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RBPMail 4.01, January 1998
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 Often, links you will see are out of date, and businesses referred to may also be long gone.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:
If you like what you read here and want more every week, subscribe to
BEERWeek. Much of the content within is digested from BEERWeek, the paid
subscription supported industry email newsletter. Get your free sample
today at
http://www.beerweek.com
"BUD" OUT; A-B IN SWISS COURTS
A December 12 Wall Street Journal, article announced that Anheuser-
Busch was going to court to appeal a ban on selling US.-brewed "Bud"
in Switzerland. The Swiss trade tribunal chief banned "Bud" due to
potential consumer confusion with "Budweiser," produced by Czech
brewer Budejovicky Budvar. While the matter has been in dispute in
nearly 20 European nations, this is the first time a court has barred the
use of the "Bud" name, according to A-B attorney, Georg Krneta. In
November, the Czech authorities turned down an arrangement whereby
A-B could use the name "Bud" in disputed markets in exchange for A-
B's agreeing to buy Czech hops for the next ten years. Budvar's reason
for rejecting this deal was that to give any ground to Anheuser-Busch
regarding this matter could start "an irreversible process." The Swiss
trade tribunal also stated that, in 1983, A-B removed "Budweiser" from
the Swiss register of brand names after a Czech protest. "Bud" was not
mentioned. Mr. Krneta argues that the ban cannot therefore extend to
"Bud," and has recommended that A-B appeal its case before
Switzerland's supreme court, the Federal Tribunal. (BeerWeek, 9/8;
6/29)
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The Bailiff's Court in Denmark has issued an injunction against a
company that is importing beer from the Czech Republic's Budejovicky
Budvar brewery until it stops using the word "Budweiser" on the label.
In the past this beer had been sold in Denmark as Budweiser Budvar.
Anheuser-Busch maintains its right to the Budweiser moniker.
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FOSTER'S CONSIDERS MORE ALLIANCES IN CHINA
Foster's Brewing Group Ltd. announced that it was considering
forming more international brewing alliances in the Chinese beer
market. Currently, Foster's has three Chinese breweries running at half
their capacity. These breweries need to reach full capacity to be
competitive in the huge -- but oversupplied -- Chinese market. A
brewing alliance would help in that direction. About 40 major brewers
have set up joint venture breweries in China. Chinese drinkers
consumed 16 million tons of locally brewed beer. Most breweries,
however, are not yet turning a profit..
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BRITISH BREWERS UP IN ARMS
British small brewers are upset about government plans to add a penny
to the existing tax on a pint of beer as of January, 1998. Kent brewery
Shepherd Neame has taken legal action against the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, Gordon Brown, over the increase. British regional brewery
Morland Plc's CEO Mike Watts and Anthony Fuller, chairman of
London brewery Fuller, Smith & Turner Plc pledged support for
Neame's action. The action is being taken on the grounds that it ignores
Britain's obligation to move towards consensus on excise duties with
other EC member states; this is under the Treaty of Rome. According to
Watts, "We are supposed to be in Europe and on a level playing field."
Today in Britain, 1.3 million pints are exported from the European
continent daily -- 5% of total British beer consumption.
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BrewingTechniques, the magazine for home and professional brewers,
extends its offer for an information-packed, money-saving gift package.
For a limited time, you can get a one-year subscription to the magazine,
plus a copy of the 1997 Brewers' Market Guide
(http://www.probrewer.com/marketguide.php), plus a collection of
stellar homebrew recipes from BrewingTechniques' editorial advisers,
all for just $30! You can save even more if you buy the two-year
package, which gives you a two-year subscription, both the 1996 and
1997 Brewers' Market Guides, and the recipe book for just $60! To
order, use the online order form listed below or contact Damara
Dufrene, BT's circulation manager, at circulation@brewtech.com or 1-
800-427-2993.
http://brewingtechniques.com/holiday_order.php
By the way, if you haven't been by the BrewingTechniques pages in
awhile, check out their redesign, expanded library, powerful search and
index tools.
http://www.brewingtechniques.com
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THE WORLD OF BEER REDISCOVERED
This month's Stephen Beaumont's World Of Beer finds Beaumont
reviewing 24 hours of tasting specialty beer in Antwerp, Belgium, a
family Kitchen Table Tasting of primarily west coast Winter beers, and
a comparison of the Seattle and Vancouver beer scenes. When you're
finished reading that, leave no stone unturned and no page unclicked --
there are great gems of information on his quotes, feedback and events
pages as well. While there, make sure you subscribe for Beaumont's
monthly email newsletters, which uniquely supplement the content on
the web page.
http://www.worldofbeer.com
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ENJOY A BEERWEEK ON US
We've just implemented a cool new feature: get a sample issue of
BEERWeek for free. Almost all of the great, international beer news in
RBPMail comes out of BEERWeek, which is great for those of you
who like it free and don't mind waiting for information. If you're in the
biz or you just have to know about beer industry info as the story
breaks, BEERWeek is a must-read for you. Every week you can be
getting instant news updates, new events, openings and closings, press
and new beer releases and more. All for less than $1/issue. See what
you're missing by trying a BEERWeek on us at:
http://www.beerweek.com
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CHECK OUT THE KICKING RED ASS:
Red Ass Brewing Co., purveyors of the fine Buckin' A Pale Ale, Red
Ass Wheat and Red Ass Amber, gallop onto the WWW scene with this
high-stepping site. Users can purchase Red Ass merchandise, download
a Buckin' Bucky screensaver and check out Red Ass events. Guess
what people who surf the whole Red Ass site are called?
http://www.redass.com
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GREAT LAKES BREWING DEBUTS WEB SITE
If you've ever met the brewers or tasted the beers from Great Lakes
Brewing Company in Cleveland, Ohio, you've discovered their fanatical
pursuit of excellence in all aspects of their business. Their beers are
freshness dated, use only the finest ingredients and are distributed
through a carefully monitored, cold storage network. Their brewpub
location, menu and service are outstanding. The GLBC beers draw their
names and inspiration from local legends the likes of Rockefeller, Elliot
Ness and Commodore Perry. And now, the GLBC web site delivers the
same level of experience. Dive deep into the site to learn about this
regional leader... and a lot more.
http://www.greatlakesbrewing.com
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Thanks to all who have been replying to our Quickie Surveys. We draw
one winner each month for the prize of Michael Jackson's The Great
Beers of Belgium distributed by Vanberg & DeWulf
(http://www.BelgianExperts.com), Importers of fine Belgian beers and
now brewers of Belgian-style beer in their Cooperstown-based
Brewery Ommegang. The lucky winner this month is Shelley L. Hays,
and recreation topped her list.
Last month we sat you on our virtual Santa's lap and asked what
product area was on the top of YOUR wishlist for the holiday season.
92% of your wishes fell into seven categories. Considering our editorial
focus, it should be no surprise that BEER topped wishlists at 25%,
followed by computing items at 18%, with the catch-all recreation
coming in at 17%. You were just as likely to wish for world peace as
for apparel items; slightly more likely to want housewares and slightly
less for tools of your profession.
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- The Real Beer Page announces a diverse group of brew websites
to check out:
- Alaska Brewing
- http://www.juneau.com/akbrew
- BJs Brewhouse
- http://www.bjsbrewhouse.com
- Briess Malting
- http://www.briess.com
- Cornucopia
- http://www.cornucopia1.com
- Hollywood Blonde
- http://www.greatbeerco.com
- Hogshead BOTM
- http://www.hogshead.com
- Imperial Beer
- http://www.imperial.com
- Northern Brew Systems
- http://www.northernbrewsystems.com
- Spaten
- http://spatenusa.com
- Academy of Homebrew
- http://www.theacademy.com
- Cymba Openers
- http://www.cymba.com
- Hempen Ale
- http://www.hempenale.com
- Portsmouth Brewery
- http://portsmouthbrewery.com
- Shiner Bock
- http://www.shiner.com
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BUD MAKES IT IN BRAZIL
An update from a story breaking in RBPMail July '97, Budweiser will
be produced in Brazil after all. The nation's top competition regulator
will allow a joint venture between Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Antarctica
of Brazil. The regulator had ruled in June 1997 that the original
arrangement was not in the interest of Brazilian consumers. After A-B
and Antarctica presented counter-proposals, raising A-B's stake in the
venture, the decision was reversed. Antarctica will produce Budweiser
for the Brazilian market at a new plant in Rio de Janeiro state. It will
also produce its new Cristal brand, which A-B will market in the U.S.
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RUSSIAN BEER MARKET HEATING UP
Russian drinkers are turning more and more to beer . According to
British broker Robert Fleming, potential for beer market growth in
Russia is "enormous," partly because Russian consumption is still very
low. Fleming predicts that Russian beer consumption will grow by at
least 7% a year for the next 7-10 years. Fleming has a buy
recommendation on Sun Brewing, Russia's largest brewer. A
December 16 PRNewswire from SUN Brewing Limited, Russia's
largest beer brewer, reported record sales and earnings for third quarter
ending September 30, 1997, excluding the operations of its
Yekaterinburg (the infamous resting place of Czar Nicholas II and
family) brewing company, where a dispute with management is
continuing. SUN's financials are prepared in strict accordance with U.S.
GAAP principles and not Russian tax regulations. Russian tax rules,
used by most other Russian enterprises, tend to highly overstate true
profitability.
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HEINEKEN GOBBLES UP SHARE OF SLOVAKIAN MARKET
Heineken NV of the Netherlands has acquired a 49% stake in Karsay
SRO, the fifth largest brewery in Slovakia. Karsay employs 300 people
in the western Slovakian town of Nitra, and markets Corgon lager and
Maurus dark beer. Heineken acquired a 66% stake in another Slovakian
brewery and malting company, Zlaty Bazant AS in 1995. Zlaty Bazant
AS is in the southwestern town of Hurbanovo. With its acquisition of
Karsay SRO, Heineken will have a share of about 20 percent of
Slovakia's beer market.
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HEMP TAKEN TO HIGHEST SWISS COURT
Switzerland's highest court has ruled that Swiss who grow
hallucinogenic plants to make beer or other legal products cannot be
prosecuted under drug laws. According to the court, an investigating
magistrate in the canton of Valais had acted precipitously when he seized
8.5 tons of Indian hemp from a commune that grew it. The commune
stated that it used it to fill industrial orders, including one for 1,100
pounds of dried hemp blossoms from a brewery specializing in hemp
beer. The blossoms can now be released to the brewery on confirmation
that it had indeed placed the order, and provides assurances that the crop
will be used only to brew.
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MERGER CREATES MID-ATLANTIC HEAVYWEIGHT
Frederick Brewing Company, Frederick, MD, announced on December
15 its acquisition of two Maryland breweries, Wild Goose Brewery,
Cambridge, and Brimstone Brewing Company, Baltimore. Frederick
Brewing Co. will pay approximately $3 million for Wild Goose
Brewery, and will also issue 80,000 shares of stock for the brands and
formulas of Brimstone Brewing Company. The merger creates the Mid-
Atlantic region's largest craft brewery, according to the company's
press release. Wild Goose, founded in 1989, produces eight styles of
beer, brewed in the classic English style. Brimstone is family-owned,
produces six styles of beer, and is known for its classic "Stone Beer."
Frederick Brewing Co. was founded in 1993; it is Maryland's largest
brewer. It produces Blue Ridge and Hempen beers.
http://www.hempenale.com
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ROGUE BRINGS HOME JAPANESE BREWING AWARDS
Rogue Ales, Newport, Oregon, was the only foreign gold medal winner
at the International Beer Summit in Osaka, Japan. It was the only
brewery to win more than one medal. The event drew 120 entries from
25 Japanese breweries and 26 foreign breweries. Judges included
Charlie Papazian and Bill Siebel and drew 20,000 people over three
days. Rogue was awarded the gold medal for Phred to Bed, its Japanese
version of Old Crustacean Barleywine, in the specialty ale category.
Brown Bear Stout (Shakespeare Stout) won a bronze in dark ales;
Chitose Hasscup, an herbal beer brewed especially for Japan, won the
bronze in specialty ales. Rogue is the first American brewery to label
products in kanji, the traditional Japanese script.
http://www.rogueales.com
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HOMEBREWERS NO LONGER OUTLAWS IN MICHIGAN
Governor Engler signed House Bill 4850 on December 2, 1997,
formally recognizing the home production of beer along with wine and
cider. Up to the signing, Michigan was one of 20 states that did not
have specific legislation to allow for the home manufacture of beer for
personal use. The existing statute, written in 1933, provided for making
wine and cider but not beer. Home brewing of beer was recognized
federally in 1978, subject to age restrictions and amount (up to 200
gallons of home made beer per two or more adults within a household),
provided such production is not a violation of state law. Since that time,
30 states have written provisions to allow homebrewing. (Source: Rex
Halfpenny, Michigan Beer Guide)
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REPEAL CELEBRATES 64TH ANNIVERSARY
Celebrator Beer News correspondent CR Saikley reports: "On
December 5th in 1933, the 31st Amendment to the U.S. constitution
was ratified, bringing an end to Prohibition. By the end of the month,
605 brewing licenses had been issued nationwide."
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HOOKER HASSLES FOR CT BREWERS
Essex recently received a letter from the Redhook Brewery asking Essex
to stop using the name Hooker for their beers. Essex Brewing, a
Niantic, CT micro in business for less than a year, named its product
line after a fictitious historic figure, S. G. Hooker. According to Essex
co-owner Steve Pietryk, Redhook considers any beer name containing
the word "hook" to be a copyright or trademark infringement. Redhook
CFO Brad Berg says that although he doesn't have the details on the
letter to Essex, "Redhook does stay vigilant and assertive on protecting
our trademarks because they're only as good as we protect them in the
marketplace." In related news Essex Brewing and Connecticut's Trout
Brook Brewhouse, another less-than-year-old micro, are also in
contention over the use of the name "Hooker." Trout Brook sells
Hooker Ale on draft in Connecticut, but has not received a "cease and
desist" letter from Redhook.
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Miller Brewing Co. is readying sales forces to roll out Chia Pigs for
their St. Patrick's Day Point-of-Purchase promotion. Miller Brewing
wholesalers are reportedly blanching at the idea. According to an article
by Gerry Khermouch in the December 1, 1997 Brandweek, wholesalers
are nervous about the unusual idea. "...This Chia pet thing is scary.
March and St. Patrick's Day is the first quarter. We're very concerned,"
commented one wholesaler. Some wholesalers are squirreling away
conventional materials featuring shamrocks only and the Miller Time
logo.
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BUD ANNOUNCES BREWPUB AT TAMPA BALLFIELD
Anheuser-Busch announced its partnership with the Tampa Bay Devil
Rays baseball team effective in December 1997, making Budweiser an
official sponsor of Tropicana Field and giving A-B exclusive signage
and branding rights to the "Budweiser Brew Pub" at the Field. A-B also
revealed plans for the Budweiser Brew House, a retail establishment
within the Field that showcases Budweiser history. The Brew House
will feature A-B beers, including Michelob Specialty Ales and Lagers,
along with a light food menu. The interior of the Brew House will
feature interiors reminiscent of the early years of this century, and will
have a replica 1931 Budweiser beer truck parked inside the
establishment.
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SAM ADAMS LAUNCHES CLUB MED SWEEPSTAKES
Boston Beer Company has created sweepstakes to celebrate the
introduction of Samuel Adams White Ale, the company's new winter
seasonal, brewed in the Belgian style. Forty winners and their guests
will be sent on an all-expenses-paid trip to Club Med resorts in the
Caribbean and Colorado. Sweepstakes entry forms can be found on
table tents and tear pads at participating establishments. Entry deadline is
April 15.
http://www.samadams.com
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"SEINFELD" MILLER APPEALS RULING
The employee lawsuit set off by a Seinfeld episode is costing Miller a
$30 million bond. A judge ordered Miller to post the amount while it
appeals the $24 million plus verdict ruled against it in July. The story
began when an executive was dismissed after telling a co-worker about
a racy episode where a character's name rhymed with part of the female
anatomy. The punch line was, "Deloris."
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ROCK BOTTOM SHAKY
In a company press release, publicly traded Rock Bottom Restaurants,
Inc. (NASDAQ) announced the appointment of company
founder and Chairman of the Board Frank B. Day as President and
Chief Executive Officer. He will replace Thomas Moxcey who is
leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Fourth quarter
results of operations to date have been lower than expected, according to
the news release. The company has grown to include some 69 Rock
Bottom Brewery restaurants, Old Chicago restaurants and other
properties across the nation. The company will take further write-offs in
Q4 "relating to underperforming restaurant assets that would likely
include the closing of certain restaurants in 1998." Mr. Day commented
on the need to tackle several aspects of restaurant operations. "While the
vast majority of our restaurants have strong operating results, some are
underperforming," he said. The company has also adopted a
shareholder rights plan to protect shareholders' investments in the event
of a takeover of the Company.
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BEER & HEALTH: THE GOOD NEWS CONTINUES
As reported in this area for the last several years, beer's healthy affects
are coming to light in study after study. The most recent and most
comprehensive to date, a 9-year study of 490,000 adults between the
ages of 30 and 104 released by the American Cancer Society, shows
that drinking a little bit of alcohol every day could help your heart.
Researchers found that for adults over the age of 30, one alcoholic
beverage a day can lower the risk of death from heart disease, stroke
and all other causes by about 20%. The most powerful effects of this
limited alcohol intake appear to be felt by the heart. Researchers said that
alcohol, taken in moderation, seems to reduce the risk of blood clots and
raises levels of "good" HDL cholesterol, benefiting the entire
cardiovascular system. (Source: Southern Draft Brew News)
http://www.southerndraft.com
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CALIFORNIA PUB CIRCUMVENTS SMOKING REG'S
As of January 1, 1998, all California bars, taverns and gaming clubs are
smoke free. Barley & Hopps, San Mateo, CA, opened a Cigar Bar &
Smoking Lounge to be in full compliance with the new code requiring
elimination of indoor smoking where employees work. The Cigar Bar &
Smoking Lounge will be 320 square feet, furnished with cocktail tables,
high back smoker chairs and a TV. There will be a state-of-the-art
ventilation system and a smoke ionizer. The new code requires that no
employees enter the room during operating hours. The brewpub has
installed an intercom phone system allowing patrons to call directly to
the bar to place their orders. The customer will step outside the room to
receive the order from the waitperson. Says B&H managing partner,
Tom Halen, "...Short of having our staff don gas masks to enter the
room, it is the best solution we could offer."
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Happy New Year. January is a great time to review the year and make
some informed guesses about things to come. Last month's editorial
covered where we think the specialty beer industry is headed. This
month we'll look at the Real Beer Network.
For Real Beer, 1997 was a critical, pivotal year in our development.
We've turned the corner on critical mass in audience, content and
industry participation. The Real Beer strategy from enception was
to build a resource that we would like to use as an audience and in doing
so, create a site of value for others. Our vision is to be a leader in this
medium through publishing integrity and growing the niche category of
beer. First and foremost in this vision is our audience, which is why '97
saw us enriching our online offerings and tools.
A small list of additions from 1997 includes: improved search and
search results formatting; greater integration of our databases and
navigation; more online publications; deeper content base; enhanced
tools for our publishing partners. In terms of content, we released the
ProBrewer pages for industry and just completed our first successful
year of a fee-based industry email newsletter, BEERWeek, in
partnership with The Celebrator Beer News. We've added more
network resources to meet increased traffic demands and more staff to
keep pace with the rigors of updating content daily.
Publishing partners Brew Magazine, BrewingTechniques, BrewPub!,
Brew Your Own, The Celebrator, Great Lakes Brewing News,
Midwest Beer Notes, Southern Draft and Yankee Brew News have
maintained or increased their commitments to online publishing,
deepening the high-quality, journalistically produced content in our
network. World-class writers like Lisa Variano, Ben Meyers, Gregg
Smith, Greg Glaser and Alan Moen have contributed to our author's
section. We've been fortunate to host and present: Stephen Beaumont's
World of Beer -- subscribe to his biweekly newsletter if you get a
chance; With over 2000 beers tasted and most reviewed, Gak's Beer Is
My Life; Homebeervana, The Brewery; Belgian-styling listserver, the
Lambic Digest; homegrown New Mexico Virtual Brew Pub and more.
By our report card, we're pretty satisfied with the content track.
In terms of the online community, you've grown with us. This
RBPMail newsletter was subscribed to by 15,000 people by the end of
'95, 30,000 by end of '96 and ended '97 with about 60,000 live email
subscribers. Our web traffic increases this same 100% growth rate each
year, putting our monthly visitors in the 200,000 range. These are
significant numbers for publishers in any medium and we see no end to
the growth of our audience.
So, what do we do for an encore? We may have telegraphed our
direction in the last couple of RBPMails through the announcement of
relationships such as Michael Jackson with The Beer Hunter site and
expanded International coverage, as well as with the introduction of the
Real Beer Channel for MSIE 4.0. For those that thought we were
playing browser preference, fear not: our intent is to spread the word of
the craft as broadly as possible, not to limit it to elites. In 1998 we will
be building more brand-to-brand and international relationships and
pushing content out in new ways -- through channels, hypermail and
more. We will also be calling on our audience to get politically active on
causes that affect the craft -- neoprohibitionist legislation, distribution
and capacity laws all affect the craft's long-term health. We envision
building communications tools to allow you to let your local legislators
know where you stand on issues affecting your rights as a consumer.
We think '98 will be a great year to be a consumer and to watch the Real
Beer Network.
Feel free to send us mail letting us know what you want to see from
Real Beer in 1998. We've set up a special mail box for this purpose.
Send e mailto:wishlist@realbeer.com
It's your publication. We're just publishing it. If your ideas make sense
and we have the resources to pursue them, we'll put them in the plan.
Maybe this time next year we'll be including your ideas as one of our
'98 accomplishments.
Cheers!
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