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RBPMail 5.07, July 1999
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 Often, links you will see are out of date, and businesses referred to may also be long gone.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:
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OLD PECULIER CHAMPION INTERNATIONAL BEER AT AUSTRALIAN AWARDS
The Scottish & Newcastle Brewery of Edinburgh, Scotland, won the Champion
International Brewery as well as the Champion International Beer Trophy
for Theakston's Old Peculier at the 1999 Australian International Beer
Awards. The competition drew a record 445 beers from 23 countries. Hahn
Premium Lager was the big winner, capturing five trophies, including
Grand Champion Beer of 1999. A Belgian beer, Hoegaarden Forbidden Fruit,
was named Champion Specialty Beer. The Boston Beer Co. won Best Lager,
International Section for Samuel Adams Boston Lager.
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BRAZIL'S LARGEST BREWERS MERGE INTO WORLD'S 3RD LARGEST
Two major Brazilian brewing companies, Companhia Brahma S.A. and
Companhia Paulista Antarctica, announced that they will merge into a new
company. The new entity, American Beverage Co. (Ambev), will be the
world's third largest brewer. The two companies together maintain a 70%
share of the beer market in Brazil, and their combined sales were
equivalent to $8.5 billion in 1998. Prior to the merger, Brahma was
listed as eighth largest and Antarctica listed as 15th largest. Together
they will be ranked third in the world after Anheuser-Busch of the U.S.
and Dutch Heineken N.V.
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Beer over vodka? It appears to be happening in Poland and perhaps even in
Russia. While the Russian economy has fallen into a steep recession, the
beer business has been booming. For instance, the Klinsky Beer Factory
has expanded its production from 106 million gallons (3.4 million
barrels) a year in the early 1990s to 290 million today. Now, with an
infusion of money from SUN Interbrew (a recently formed alliance of
Indian and Belgian interests), Klinsky hopes to nearly triple its
production over the next few years. Read the whole story at:
http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-000189.php
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SHEPHERD NEAME LOSES LAST ROUND IN TAX BATTLE
Independent British brewer Shepherd Neame has apparently come to a losing
end in its ongoing battle against increases in government beer duty. The
Law Lords has upheld High Court and Appeal Court decisions that the UK
government was entitled to introduce two, one-penny-a-pint beer excise
duty increases. Shepherd Neame argued that beer excise tax rises in the
1997 and 1998 British budgets were illegal under the European Union's
Treaty of Rome.
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Europeans and Americans share an affinity for beer, according to the not-
so-surprising results of a recent survey. Martiz AmeriPoll found that 51%
of Americans consumed at least one beer in the month before being
surveyed and that 52% of Europeans had done the same. While Europeans'
consumption is split even between home (51%) and bars, in the United
States, 63% of beer is drunk at home. However, 52% of Americans 21 to 34
years old prefer drinking out. More on the story at:
http://realbeer.com/news/articles/news-000185.php
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Two recently released studies present different messages when it comes to
beer and its effects on health. One found that beer may reduce heart
disease as effectively as red wine. "It cannot be proven that there is
any health advantage in drinking red wine, for example, rather than
beer," the Danish Brewers Association reported, citing a study by the
Institute of Epidemiology and Social Medicine at the University of
Muenster.
In contrast, research from Scotland indicates there is no evidence of
health benefits from alcohol. The researchers found no difference in the
risk of any cause of death between moderate drinkers, who consumed up to
14 units of alcohol a week, and non-drinkers. But men who drank over 35
units of alcohol a week had double the risk of dying from a stroke than
the men who didn't drink. The study defined a unit of alcohol as the
equivalent of half a pint of beer (10 ounces), a glass of wine or a
single measure of liquor.
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LION NATHAN'S CONFESSIONAL AD INFURIATES PRIESTS
Lion Nathan has stirred up more notice than was intended with its recent
ad for its Tooheys brand. The ad shows a young man confessing to
"indiscretions" with a "beautiful young woman." The curious priest asks
him by name if it was one of three married women who had confessed to
extramarital sex. The man rushes from the confessional to join his mates
in a pint of Tooheys New while they search for the three women. The
Australian Catholic clergy are threatening to start a boycott of the
brand if the ads are not removed, stating that the ad suggests that
priests inadvertently violate the confidentiality of the confessional.
Lion Nathan said that sales had already risen due to the ad. They have no
plans to remove it.
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The English city of Bradford has a new group of publicans. A Christian
group has purchased a historic pub in the hopes that "good beer and talk
about sports" will help them convince patrons to convert. The Cock and
Bottle is a 170 year-old pub which will be staffed by unpaid volunteers
and will stay open on Sundays. "Some people are worried it will be like
church," said the Reverend Robin Gamble, "but it will be the same as a
normal pub, with football talk, good beer and all the normal things."
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Reg Drury, Director at Fuller, Smith and Turner Brewery, will retire
after 42 years. The widely respected and legendary brewing director
transformed the Chiswick, England brewery from a labor intensive,
Victorian craft brewery to a modern production plant that still produces
fine traditional ales. Drury received a special achievement award from
CAMRA as the only brewer in its history to produce three champion beers:
ESB in 1978, 1981 and 1985, London Pride in 1979 and Chiswick Bitter in
1989.
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********************WEB WATCH******************
STEPHEN BEAUMONT'S WORLD OF BEER
You might want to take a beer along when you stop by Stephen Beaumont's
new digs -- no, you don't have to share it with him, but you'll probably
be there long enough to get real thirsty. The look is new, but the words
are vintage Beaumont, this month including a pub crawl with Benedictine
monks in the Feature Story. As always, Bright Beer is essential reading,
bringing the lowdown on the world's biggest sausage and a new beer called
"Piss."
http://worldofbeer.com
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INSTANT MALT ANALYSIS
Schreier Malting's new online lot analysis program helps take the
guesswork out of brewing. The program gives brewers access to the
technical information they want when they want it. Each Schreier and
DeWolf-Cosyns bag is marked with a lot number. All a brewer has to do is
enter up to four lot numbers, click Submit and read your requested lot
analysis. Makes you want to buy a bag of malt and head to:
http://www.schreiermalt.com/tracking
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A BETTER BEER SITE
Sam Adams re-launched its website last month in time for their summer
promotion. The new site features greater interactivity, more information
about better beer (over 400 pages and counting) and even an online Party
Planner. Select a party theme, choose food recipes with beer, send
invitations to guests and even get party reminders using this web-applet.
This is a beer nut's paradise.
http://www.samadams.com
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*****************REAL BEER PICKS***************
BRIDGEPORT BREWING CO.
BridgePort Brewing Co. is Oregon's oldest craft brewery, having started
with a 10-barrel system in 1984. The brewery and adjacent brewpub are
located in the historic Pearl District and set in a century-old brick and
timber building. BridgePort is one of the essential stops on any trip to
Beervana, but if you can't make it to Portland you can still go to:
http://www.firkin.com
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HEINEKEN
Heineken has recently remodeled its site. Yes, as promised in the
Heineken T.V. ads, you'll find Austin Powers and related merchandise
here, but that's only a small part of what the world's second largest
brewer has to offer. Send E-Cards, download screensavers, play The Quest
-- an online travel adventure game -- and buy great merchandise from
rugby to polo shirts and more. The Heineken Chatbar Network is still
under development, but in the near future anyone will be able to start
his or her own bar. Check it all out at:
http://www.heineken.com
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KEGWORKS.COM
KegWorks.com is the online source for draft beer dispensing equipment.
You'll find a wide variety of CO2 tanks, regulators, beer taps,
kegerators, portable dispensing equipment, beer line cleaning kits,
faucets, homebrew kegging kits, keg couplers and lots more. KegWorks.com
answers questions you may not have thought of asking -- like what kind of
keg coupler do you'd need for your favorite beer. Get thirsty, get there
at:
http://www.kegworks.com
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SAN JOSE INTERNATIONAL BEER FESTIVAL
It's three days of beer, food and music with an international flavor. The
festival is scheduled for Aug. 20-22 at beautiful Guadalupe River Park,
and the weatherman is already predicting lots of sun. Both microbrewed
beers and specialty beers from a variety of breweries throughout the
world are featured -- with 75 breweries represented. The 1998 festival
drew 60,000, and you can see why at:
http://sjbeerfest.com
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ERIC WOOTEN'S BEER PAGE
Texan Eric Wooten staked out beer territory early on the Internet,
offering information for everybody from those who make beer to those to
drink it (and the lucky ones who do both). The Homebrew Label Gallery,
also known as the Louvre of Labels, is particularly fun. It's all at:
http://ericsbeerpage.com
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MORE FROM AUTHORS
Real Beer suggests your check out the work of Robert Hughey and Jeff
Platt, who are new to our pages, or plenty of new stories from Pub Scout
Kurt Epps. Hughey adds to our coverage north of the border, while Platt
(a.k.a. Whispering Jeff) will provide regular news, rumors and views from
the Midwest. You'll find them at:
http://realbeer.com/library/authors/hughey-r
http://realbeer.com/library/authors/epps-k
http://realbeer.com/destinations/chicago/whisperingjeff19990706.php
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Thanks to all who have been replying to our Quickie Surveys. We draw one
winner each month for a prize, which this month will be a Real Beer T-
shirt. Last month's winner was Frank Budzo, who wrote: "In real estate
they say the three most important factors are: Location, location,
location. Therefore, in terms of Brewpubs it must be: Chicago, Chicago,
Chicago. So, the next city guide location must be Chicago. My favorite
brewpub is the Rock Bottom in the River North area of the city. Ya just
can't beat that roof top beer garden. We also have Harrison's in Orland
Park and another of my personal favorites, Flossmoor Station in, oddly
enough, Flossmoor, just south of the city. Flossmoor Station is the old
railway station, so if you want to get there from the city you can take
Metra down for a great meal and a great brew."
LAST MONTH'S QUESTION:
Last month we asked which city you would like us to add soon to our City
Guides in Destinations. Not surprisingly, the vote was very diversified.
Chicago was the top vote getter, receiving 19% of the votes cast for one
of the eight destinations listed. Boston and Philadelphia received 16%
each. We added Chicago to our City Guides this month and will add
Philadelphia and Boston in August and September respectively.
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In May, we asked RBPMail readers which country they are most likely to
drink an imported beer from. The U.K. received 33% of the votes, Germany
20% and Belgium 18%. We asked the same question in our June poll at the
Real Beer Page and received similar results. This time the U.K. garnered
26% of the votes, Germany 23% and Belgium 20%.
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*********** Brewed Fresh For You! **************
The Real Beer Page offers a diverse group of brew websites
to check out:
http://www.deschutesbrewery.com
http://www.sfbrewco.com
http://www.kclingers.com
http://www.homebrewadventures.com
http://www.mixologys.com
http://www.aletrail.on.ca
http://jupiterbeer.com
http://newyork.citysearch.com/E/V/NYCNY/0001/17/56/
http://www.universityextension.ucdavis.edu/brewing
http://www.bohemianbreweries.com
http://www.innovativwww.ebrew.com
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MADD LOBBIES TO MAKE ALCOHOL PART OF DRUG CAMPAIGN
Mothers Against Drunk Driving lobbied Congress to include alcohol and
underage drinking in a national advertising campaign aimed at reducing
drug use. MADD held a press conference in Washington, D.C., to counter
what it said were efforts by the National Beer Wholesalers Association,
the Partnership for a Drug-Free America and "friends of the alcohol
industry in Congress" to exclude alcohol from the billion dollar ad
campaign. Karolyn Nunnallee, national president of MADD said, "it is very
sad that the Partnership for a Drug-Free America appears interested in
only a partial drug-free America for youth," she said. A spokesman for
the National Beer Wholesalers Association, an industry group in
Alexandria, Va., said it had worked with MADD to reduce drunken driving
but disagreed with targeting alcohol in the anti-drug campaign.
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.08% BAC NOT KEY TO DRUNK DRIVING ACCIDENTS: GAO
Reducing by one drink the alcohol it takes to become legally drunk
doesn't conclusively reduce the number or severity of alcohol-related
crashes, according to a new government study. The finding challenges
statements by President Clinton last year in advocating 0.08 percent
blood alcohol content as a nationwide standard for legal drunkenness
rather than the 0.1 percent limit in effect in two-thirds of the states.
"If all states lower their BAC (blood-alcohol content) to .08, it will
result in 600 fewer alcohol-related deaths each year," Clinton said. The
General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of Congress, said in a
recent report that such claims cannot be supported.
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RENO'S BREW BROTHERS TOP-PRODUCING U.S. BREWPUB
Brew Brothers, located in the Eldorado Hotel and Casino in Reno, Nevada,
has claimed the title of the highest-selling brewpub in North America.
The brewpub sold a record 6,108 barrels of beer during 1998. Brew
Brothers sold the equivalent of 1,514,784 pints in part because it is
open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In addition, the combined
restaurant and brewery is located in a sky bridge connecting three
popular hotels -- the 800-room Eldorado, the 1,800-room Silver Legacy,
and the 2,200-room Circus Circus. A list of the top 10 brewpubs is at:
http://realbeer.com/spotlight/best-selling.php
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FULL SAIL EMPLOYEES CELEBRATE WITH SPECIAL BEER
Employees at Full Sail Brewing Company are rolling out the barrels to
celebrate yet another first. The ESOP (Employee Stock Ownership Plan)
buyout was finalized July 2, 1999, making Full Sail America's first and
only employee-owned brewery. "We wanted to brew something special as a
symbol of our renaissance, so we will reintroduce the original Full Sail
Golden Ale on draft," said John Harris, Full Sail brewmaster. "This year
we're brewing up a special treat for the Oregon Brewers Festival (at the
end of July) -- a Belgian Style Special Golden Ale. We're calling it 'The
Peoples Ale' to thank all the people who have supported Full Sail over
the years," Harris said.
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TEXAN WINS TOP AHA PRIZE; OREGON, ILLINOIS CLUBS HONORED
Charles Gottenkieny of Plano, Texas won the coveted prize of Homebrewer
of the Year in the 1999 AHA National Homwww.ebrew.competition with his best-
of-show Belgian-style lambic. He received the honor during the American
Homebrewer Association National Homebrewers Conference in Olathe, Kansas.
Steve Schmitt of Anchorage, Alaska, was named the Meadmaker of the Year.
Tom Plunkard of Ann Arbor, Mich., won the Ninkasi Award for earning the
most points in the second round of the National Homebrew Competition. The
Urban Knaves of Grain from suburban Chicago and the Oregon Brew Crew
shared honors for Homebrew Club of the Year, each with 77 points in AHA
competitions.
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Indiana homebrewers can now take their beers to homebrew club meetings
and competitions without worrying if it is legal. Gov. Frank O'Bannon has
signed a law into effect that states: "Homemade beer and wine can be
taken to locations other than the home in which it was made for
educational, evaluations or testing purposes." While homebrewing in
Indiana is explicitly legal, the law previously prohibited transporting
homebrew from the brewer's home to any other location. The new law went
into effect July 1.
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Oldenberg Brewing Co. in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, is reorganizing its
microbrewery and restaurant business under bankruptcy court supervision
in an effort to contain mounting debt. Beer drinkers across the United
States know the Oldenberg name in part because it has hosted a Beer Camp
twice a year through most of the 1990s. In addition to the brewery in
Fort Mitchell, Oldenberg operates restaurants in Louisville and near
Orlando, Fla., and has plans to open a third restaurant in Augusta, Ga.
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While Mothers Against Drunk Driving lobbied Congress to include alcohol
in an anti-drug campaign (see story above), Diana Conti of the Marin
Institute did some lobbying of her own in the Open Forum of the San
Francisco Chronicle. In part, she wrote:
"Alcohol is a leading cause of death among young people. Thirty percent
of twelfth graders report hazardous drinking, and youth who start
drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to become addicted than
those who begin at 21. Every day on average, 11,318 kids try alcohol for
the first time, compared with 6,488 for marijuana; 2,786 for cocaine; and
386 for heroin. Our children will be the losers if corporate lobbies
continue to undermine efforts to protect their health and safety.
Lawmakers should just say no to special interests and make the well-being
of the next generation their top priority. The first step should be to
pass legislation that allows the war on teen drug use to combat its
biggest enemy -- alcohol."
Celebrator Beer News publisher Tom Dalldorf responded with the following
letter to the forum, which he agreed to have us post here as a guest
editorial:
EDITOR:
Diana Conti's Open Forum piece, "Drug War Isn't on Target," was itself
off target. Lumping alcoholic beverages (legal to produce but illegal to
consume for underage youth) with illegal drugs like cocaine,
methamphetamines and heroin, serves to obfuscate the issue and trivialize
the importance of the anti-drug message.
Underage consumption of alcohol is certainly a problem, but Ms. Conti's
approach does little to address it. Blindly linking "alcohol and other
drugs" sends the wrong message to underage abusers in a society that has
been down the path of prohibition only to find the "cure" far worse than
the problem.
The Marin Institute's agenda is clearly neo-prohibitionist and would
dearly love to tap into the $195 million anti-drug media campaign in its
quest to rid America once again of the scourge of demon rum. Let us
address the horrors of youthful drug abuse by focusing on the core issues
and spare ourselves the "gateway drug" rhetoric that describes an
entirely different set of problems.
Like it or not, alcoholic beverages are enjoyed in this country (and
indeed around most of the civilized world) by many millions of people and
its abuses, which can be terrible and destructive, deserve to be
addressed apart from street drugs.
Tom Dalldorf, Publisher
Celebrator Beer News
Hayward, CA
The views presented here are not necessarily those of Real Beer, Inc.,
and are presented here to provide perspective from within the industry.
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