Czech breweries' output fell by at least 5 percent to 18.8 million hectolitres and exports by 10 percent to 3.3 million hectolitres year-on-year in 2009, CTK cited the Czech Breweries and Malt Houses Association’s gross estimates on February, 2.

Definitive results for last year, processed by Ernst & Young, will be available at end-March.

The total output of Czech beer will copy the decrease in output of SABMiller’s Prazdroj brewery, which controls about a half of the Czech beer market, association head Jan Vesely said.

Prazdroj said this week its domestic sales had fallen by 4.5 percent to 7.55 million hl and direct exports by one tenth to 790,000 hl.

In H1 last year, total domestic beer sales fell by nearly 7 percent and exports decreased by 12.6 percent. In H2 the decline most likely slowed down.

According to K Brewery sales director Oto Bindera, the Czech beer market fell by about 8 percent last year.

Jiri Fusek, the head of the Czech Association of Small Independent Breweries, estimates last year's fall in output of all breweries at one tenth.

The fall in sales can also be seen in the decline of excise duty collection for last year. According to the General Customs Directorate, the collection of ...More Info

San Miguel Brewery Inc. (SMB) has completed the acquisition of the international beer business of its parent, food-turned-power conglomerate San Miguel Corp., ABS-CBN News communicated on February, 1.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, SMB, partly owned by Japan's Kirin Holdings, said it bought 100% of the overseas beer business on January 29.

The acquisition, worth $300 million, was to be funded by external debt.

The sale of SMC's international beer venture completes the spin-off of all its beer businesses.

SMC has been selling core assets as it diversifies into high-growth industries in a bid to increase shareholder value.

United Breweries Ltd. (UBL), India’s top beer producer, has reported a 24% growth in sales volume for the third quarter ended December 31, 2009.

This resulted from buoyant markets across India, particularly Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, as well as an increased market share. Growth in these markets more than offset a decline in Karnataka consequent to an increase in excise duties earlier in the year, United Breweries said.

After resumption of supply in Andhra Pradesh the company has obtained a market share of 35%, which is in excess of its previous share. During the quarter, UBL’s national market share has reached an all-time high of 53%.

Strong beer continues to increase share, and Kingfisher Strong has reinforced its leadership position during the quarter.

The company has managed to improve its EBITDA margin compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year despite increased cost of recycled bottles and contraction of the profitable Karnataka market. This was made possible through higher efficiencies and lower operational costs.

UBL’s profit before interest & exceptional items during the first nine months of FY2010 has grown by 34% compared to the corresponding period last year.

As announced earlier, the partnership with Heineken was formalised during the quarter. This will ...More Info

Plzensky Prazdroj AS, a Czech unit of SABMiller PLC, said on February, 1 its sales volumes dropped by 1.9% on the year to 10.53 million hectolitres in 2009, largely due to a drop in sales in its domestic market and despite a rise in international sales.

"The economic slowdown and a drop in tourists [arriving in the Czech Republic] continued to affect beer sales of Plzensky Prazdroj," company spokesman Jiri Marecek said in a statement.

Czech sales dropped 4.5% on the year to 7.55 million hectoliters in 2009. Plzensky Prazdroj is the maker of premium pilsner lager, named after the Czech city of Plzen - also known as Pilsen in German - located near the Czech-German border.

Premium brands from the portfolio of Plzeňský Prazdroj maintained sales volumes supported by rapid growth of 11° gravity segment, which has more than doubled. Velkopopovicky Kozel delivered outstanding results and its 11° variety achieved 21 % growth on the domestic market. The newly launched 11°Excelent in the family of the Czech best seller Gambrinus saw a tremendous success when only three months after its launch Excelent became the most widely sold 11-degree beer on the Czech market and continued to strengthen its position throughout ...More Info

Hite Brewery Co., South Korea's largest beermaker, has signed a deal with Japanese firm Kawasho Foods Corp. to increase sales of its products in Japan, AsiaPulse reported on February, 1.

Under the deal, Hite will sell its products under the brand name of "Prime Drafts" in Japan through the distribution network of Kawasho Foods, the company said.

The Japanese foodmaker, a unit of the world's fourth largest steelmaker JFE Steel Corp., was set up in 2004.

The brewer's exports to Japan last year stood at 4.8 million cases, the highest ever to the neighboring country. One case contains 24 350 millileter cans.

Hite predicts its shipments to Japan will reach more than 5 million cases this year.

Dutch brewer Heineken is in talks to acquire the stakes in Burns House and Commonwealth Brewery that are currently held by its partner, the holding vehicle for Sir Garet 'Tiger' Finlayson and his family, Tribune Business reported on January, 29.

The deal may be worth more than $100 mln, sources said.

The global brewing giant has confirmed the negotiations to acquire the stakes held by Associated Bahamian Distillers and Brewers' (ABDAB) in the Bahamas' largest liquor distributor/wholesaler and brewery, Tribune Business said.

Heineken - which also holds stakes in the company and Commonwealth Brewery - is "exploring" the possibility of buying out the Finlayson family and their fellow investors, LeRoy Archer, managing director of the Burns House Group of Companies, said.

Hinting that a company such as Heineken did not issue such a press statement unless it was confident an agreement might be close, an undisclosed source said of the potential purchase: "It would most certainly be nine-figure money. I think it's nine-figure money, making it one of the biggest deals ever seen here."

ABDAB currently own 47 per cent of Commonwealth Brewery, giving Heineken the majority 53 per cent equity stake. However, the position is reversed at Burns House, where ABDAB holds a 78.8 ...More Info

Available malt production statistics for the crop year 2009/10, which has been made public early in February, is as follows:

German malt production in July/Sept reached 456,000 tons versus 486,000 tons a year earlier, (minus 6.2%). However, the country’s September malt output alone declined by 13.9%.

French barley usage in July/Oct 2009 constituted 424,000 tons, a decline of 14.1% as compared to the same period in 2008.

UK’s July/21 November malt output dropped by 14.4% to 595,000 tons.

Slowdowns of production were reported from many other countries as well.

For buyers in dollar-dominated countries it looks attractive to purchase EU malt after a sharp drop of the Euro currency against all dollar currencies and the Japanese Yen, experts said.

Due to especially bad market circumstances maltsters in Southeast Europe and Scandinavia are forced and prepared to offer malt aggressively. In part, they are helped by lower purchase prices of barley.

ABARE’s malting barley export estimate of 900,000 tonnes will not be reached, industry analysts communicated on February, 1.

A recent estimate of Australia’s malting barley exports is 700,000 tonnes of all malting grades, it is reported.

There had been sales reported to China of up to 500,000 tonnes.

When harvest results came in, farmers abstained from selling and drove up markets. Shippers had to ask for extension of their shipping periods or swapped sales to other origins, Canadian and French barley.

Today’s markets are called US$ 155,-/160,- FOB West coast and 195,-/200,- CIF Saudi Arabia for feed barley, and 235,-/240,- FOB resp. 275,-/280,- CIF China for malting barley.

Malting barley markets are almost non-existent for crop 2009 in the EU, a market survey stated at the beginning of February.

Quotes are: Two-row spring barley, France, basis July, FOB Creil EUR 98,- / 100,-; FOB Danish/U.K. ports, February EUR 108,-/110,-; delivered South German maltings, February EUR 118,-/120,-.

It is obvious that farmers will not sell malting barley at the level of feed barley for a prolonged period, analysts said.

Markets had shown an interesting premium scheme for the next three crops, namely crop 2010 about EUR 30,- higher than old crop barley, crop 2011 and crop 2012 another 20,- more for each year.

Demand for crop 2010 has been so small in January that new crop markets cracked.

French 2rs barley, July 2010, is worth EUR 123,-, down from 130,-, the other origins must follow, the German premium for new crop barley dropped already to EUR 20,-/22,- per ton.

US barley prices have little chance for a price rally in the near future, Farm & Ranch Guide posted on January, 29.

According to the National Ag Statistics Service estimates, the ending stocks report for North Dakota, the largest barley producing state in the nation, are 50 percent higher than a year ago. The amount of barley stored in all positions in the state totalled 81.6 million bushels, with 60.0 million of that stored on farms, which is 71 percent higher than a year ago.

Disappearance during the months of September-November amounted to 1.5 million bushels, down 87 percent from the same period in 2008.

Nationwide, the barley ending stocks as of Dec. 1 totalled 203.1 million bushels, compared to 172.8 million on Dec. 1, 2008.

“Our barley crop this past year had tremendous quality and because of that there's an excess supply of good malting barley,” said Jim Broten, a barley grower from Dazey, N.D., who is also a member of the North Dakota Barley Council and the U.S. Grains Council.

This large stockpile of barley, coupled with a softer demand for both feed and malting classes, has led to stagnant prices, according to Broten.

“I would say that if you don't have a ...More Info

Guy Derdelinckx

ABSTRACT Recent progress of science and technology in the disciplines of brewing have clearly shown that several molecules of the polyphenolic family have a very positive role when they are used and handled correctly during the process. After reviewing the state of art of the science at each step of the production process, from raw raw materials till conditioned beer, it is demonstrated too that it’s worthy to reduce the quantity of sensitive polyphenols in raw materials and adjuncts. The conclusions reveals the contradictions of results between references due to the analytical methods but advise in practice the removal of the partial and total oxidized fractions before fermentation and the addition of fresh typical beer flavanoids by boiling and filling, as recommended by other authors.
Key words: Beer, polyphenols, phenolic acids, flavonoids, flavanoids, polymerization, depolymerisation
Cerevisia, 33 (4) 2008 http://www.cerevisia.eu