Beer consumption is rising in many countries but the crisis will most likely hamper the growth – this was the general opinion pronounced at the meeting organised by Arvalis in Lille (France) on February, 5, La Depeche reported.

Previously forecast to increase by 2.5%, world’s beer production is not expected to rise in 2009 anymore. The global beer output is expected to drop by 80 mln hl, according to Alain Caekert (Malteurop). He said the drop will be a direct consequence of the economic crisis which will hit the market in full growth: estimated at 1.8 bln hl in 2008, world’s beer production grew 14% in four years.

The economic environment affects beer consumption all around the world, but in different ways. In Western countries, the demand is expected to remain stable, or even to grow. Here, the beer will benefit from the decrease of demand of de luxe drinks – liquors and wine (except in France). Brewers should put stress on LowCost beers, experts advise.

On the contrary, in the zones with previously strong growth, the industry might face “a partial slow in demand”, beer being a de luxe beverage this time.

Beer production has grown sharply in many countries. Russia ...More Info

Dutch brewer Heineken NV reported on February, 18 a 74% fall in 2008 net profit due to lower than expected profits from new businesses and net financing charges of EUR757 million.

Heineken - the world's third largest brewer by volume after Anheuser-Busch InBev NV - said net profit fell to EUR209 million in 2008, from EUR807 million a year earlier, even though sales rose to EUR14.3 billion, up from EUR11.2 billion, mainly boosted by the acquisition of U.K. brewer Scottish & Newcastle, which Heineken bought with Carlsberg in April.

Heineken said the group's beer volume grew by 16% (of which 3.6% was organic) to 161.5 million hl in 2008, from 139.2 million hl in 2007. Consolidated beer volume totalled 125.8 million hectolitres, +19%, of which 3.5% was organic. First time consolidations added 16.7 million hectolitres, of which 12.8 million hectolitres came from Western Europe (mostly S&N), 3.0 million hectolitres from Central and Eastern Europe, and the remaining 900,000 from the Americas and Africa.

Volume of the Heineken brand increased 4.7%, adding 1.2 million hectolitres, mainly driven by performances in Africa and Asia. The brand gained share in the international premium segment. Total volume of the Heineken brand, including The Netherlands, was 29.1 million ...More Info

Australia’s brewing giant Foster’s Group Limited published on February, 17 its results for the six months ended December 31, 2008.

Foster’s said its net profit increased by 4.5% to AU$411.1 million, with earnings per share up 6.5% to 21.4 cents.

Net sales revenue increased 2.2% to AU$2,407.6 mln and earnings before interest, tax, significant items and SGARA (EBITS) increased 4.5% to AU$663.2 mln. On a constant currency basis net sales revenue declined 0.9%, EBITS declined 1.8% and earnings per share increased 0.9%.

“In the face of very unique global trading conditions, our balance sheet is strong, our medium term funding secure and we continue to generate outstanding operating cash flows,” said Ian Johnston, Chief Executive Officer.

Beer, Cider and Spirits (BCS) in Australia, Asia and Pacific (AAP) continued to perform strongly with beer net sales revenue in Australia up 6.2% and AAP BCS EBITS up 5.6% on a constant currency basis.

“We’ve seen a strong comeback in Australian beer with underlying volume up over 3% for the half and we finished the year with around a 52% value share of the Australian beer market4,” Ian said.

In Australia Foster’s beer volume and net sales revenue growth improved through the first half. Foster’s underlying beer value share ...More Info

In 2008, Carlsberg’s pro rata organic beer volume growth totalled 3% (33% including acquisitions), driven by mid-single-digit growth in Eastern Europe and double-digit growth in Asia, the Danish brewer said in its report on the last year’s results on February, 18.

Carlsberg achieved progress in all geographic segments. Net revenue was DKK 59,944m (DKK 44,750m in 2007) with organic growth of 8% (5% in DKK), and operating profit before special items was DKK 7,979m (DKK 5,262m in 2007) with organic growth of 9% (6% in DKK).

Operating profit before special items increased by 52% to DKK 7,979 mln (DKK 5,262 mln in 2007) with organic growth of 9% (6% in DKK).

The company’s beer sales volume grew to 126.8 mln hl last year (115.2 mln hl in 2007). Carlsberg Group beer volumes were up 33% to 109.3 mln hl of beer (calculated pro rata) versus 82.0 mln hl in 2007. Organic growth accounted for 3% of this increase and acquisitions for 30%.

Strong focus on brand-driven value growth through pricing and mix continued, and price increases were implemented throughout the year. However, above-average volume growth in low-priced markets capped the net effect of growth on net revenue per hl beer at 5%, the brewer ...More Info

Steel Partners Japan Strategic Fund (Offshore), L.P. delivered to Sapporo Holdings Limited on February, 17 a letter stating that it is withdrawing its current proposal to acquire 33.3% of the outstanding voting rights of Sapporo at ¥875 per share, Business Wire reported on the same day.

Steel Partners said it was withdrawing the proposal due to the brewer’s ever-worsening financial and operational performance and continued refusal to negotiate the terms of an acceptable offer to shareholders.

In the letter addressed to Mr. Takao Murakami, Representative Director and President of Sapporo, Warren Lichtenstein of Steel Partners wrote: “Over the last two years, Steel Partners has repeatedly attempted to engage in an open dialogue with the company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and to discuss and negotiate our proposal with you. At no point were you or the Board willing to discuss, let alone meaningfully negotiate, an acceptable price or terms of a tender offer or other share acquisition plan.”

Mr. Lichtenstein added: “Unfortunately, Sapporo’s performance continues to deteriorate, negatively affecting shareholders and stakeholders who have watched the company’s prospects diminish and its share price drop lower and lower.”

As a result of management’s poor performance, Steel Partners said it intends to vote against the re-election ...More Info

According to analysts and media reports, the Belgium-based brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev is believed to have completed the process of accepting bids to sell Oriental Brewery, the second-largest beer brewer in South Korea, Asia in Focus communicated on February, 17.

“Five to six companies are likely to join the final bids to acquire Oriental Brewery Co... Ten bidders may join the initial bidding, which takes place in Hong Kong today [on February, 17] including Lotte Chilsung Beverage Co., SABMiller PLC, Affinity Equity Partners and MBK Partners LP,” a report by edaily said.

According to Asia in Focus publication, South Korea's retail conglomerate Lotte Group hinted that it may have submitted a bid to buy InBev’s Korean brewer.

"Lotte has long considered acquiring Oriental Brewery," said a high-ranking official at the South Korean conglomerate.

"If we didn't submit a bid, we could say so," the official said on condition of anonymity. "But, we can't say that for now."

A successful takeover of Oriental Brewery would allow Lotte, the country's fifth-largest conglomerate, to enter the beer business.

Media reports have said the sale of Oriental Brewery is being arranged by the Hong Kong office of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Obolon’s new malthouse has been in full operation since this January, the Ukrainian brewing company reported on February, 17.

“Total investments in Obolon’s malthouse situated in Tchemerovtsy (Khmelnitsk region) amounted to about UAH 500 mln. Amid global crisis, the launch of a modern malt factory is not just a company achievement but an event of national importance. This is a real breakthrough,” a company representative claimed.

The plant’s annual capacity is 120 thousand of malt, for which 170 thousand tonnes of barley is required.

The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics (ABARE) published its Australian Crop Report on February, 17.

Poor spring conditions hampered barley production in 2008-09, which is estimated at 6.8 million tonnes, 900,000 tonnes more than was produced last season, but less than initially forecast, ABARE said.

New South Wales’ barley production is estimated to have more than doubled in 2008-09, to be 1.6 million tonnes (+ 139%), reflecting a significant improvement in yields (1.58 t/ha) from the previous year’s drought affected crop. The area planted to barley was 3 per cent lower in 2008-09, which is just less than 1 million hectares.

The area sown to barley in Victoria in 2008-09 was around 950,000 hectares, which is 3 per cent higher than the area sown in 2007-08. Despite the increase in area planted, barley production in 2008-09 fell relative to the previous year to an estimated 869,000 tonnes(- 21%). Barley production in 2008-09 is estimated to have been around 35 per cent below the average of 1.3 million tonnes in the five years ended 2006-07. Victoria’s barley yields were 0.92 t/ha in 2008 – 2009.

Queensland’s production of barley is estimated to have increased by nearly 40,000 tonnes to 197,000 tonnes in 2008-09 ...More Info

The current economic downturn has made its presence felt in the US barley markets the past few weeks, Farm & Ranch Guide cited on February, 16 Marvin Zutz, the executive director the Minnesota Barley Growers Association.

The overall weakening commodity prices have taken feed barley down with them and the lessening demand for beer has had a lowering influence on malting barley prices.

“The barley market has softened, along with the other markets,” Zutz said. “A large part of that is the uncertainty out there now, not only in the domestic market, but the global market as well.

“And for the malting barley, especially, the beer market is extremely flat at this time,” he continued. “The beer market hasn't been immune to the recession. Beer production rose around 14 percent on an annual basis from 2005 to 2008, but since that time we haven't seen any rise. We are now fighting to maintain our market share.”

The feed barley market, on the other hand, has been following the corn market, which in turn has been following the stock and oil markets down, according to Zutz.

“When the stock and oil markets start to turn around, maybe we will see the corn and feed barley markets ...More Info

Malting barley growers left a conference in Edinburgh on February, 12 still not knowing the price they will receive for this year's crop, The Press and Journal reported on February, 13.

The only guarantee Greencore Malt commercial director Adrian Dyter gave was that prices would be below the £165 a tonne that it is claimed farmers need to break even.

Growers have for weeks been calling on the Scotch whisky distillers and their maltster suppliers to declare their hand so that they can decide if the crop is going to be worthwhile to plant or not.

Mr Dyter did, however, use the event to give a clear analysis of a malting market where the fundamentals are strong with investment in distilleries under way for the first time in decades.

But he warned: “If there is a health warning here it circles around changes in the world economy affecting demand."

Mr Dyter also noted the planned increase in malting capacity. Bairds Malt at Arbroath will have 57,000 tonnes of extra capacity by January 2010, Greencore at Buckie has just added 19,000 tonnes, while Simpsons at Berwick will have another 80,000 tonnes of capacity on stream by this May. That all adds up to 156,000 tonnes of ...More Info

Sofie Malfliet, Filip Van Opstaele, Jessika De Clippeleer, Evelien Syryn, Koen Goiris1, Luc De Cooman and Guido Aerts

Abstract:
J. Inst. Brew. 114(2), 180–192, 2008 Flavour changes of six Belgian pale lager beers were studied in order to estimate the importance of different parameters and reactions in relation to the ageing process. An attempt was made to link analytical data with sensory evaluation using multivariate statistical analysis. Partial least squares regression techniques (PLSR) were employed on the analytical and sensory data. As apparent from the PLSR model, significant indicators of lager beer ageing are aldehyde markers (especially total aldehydes, furfural, hexanal, 2-methylpropanal, 2-methylbutanal, and 3- methylbutanal), cold and permanent haze, and beer colour. Conversely, compounds or parameters that load negatively in the PLSR model for beer ageing are trans-isohumulones, cis-isohumulones, total bitterness, the T/C-ratio, polyphenolic markers (especially proanthocyanidins), the flavanoid content, and, to a lesser extent, the TB-index and reducing power (TRAP). The integrated analytical-sensorial methodology is proposed as a useful tool for evaluation of the flavour instability of pale lager beers. Key words: analytical markers, beer ageing, flavour instability, partial least squares regression. Load full article, 5 pages, 511 Kb, PDF file