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RBPMail 2.11, November 1996
Real Beer Page Mail (RBPMail) began as a modest update to craft-brew events on the WWW. It evolved into a news digest and sometimes editorial forum. We present its contents here much as they were emailed to subscribers. Often, links you will see are out of date, and businesses referred to may also be long gone.
In this issue:
Sixty-years ago, the average Belgian consumed 200 liters/year; the average is nearly
half that now at 106 liters/year. Breweries' profits have been maintained
by increased consumption of more expensive specialty beers. And to counterbalance
stale home sales, Belgian beer-makers are looking abroad. From 1980
to 1994, exports doubled to 460 million liters, a quarter of the country's
total production. From 1992 to 1994, beer exports to the United States almost
doubled to 1.5 million liters. Chimay brewery export manager Michael Weber
says that Chimay accounts for 1/3 of all Belgian beers sold in the United
States. (Source: Paul Ames, Los Angeles Times, Tuesday March 26, 1996, Business,
Pg. 11)
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Microbrewery stocks slipped after Boston Beer Co. Inc., maker of Samuel Adams beers, said its
orders were lower than expected in its third quarter earnings announcement.
The company's stock dropped 20%, or down $3.50 to $12.50, an all-time low,
on the New York Stock Exchange after announcing October/November 1996 orders
grew only 5.5% over shipments for the same period last year. It posted earnings
of $2.3 million, or 11 cents a share vs. $1.8 million, or 10 cents a share,
a year earlier. Three brokerage firms promptly downgraded the stock. Other
specialty-brewing stocks to drop included: Redhook Ale Brewery Inc., down
$1. 31, or 8%, to $14.69; Pete's Brewing Co. lost 37.5 cents, or 5%, to
$7.375. Pyramid Breweries Inc. and Nor'Wester Brewing Co. also fell.
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China, showing potential to become the world's largest beer market by the turn of the century, has
enjoyed an annual growth rate of 22% in the country's beer market since
1983. Per capita consumption a year in China is 12 liters, slower than the
92 liters in the US. China now has more than 800 breweries, but the top
ten among them only occupy 10% of the domestic market. And 5% of all beer
sold in China is brewed by overseas-funded enterprises in the country. Anheuser
Busch invested extensively in Wuhan, capital of central China's Hubei province
in 1995, and now holds 80% of the "middle- and high- quality"
beer market in the region. The local Budweiser company plans to raise its
annual production capacity from the current 60,000 tons to more than 100,000
tons next year. AB also bought 5% of stock share of China's famous Qingdao
Brewery, the country's largest brewery, ten years ago. (Source: Xinhua News
Agency, 10/19/96)
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If you want to avoid the crowds, concerns about availability or just
want a easy shopping experience for friends and family this holiday, try
buying online. From Beer Of the Month Clubs to Brew School, Publications
Subscriptions to Stocks in Micros, we have it for you. If you like the ideas
here for yourself, print out the page and leave it around in handy places
as a hint....
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Beer Of the Month Clubs- a great way to introduce friends and family
to the craft
800 Microbrew
http://www.800microbrew.com
Malt Of the Earth http://www.MaltBev.com
Brew on Premise/Custom Label Beers
Custom Brew Haus http://www.custombrew.com
Subscriptions - Keep informed year-round
BeerWeekTM http://beerweek.com
Brew Magazine http://brewmag.com
Brew Your Own http://www.BYO.com
BrewingTechniques http://www.BrewingTechniques.com
Celebrator http://www.Celebrator.com
The Malt Advocate http://www.MaltAdvocate.com/maltadvocate
Midwest Beer Notes http://realbeer.com/beernotes
Southern Draft Brew News
http://southerndraft.com/sodraft
Yankee Brew News
http://www.YankeeBrew.com
Buy a Brewery- for the professional brewer on your list
AAA Metal Fabrication Inc
http://www.gorge.net/business/aaametal
American Brewers Guild http://realbeer.com/abg
Bohemian Brewing Co.
http://www.BohemianBreweries.com
DME Equipment
http://www.DMEBrewing.com
Hop Union http://www.HopUnion.com
John I. Haas, Inc. http://www.John-I-Haas.com
Five Star Products and Services, LLC http://www.fivestaraf.com
Merchandise- Right from your favorite suppliers
Beer Masters Tasting Society http://www.BeerMasters.com
Blue Hen Beer Company, LTD.
Brew Moon
Brew Tees http://realbeer.com/brewtees
Clipper City Brewing Company
Danse-Skjold Brewing Company http://www.danskol.com
Faultline Brewing Co. http://www.flbc.com
Flying Fish Brewing Co. http://www.flyingfish.com
Gritty McDuff's Brewpub http://www.grittys.com
The Hart Breweries, Ltd.
Pyramid Breweries
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Co. http://www.leinie.com
Lost Coast Brewery & Cafe http://www.lostcoast.com
McAuslan Brewing http://www.mcauslan.com
Portland Brewing Co. http://portlandbrew.com
Redwood Coast Brewing Company http://www.redwoodcoast.com
Rogue Ales http://www.rogueales.com
The Shipyard Brewery
Triple Rock Brewing http://www.triplerock.com
Twenty Tank Brewery http://www.20tank.com
Vanberg & Dewulf http://www.belgianexperts.com
Books, CDs & Tapes
Will Anderson's Most Recent Book
http://realbeer.com/rbp/authors/anderson/
Beaumont's Books & Tape http://www.WorldOfBeer.com
1997 Craft-Beer Calendars
Octoberfest CD-ROM http://realbeer.com/oktoberfest/
Brew Tours & Camps
Beer Camp! http://oldenberg.com/oldenberg
Portland Brew Bus
Euorpean Brewery Adventures
Stocks- may your generosity grow over time
Boston Beer Co. http://www.SamAdams.com
Franconia Brewing Company
Pyramid Brewing Co.
Spring Street Brewing http://www.witbeer.com
You can also visit a web listing of beer merchandise at: http://realbeer.com/retail
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Molson Breweries unit lost the rights to brew Coors Light, Canada's top-selling
light beer commanding over 5% share of the beer market. An arbitration panel
ruled that Molson relinquished its right to brew and sell Coors products
in April 1993 when Miller Brewing Co. acquired a 20% stake in the Canadian
brewer without Coors' consent, a breach of its licensing agreement with
Coors. Molson Breweries is also owned 40% each by Molson Cos and Australia's
Foster's Brewing Group Ltd. The panel ordered Molson to pay Coors all the
profits it earned from selling Coors beer since 1993, an amount that has
yet to be determined. Coors Light and Original Coors brands produced by
Molson account for 8% of its sales volume. In a new deal, Coors will likely
seek more control over its brands and higher royalties from Molson.
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Under the guise of curbing illegal production of alcohol, the government
passed legislation in July which put beer, vodka and other strong drinks
into the same category. The law will require producers to apply for a special
license as well as attaching a special seal to every bottle they produce.
Vladimir Ulanov, general director of Moscow's Tryokhgorny brewery, said
the country's beer industry could collapse if the government did not repeal
the law. "On Jan. 1, 1997 all Russian brewers could simply be forced
to stop producing beer," he told a news conference, adding that the
country's major brewers would unite to lobby the government. "Beer
is not vodka -- we make it in great volumes. We can turn out 48,000 bottles
an hour," Ulanov said. "We are not ready for this law and do not
have the machinery to comply with it. We'll have to take on an army of people
to add the seals by hand, which will immediately cut production by 75%."
The law would put more pressure on Russian beer makers at a time when they
were confronted with increasing imports and a simultaneous drop in demand.
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ANNOUNCING BEERWEEK (TM)!
By popular and convincing demand, respondents to our Quickie Survey last
month told us to bring on a weekly, subscription-based email newsletter.
The new venture, "BEERWeek (TM)," is a collaboration of The Celebrator
(http://www.celebrator.com) and
the Real Beer Page (http://realbeer.com).
BEERWeek (TM) will deliver timely news, events and fun tidbits every Monday
and is tailored for the Beer professional and enthusiast who needs up-to-the-minute
industry information. The publication will be entirely subscription and
sponsor-based, much like public broadcasting (without the quarterly fund-raising
drives). On November 18 you will be receiving a complimentary edition of
BEERWeek (TM) along with access to an archive of past issues. You can sign-up
now for the 1- year charter rate of $25.00 U.S. at:
http://BEERWeek.com
Loyal readers of RBPMail should be assured that BEERWeek (TM) will not
diminish or compromise the free delivery of RBPMail, which we target to
deliver to you the first week of each month.
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BELGIAN EXPERTISE ADDED TO THE WEB
Founded by Don Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield and based in Cooperstown,
NY, Vanber & Dewulf are the leading importers of specialty beers from
Belgium and French Flanders to the U.S.. Don & Wendy began importing
artisanal microbrews from Belgium in 1982, after living in Belgium for four
years. When the ad agencies they worked for in Belgium transferred them
back to the U.S., they obtained the importing rights to Duvel, from Moortgat
brewery. Since then, the line has grown to 30 beers from 9 independent,
family run breweries. They bring their informed evangelism to the Web in
their new site that includes news, reviews, food pairings and merchandise
for Belgian Beer Culture. Of special interest may be Don's monthly "Foaming
at the Mouth," of which the most recent edition adds another perspective
to the topic of our editorial this month (see below). Pictures are also
available for the progress of their Belgian-style brewery covered in last
month's RBPMail. See it all at:
http://www.BelgianExperts.com
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WORLD OF BEER SHINES BRIGHTLY
Self-described as "an unapologetically opinionated view of what's
brewing across the continent and around the globe," Stephen Beaumont's
World of Beer picks up steam in its third issue. See articles about: Coors
Freed From Molson Licence Deal; Les Bières de Montréal; The
Basketball Beer Diaries - a story about our favorite brewrs over two meters;
The Return of Cantillon for lamic lovers and more. If you have not seen
the site, yet, beat a path to a new beer bookmark at:
http://www.WorldOfBeer.com
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************ Real Beer Picks ************
BEER SITES TO SURF:
FLY ME TO THE MOON
Greetings, Earthlings. We invite you to orbit the Brew Moon web site.
Hit the launchpad and download the moonrections if your coordinates are
locked in on Massachusetts. New sites are opening around the Boston area
and now around the WWW at:
http://www.brewmoon.com
BOM CLUB ARRIVES JUST IN TIME
Ale By Comparison has taken the beer-of-the-month club concept, and added
a delicious twist. Hot salsa! Diverse flavors such as peach rum, cactus,
and garlic zinfandel. So if you're looking for a companion for your monthly
beer selection or for that hot, Holiday gift, check them out:
A LITTLE BAVARIA IN BALTIMORE
Baltimore Brewing Company, proud brewers of DeGroen's beers, melds tradition
and innovation, with consistently tasteful results. Their unique culinary
approach blends the best of German, American and regional Maryland cuisines.
Hearty and satisfying, their dishes, enjoyed within view of the beautiful
copper brewhouse, complement DeGroen's fresh beers superbly. Learn more
about what's brewing in Baltimore:
..........http://www.degroens.com
IT'S A VIRTUAL OKTOBERFEST
Really...with this hot, new CD-Rom, you can learn the history behind
the October Beer Festival, learn to yodel, or play interactive Oktoberfest
games! It'll be the hit of your next beer gathering or a great holiday gift,
so check it out:
..........http://www.realbeer.com/oktoberfest
APPLIED BREWING TECHNOLOGIES ONLINE
That's really their name and really their URL, sort of. ABT provides
consulting services to breweries around the world on everything from equipment
acquisition to business analysis. Learn more at:
http://www.ABTOnline.com
CAPITALIZING ON THE WWW
Spring Street Brewing Co. has a second offering now available at their
site at http://www.WitBeer.com. And,
if you're interested in what their Internet Stock offering Brew-ha has inspired,
see the Internet brokerage and offering company at:
http://www.WitCap.com
MUSICAL URLS
Northampton Brewery of Massachusetts has moved URLs for a final time
to:
http://www.NorthamptonBrewery.com
RAP WITH THE BEST OF THEM
Beer Master's Tasting Society has added a Beer Glossary and Style Guide
to their Master's Corner
http://beermasters.com
COMING SOON!
Tony and Jan Durning will soon be promoting their dream on the world
wide web...Draught Horse Brewing Company of Yardley, PA. Their web site
will contain information about the start-up operations of this brewpub and
their initial public offering. Keep your eyes peeled!
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QUICKIE EMAIL SURVEY
Thanks to all who responded to last month's Quickie Survey. Cheers to
Jen Sorensen winning a brand-new (or hardly used) Real Beer Page Tee in
our random drawing. We wanted to clarify some statistical information about
the Real Beer Page audience through querying about gender -- we thought
that perhaps our data would change using an email response over a Web form.
In fact, our email survey delivered identical results as our Web survey
of 3648 Real Beer Page viewers:
Male 90%
Female 10%
We're puzzled by these results because craft-beer seems to be a subject
that reaches across every gender, belief-based, racial, geographical, social
and economical boundary.
SURVEY SNIPPETS*
Real Beer Page User Demographics:
25-40 years old 59%
40+ years old 31%
Most Likely Place to Enjoy A Beer:
At home 69%
* From 1996 Survey of 3648 Real Beer Page viewers compiled by PSTAT
(http://www.pstat.com)
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************ Brewed Fresh For You! ************
The Real Beer Page announces a diverse group of brew websites to check out:
AAA Metal Fabrication http://www.gorge.net/business/aaametal
Beer Is My Life http://www.beerismylife.com
Boston Beer Co. http://www.SamAdams.com
Faultline Brewing Co. http://www.FLBC.com
Gritty McDuff's Brewpubs http://www.Grittys.com
Hop Union http://www.HopUnion.com
John I. Hass http://www.John-I-Haas.com
Malt of the Earth http://www.MaltBev.com
Real Beer Feedback http://realbeer.com/rbp/feedback.php/
Spring Street Brewing Co. http://www.WitBeer.com
World of Beer http://www.WorldOfBeer.com
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In a renewed effort to amend Florida's archaic beer bottle size law, concerned citizens have formed
the grass-roots organization, "Florida Consumers Beer Association."
For 30-years the state has required breweries to sell their beers in 8,
12, 16 or 32 ounces, prohibiting hundreds of microbrewed and imported beers
in 22-oz. and other sized containers from entering the Florida market. The
organization is seeking businesses and individuals who support its effort
in assembling a list of supporters for presentation to state Senators and
Representatives encouraging them to introduce a bill in the 1997 legislative
session to eliminate bottle size restrictions. For more information or to
share your support, the association may be reached at: O.O. Box 24691, Tampa,
FL 33623. 813.977.0141. marksto@aol.com (Source: Sara Doersam, Southern
Draft Brew News, , Oct./Nov. '96 issue, Pg. A-5)
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A Florida bill (H.B. 2709) allowing brewers exemption from the requirement
that "Florida" or "FL" be affixed to the top or bottom
of beer containers entering the state became law in June. The bill, which
originated in the Committee on Regulated Industries, requires that breweries
demonstrating 85% efficiency rates in tracing beer from the brewery to Florida
distributors may petition for exemption from the crown stamp requirement
(FL Statute 563.06). By the year 2000, beer manufacturers will be required
to show 90% beer tracking reliability to qualify for exemption. (Source:
Sara Doersam, Southern Draft Brew News, , Oct./Nov. '96 issue, Pg. A-5)
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A herd of thirsty elephants 45-strong in search of water destroyed several
illegal breweries in Midnapore, India, a district 62 miles southwest of
Calcutta. "The elephants destroyed six illegal breweries in two days.
They are notoriously famous for their fondness for liquor and are great
guzzlers," Indian forest officials said. (Source: item unverified;
forwarded by email from Marc Milrod @ University of Washington)
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Before launching into the heart of this editorial, I need to frame the
situation at hand: NBC ran a segment on Dateline Sunday, October 13 under
the guise of consumer advocacy regarding truth in labeling. I'd like to
suggest that it had very little to do with truth or labeling and appeal
for all aware to focus on the real issues of the debate.
For the benefit of those who did not see or are unaware of the implications
of the piece, let me expand on the situation towards my conclusion that
NBC, the same folks caught red-handed blowing up trucks in the past to make
a story, have descended into a new low through corporate stenography presented
as news.
NBC ran commercials a week before airing the segment teasing the piece
with the following: "Those high-priced microbrews Americans are spending
millions on... Before you take your next sip, there's something you should
know..." An industry moderated listserver forum began a lengthy thread
with the following excerpted posting:
"...What are your thoughts on the promos that NBC ran in the days
leading up to the story. I've heard from one pub-brewer in Pennsylvania
who said his business was down 25% the week before the show because people
were scared by the 'Don't drink another microbrew before you watch Dateline'
[message]. He said some of his regulars called and asked him, 'What's wrong
with microbrew? Is there some health risk?'"
During the actual piece, NBC unfolded what the mainstream public may
consider news, but what the beer press and Real Beer has covered since early
this year in terms of the "label" conflict. You might recall that
we presented the issue through critical analysis as "Legislative Marketing"
on the part of Anheuser-Busch and that A-B would be trying to create confusion
in the class while building their portfolio. The most glaring flaw of the
NBC piece was the lack of investigative reporting to find a story beyond
the A-B party line. In the presentation of the issue, NBC implied that contract
brewers mislabel their product to deceive the consumer. When Jim Koch, a
target of A-B's most aggressive attacks, was interviewed, poor lighting
and an implication of a drinking problem ("Jim Koch still tastes from
every batch of beer they brew... And he wasn't shy about doing so during
our interview" followed by several cuts back to Koch sipping his beer)
further slanted the piece towards A-B's Legislative Marketing angle. When
a softly-lit A-B spokesperson, Francine Katz, presented her case, she cast
aspersions freely on all competitors without debate.
And this brings us to the heart of our case. The pretense on behalf of
NBC about the consumer was deceitful. We know that NBC was informed -- as
we reported in previous RBPMail -- that A-B spearheaded changing the labeling
laws to simplify brewery identity several years ago. This failed to be reported.
We know that NBC learned about many of the other factors fueling the growth
of the craft-beer segment of the beer industry. The problem we have is that
NBC was brewing up a story that fit their angle, which is consistent with
the A-B angle. This is the essence of corporate stenography. The most dangerous
element of the assumption of journalistic integrity is that the debate is
proposed and answered by the corporation.
Why would NBC risk the integrity of a news team that has bears the equity
of Brokaw, Rather and Jennings? Let's start with self-interest. As the piece
mentioned, A-B is "one of the biggest television advertisers."
In fact, they spend $60 million dollars each year with NBC - over $1 million
each week. And, GE, parent company to NBC, also has an investment subsidiary
that purchased 10% of Red Hook, of which A-B owns 25%. That makes creating
confusion in the microbrewing and specialty beer market pretty motivating.
I'm not writing this piece just because of my personal outrage over GE/NBC's
corporate broadcasting: the day after the segment aired, I heard a camera-person
from another station say "microbreweries are all fakes." You may
find this hard to believe if you have traveled to any place brewing charactered
beer, but 98% of the market are not as aware micros as you are. And if they
saw the Dateline show, they got exactly what A-B wanted them to have - a
confusion about the market that they can eventually satisfy with A-B product
and marketing. The point is that the debate is about the debate.
When discussing the Dateline piece with other publishers, we found ourselves
falling into the trap of considering the merits of truth in labeling. This
is a straw-dog argument, meant to confuse the issue and divert attention
from A-B's ultimate goal which is control of the market place -- of beer,
and apparently, ideas.
What can we do? Talk about the Dateline piece. Not about the labeling,
but about how NBC and A-B are trying to influence the debate in American
about specialty beer through creating confusion. Bring it up in conversations
over the next several weeks to learn who saw the show and what they learned
or walked away with. If you can, educate them about the reality of the specialty
beer segment: some people microbrew; some contract brew. All have points
of contact on the bottle or distributor contacts from the retailers that
can clarify whether a beer is contract brewed or not, if that is a vital
issue for you. The most important point to make is that the success of the
specialty segment has been at the expense of A-B, which is fighting back
with their control of the distribution channel, the airwaves and through
legislative marketing. But they will not fight back by influencing the debate
if we have something to say about it.
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