Europe’s relationships with alcohol and beer particularly are changing, according to a new report by CfK, the Wall Street Journal announced on December, 4.

The market-research firm GfK polled more than 17,000 people in 13 European Union countries, plus the U.S., Russia, Turkey and Switzerland. Respondents were asked to describe how often they drink, what they drink and how alcohol affects their lives.

The research proved: beer is becoming more popular with younger drinkers; above, in many countries, however, people still prefer the occasional glass of wine.

Italians aren't drinking as much red wine as they used to, the survey showed. In fact, across Europe, drinking preferences are changing markedly.

In Italy, where wine has been made for thousands of years, 88% of respondents over 50 years old said their favourite tipple is wine. But among Italians aged 14 to 29, only 29% prefer wine, while 43% say beer is their favourite drink. Preferences are also changing in France, another historically wine-producing region. Here, 68% of those over 50 say their favourite drink is wine, while only 24% of those aged 14 to 29 gave that response; most French young people (29%) chose beer as their favourite drink.

The survey suggested that drinkers generally shift ...More Info

Czech breweries produced nearly 0.9 percent less beer in January – September 2008 as compared to the same period last year, CTK reported data by the Czech Beer and Malt Association on December, 3.

The output of the nation’s beer industry amounted to 15.263 mln hl in the first nine months of this year. Yet, this made the second biggest output in the history of beer making.

Domestic sales dropped by nearly 2 percent to 12.361 million hectolitres, while export rose by nearly 4 percent to 2.903 million hectolitres year-on-year.

"Despite stagnation on the beer market in Europe, which did not spare us either, I consider the ongoing increase in export of Czech beer as a favourable fact which confirms that the high-quality beer can find its customers even in the current situation," CSPS executive director Jan Vesely said.

According to the Association, Germany and Slovakia remain the biggest customers of Czech beers. Export to Russia has accelerated markedly and the country was the third largest beer importer, with Britain left behind.

Lager output continued rising at the expense of draught beer. Demand for non-alcoholic beer is also on the rise, its output growing by 18 percent on the year to more than 461,000 hectolitres. ...More Info

Suntory Ltd. said that it has shipped more than 10 million cases of its Premium Malts so far this year, Trading Markets reported on December, 4.

Experts believe the Japanese company is painting a likely scenario that it will unseat market leader Sapporo Breweries Ltd. in the battle for upscale brews in 2008.

Suntory surpassed 10 million cases for the premium beer for the first time ever as it boosted sales during the summer gift-giving season. And the company looks to lift shipments during the year-end holiday season by 20 per cent.

Sapporo, a Sapporo Holdings Ltd. unit, exceeded the 10-million-case mark with its Yebisu premium beer in 2006 and 2007, but apparently fell behind Suntory this year.

While shipments of Premium Malts grew 23.8 per cent to 8.13 million cases in the January-September term, Yebisu's slid 9.1 per cent to 7.48 million cases during the same period.

InBev India CEO Raja Mukherji says the company adopted a ‘two verticals’ strategy as a business model for India, Business Standard posted on December, 3.

Belgian beer major InBev entered India with 49 per cent stake in a joint venture with Ravi Jaipuria-promoted RJ Corp in 2007. However, it was only by July this year that the company introduced its brands in the 158 million-case a year market.

According to the CEO, the first of InBev’s business verticals imports the brewer’s brands, and the other is for brewing beers locally.

India has a big market for imported brands. The Belgian brewing giant is now present in over 200 outlets in four markets — the National Capital Region of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Goa. Four brands of InBev’s global portfolio have been introduced in India: Beck’s, Stella Artois, Leffe and Hoegaarden.

Through the second ‘brewing’ vertical, the company has introduced a locally produced brand, Tennents Super, which operates in the same category as Kingfisher Strong and Haywards 5000.

As for introducing new categories of beer, Mr Mukherji believes that India’s market for flavoured and different varieties of beer, ale etc is still in a nascent stage.

“The positive response to our Hoegaarden brand, which is ...More Info

Heineken N.V. announced on December, 4 that it is to close its Beamish & Crawford brewery in Cork in March 2009.

The brewer said all its draught beer operations will now be located at the Murphy brewery site in Cork.

The decision follows a review of the recently acquired Beamish & Crawford brewery. The review concluded that a significant investment would be needed for the Beamish & Crawford brewery to meet international standards. This, combined with the difficulty of expansion, excess brewing capacity at Heineken Ireland and the challenging market dynamics, has reinforced the decision to close the Beamish & Crawford brewery.

As a result, approximately 40 roles from Beamish & Crawford will transfer to Heineken Ireland and it is anticipated that 120 personnel will be made redundant. The brewer said it would provide every means possible to assist departing staff to find new employment elsewhere.

The expected synergies and restructuring costs associated with this decision are included in the synergy and restructuring projection of the GBP 145 million and GBP 95 million before tax respectively for the acquired S&N businesses, as announced by Heineken N.V. on 22 August 2008.

This announcement follows the unconditional approval by the Irish Competition Authority on 3 ...More Info

UK ministers may start setting drinks prices in pubs and restaurants as part of a clampdown on irresponsible drinking, Western Morning News published on December, 4.

In the Queen's Speech on December, 3, Gordon Brown unveiled his legislative programme for the next year, including a ban on all-you-can-drink deals, smaller glasses in pubs and more training for staff selling alcohol.

But Health Secretary Alan Johnson refused to rule out "taking action" on drinks prices after a major study said the move could bring "significant health and social benefits".

It suggests a charge of 80p per unit of alcohol on drinks in pubs and restaurants, meaning a pint of beer or lager could be set at a minimum of around £2.20.

However the set price for supermarkets and off-licences is suggested to be only 30p per unit, which could still leave pubs at a commercial disadvantage.

The prospect of price rises – aimed at curbing drinking levels – could be a new blow for the traditional pub, which is still reeling from alcohol tax hikes announced last week.

The British Beer and Pub Association warned a "two-stage minimum price" – covering supermarkets and pubs separately – would be "the worst option possible".

"It has the potential to ...More Info

UK’s HGCA published its Recommended List for 2009/2010 at the beginning of December.

The winter barley varieties included in the Recommended List 2009/2010 are as follows:

Two-row malting: Wintmalt, Flagon, Cassata, Pearl

Two-row feed: Retriever, Saffron, Accrue, Suzuka, Camion, Carat

Six-row feed: Volume, Bronx, Pelican, Colibri, Boost, Amarena, Sequel

HGCA recommends the following spring barley varieties for 2009/2010:

Malting varieties: Quench, Cropton, Concerto, Publican, NFC-Tipple, Forensic, Belgravia, Westminster, Cocktail, Oxbridge, Cellar, Optic, Decanter

Feed varieties: Waggon, Sweeney, Scout, Jolika, Rebecca, Doyen, Riviera

Statistics Canada published its November 2008 barley production estimate on December, 4.

Canada’s total barley production in November was estimated at 11781 thousand metric tonnes, + 7.3% over the nation’s barley production in 2007.

The September estimate was 11219 thousand metric tonnes.

Prices for feed barley on the European market have fallen to the level of intervention prices, La Depeche posted on December, 4.

This fact is not encouraging traders to put up for sale their grain, and the market is very still, experts report.

As for malting barley, only the crop 2009 has inspired some scarce deals, market participants lament.

C.J. Strauss, P.W.J. van Wyk, E.J. Lodolo, P.J. Botes, C.H. Pohl1, S. Nigam and J.L.F. Kock

Abstract

ABSTRACT J. Inst. Brew. 113(1), 42–47, 2007 Mitochondrial function is generally accepted as important for expression of yeast flocculation. In this study, a correlation between mitochondrial activity and flocculation is demonstrated using the XTT reduction assay. The mitochondrial activity of strongly flocculent cells was higher than those of weakly flocculent cells and cells cultivated in the presence of acetylsalicylic acid. Furthermore, we show the first oxylipin-containing flocculation binding sites on yeast cell surfaces using scanning electron microscopy. We propose that in addition to zymolectinmediated flocculation, oxylipin interactions may also play a role in yeast flocculation. Key words: 3-Hydroxy oxylipins, binding sites, electron microscopy, flocculation, mitochondria, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, XTT reduction assay. Load full article, 6 pages, 1600 Kb, PDF file