represents approximately 7.6% of the Russian beer market and is projected to grow faster than the total Russian beer market from 2007 to 2013.

"The acquisition of Vladpivo complements our existing capability and will allow us to expand the presence of our worthmore brands, by providing us with a more competitive logistics configuration and better access to our consumers in this important and attractive region," said managing director of SABMiller Russia James Wilson.

Heineken-APB (China) Pte Ltd (HAPBC), a joint venture company of Asia Pacific Breweries, is disposing its 49% stake in Jiangsu DaFuHao Breweries Co., Ltd (DFH) in China, according to APB’s press release, June 6. The stake will be sold to its partner, Nantong Fuhao Alcohol Industry Co. Ltd (NAC) for approximately US$38 million (S$53 million). NAC owns the remaining 51% of DFH. Financial impact from the sale is not material.

HAPBC first invested in DFH in 2005 by purchasing a 40% stake. This stake was later increased to 49% in 2006.

Both HAPBC and NAC have agreed to terminate the partnership amicably as they hold differing views on the future development plans of DFH for the Jiangsu province. While HAPBC remains focused on the beer business, NAC has diversified into other alcoholic beverages.

This latest move does not mean that HAPBC is making an exit from the Jiangsu market. Said Mr Lee Meng Tat, Regional Director (China), Asia Pacific Breweries, “HAPBC remains committed to the Jiangsu province and the China market. Moving forward, HAPBC plans to further boost its brand presence and distribution which it has independently established for brands like Tiger, Heineken and Reeb in the 23-million hectolitre Jiangsu market.”

HAPBC owns two ...More Info

U.S. antitrust authorities have approved No. 2 U.S. brewer SABMiller's plan to combine its American operations with No. 3 Molson Coors, the Justice Department said, according to Reuters, June 5.

"After a thorough, eight-month investigation, the division has determined that the proposed joint venture between Miller and Coors is not likely to lessen competition substantially," said the Justice Department's Antitrust Division in a statement.

The division found the joint venture was likely to produce "substantial and credible" savings that would cut the companies' costs of producing and distributing beer.

In October 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors said they would combine their U.S. operations to create a business that will have annual sales of $6.6 billion and be the second-largest U.S. market player behind Anheuser-Busch.

Once the deal is completed, Anheuser-Busch and the new SABMiller joint venture would control roughly 80 percent of the U.S. beer market.

The beer industry is experiencing a wave of consolidation.

Belgium's InBev, the world's second-biggest brewer, is weighing a bid for Anheuser-Busch, Reuters and other media outlets have reported.

And Scottish & Newcastle has agreed to be broken up by Carlsberg A/S and Heineken NV. The SABMiller deal with Molson Coors comes as the U.S. beer market has been hurt by a shift ...More Info

While Canadians continue to drink more beer than any other alcoholic beverage, a new Statistics Canada study says the appeal of wine is winning over our taste buds and wallets, CTV reported June 9.

In 1997, beer accounted for 52 per cent of alcoholic beverage sales in Canada. Spirits accounted for 27 per cent of dollar sales, and wine 21 per cent.

In 2007, beer fell to 47 per cent of dollar sales. Spirits slipped to 25 per cent -- while wine jumped to 28 per cent of the market.

When it comes to volume, wine sales outpaced the growth of beer and spirit sales significantly between 2005/2006 and 2006/2007.

On a per capita basis, wine sales amounted to $187 in 2006/2007, up almost $14 from the previous year.

Wine, by far, was most popular with Quebec consumers, where per capita wine sales shot past the Canadian average by almost $83, accounting for 34 per cent of all wine sold in Canada in 2006/2007. Forty-two per cent of all red wine sold in Canada was also in Quebec.

Meanwhile, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick were the only two provinces to sell more white wines than red.

Overall, beer and liquor stores and agencies across Canada experienced ...More Info

Budweiser, the world famous and best-selling American-style lager, is being launched in Vietnam through an import and distribution agreement with the GANNON Distribution Company, PRNewswire-FirstCall reported June 9. Through this distribution deal, Budweiser will be available in Vietnam starting in early June.

"Vietnam is an exciting beer market and an important one for Anheuser-Busch to begin establishing and building the Budweiser brand," said Tom Santel, chief executive officer and president, Anheuser-Busch International, Inc. "The country's beer industry experienced double-digit volume growth for the past three years and already has a well-developed premium segment filled with consumers who will appreciate Budweiser's clean, crisp and refreshing taste." Budweiser initially will be available at upscale bars, restaurants and supermarkets in Ho Chi Minh City as well as select chain outlets across the nation. Budweiser is an American lager brewed since 1876 using a blend of U.S. and European hops, and a combination of barley malts and rice. A centuries-old, European-aging technique called kraeusening is also used, which involves adding a small amount of freshly yeasted wort to fermenting beer at the start of the aging cycle to facilitate natural carbonation. Then, Anheuser-Busch's exclusive beechwood aging process helps create ...More Info

Mexican brewer Modelo, the maker of Corona beer, expects to raise domestic prices in the coming weeks to counter rising raw material costs, its chairman and chief executive said, according to Reuters, June 6.

Carlos Fernandez told Reuters he expects growth in volumes to Modelo's key U.S. market to increase by mid-single digits this year and said sales in the United States have already recovered after a decline in the first three months of 2008.

But Fernandez said that Modelo, which is half owned by U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch Cos Inc, was not planning an increase in U.S. export prices this year after its hike in 2007.

Modelo is seeing its margins squeezed because of higher-trending costs for commodities like barley, rice and corn as well as increased power costs.

Asked if Modelo was looking at raising domestic beer prices, Fernandez said: "Yes....Probably we will do something during the summer. I don't have the number, it is something that we should look at based on costs."

But for exports to the United States, Fernandez said no change in prices was in the works. "We believe that the price increase we had last year is enough and for this year we are not foreseeing any price ...More Info

The cost of the after-work beer is set to rise come July as brewing companies Lion Nathan and DB look at price increases of at least 4 per cent, Scoop reported June 1-.

The increases come as breweries try to recover some of the money lost through significant increases in the costs of raw materials and packaging.

In an interview with the New Zealand Herald DB Breweries managing director Brian Blake says the cost to breweries over the last 12 to 18 months has probably been the biggest increase the industry has seen for some time.

This rise occurs before the beer has even hit the bars and Asa Campbell, bar manager at Quarry on the North Shore says that end-sellers like bars and supermarkets will have to increase costs to make money on what is costing them more to provide.

“We've decided to drop our prices and change our glasses so they hold 30 mls less. This way our price is lower, and although the glass is insignificantly smaller we won't have to put the price up to compete with the rising cost price of buying the beer,” Campbell says.

Bradley Jenkins, a 21-year-old student says he doesn’t think that the increased cost to ...More Info

Malt export licence bookings July/May were 1,717 Mill. tons, according to analysts. It is fairly certain by now that last year’s export number of 1.757 Mill. tons will be surpassed by at least 100,000 tons, due to the resumption of production in the former Weissheimer plants in Germany, Poland and Hungary.

Licence bookings by countries look strange, with a reduction of 115,000 tons for France, and good gains for Belgium and Germany. These differences do not exactly reflect physical export numbers, as booked licences are valid in the whole Union. E.g., France probably fixes a good amount of its licence needs in Belgium, as Antwerp is its major export point.

The total crop number for 2008 is very similar to the most recent IGC estimate; it takes into account very good conditions in Western Europe, but also dryness in parts of Northern and Eastern Europe, analysts have recently reported.

In May the Iberian Peninsula recorded rather heavy precipitation, beneficial for barley crops in the Centre and North, at the same time hampering (wheat) harvest operations in the South. Private sources raised the Spanish barley crop forecast from 8,5 to 9,5 Mill. tons.

France, the U.K. and Ireland enjoyed an ideal weather mix of rain and sunshine at moderate temperatures. Germany reports a mixed picture with dryness in the Southwest, North and East, analysts predict an average crop. Planting took place late in Denmark and South Sweden, where a continued lack of rain is considered a real threat to yields and quality.

There is also dry weather in Finland, the Baltic States and the northern half of Poland.

The large Southeast of the EU from South Poland, through Czech, Slovakia and Austria down to the Balkans looks quite good to-date. Needless to say that weather in June and July can still change the crop results, for better or worse.

Feed barley prices are continuing to show their seasonal softness but continued interest from the maltsters wanting to add to their supply has firmed up the malting barley markets in some locations across the region, Farm & Ranch Guide reported June 6.

“Right now the feed barley market is really quiet,” said Jeremy Burkhart, grain merchandiser for Sun Prairie Grain in Minot. “The export market is pretty much non-existent. As far as demand goes, it's really quiet, but the price is at where it is because corn prices are so high that a lot of feed barley is getting mixed into the feed rations, since with the lower feed barley prices it is now competitive with corn and cheaper to feed barley.”

However, there is demand for any malting barley that hasn't been bought up, Burkhart noted, which is adding strength to the malting prices.

“They are just looking for barley,” he said. “We've had short barley crops the last few years and a lot of barley in this area this past year was piled on the ground as feed barley, since feed and malting were about the same price. As a result, a lot of good quality malt barley got shipped into ...More Info

The larger world barley crop of 2008/09 will depend to some extent on the outcome of the Australian barley harvest, analysts have recently reported.

Last year’s crop was 5.9 Mill. tons, now forecasts are as high as 9.5 Mill. tons. Western Australia recorded good precipitation already in April, South Australia and Victoria in May, enabling farmers to start planting under good conditions.

New South Wales and Queensland remain problem areas with insufficient or no rainfalls. Australia had already two very dry years so that subsoil moisture is almost non-existent. Therefore all of Australia will need continuous rains during winter and spring to assure a good crop result.

The 2008 Australian crop resulted in a significant improvement in results when compared to crop 2007, according to Barth-Hass Group, May 7. A 10% increase in the area harvested resulted in a 34% increase in yield over crop 2007.

In order to meet the growing demand for Australian hops, most growers have pushed farms back to, and even beyond, what may have previously been considered 100% of capacity. This has been achieved by planting out previously idled areas under trellis, to maximise production, with a direct result of a corresponding increase in strain on framework. Fortunately all trellis held up under the generally larger crops.

Overall the Australian production (kilograms of hops) was some 4% below expected (long term average) yields.

It should be noted that crop 2008 is fully sold, after meeting all contractual obligations.

Berne L. Jones USDA, ARS, Cereal Crops Research Unit, 501 N. Walnut St., Madison, WI, 53705, USA and Department of Agronomy, University of Wisconsin- Madison.

Abstract
The endoproteinases that form during the malting of barley play important roles in determining the soluble protein levels of worts prepared from the malt. The soluble protein levels, in turn, can affect many aspects of the beers made from these worts, including their haziness, foam characteristics, extent of fermentation, etc. We have been characterizing these endoproteinases and their endogenous inhibitors for several years and are now trying to determine which ones play important roles in solubilizing proteins during mashing and how the endogenous barley and malt proteinase inhibitors affect this solubilization. ... Load full article, 8 pages, 197 Kb, PDF file