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Bud.tv; Flawed, but Brilliant
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| October 16, 2007 - (Probrewer.com) - Anheuser-Busch advertising chief Bob Lachky last week described the company's online channel Bud.tv as a "flawed idea but brilliant concept."
A-B has sunk millions of dollars into the project with disappointing results.
Speaking at the Association of National Advertisers Masters of Marketing conference in Phoenix, Lachky blamed much of the problem on the complicated registration process designed to keep underage readers out.
But he also criticized his own company's approach: ""The other thing that is totally flawed - and I don't understand this - as you can tell I was doing something else at the time Ι I don't understand why you'd have Bud.tv and then not have anything branded on it at all and just have this bizarre content that wasn't branded."
Lachky also commented on the merger between SABMiller and Molson Coors announced last week.
"Everyone took that $500 million in efficiencies at face value," he said. "It means they're going to be closing breweries and cutting people's jobs." |
| October 16, 2007 - (Probrewer.com) - Molson Canada opened its new $35-million brewery in Moncton, New Brunswick, the Canadian-American company's first new beer plant in 52 years.
The company, part of the Molson Coors Brewing Co, said the location will serve the Maritime market and is its sixth brewery in Canada.
Last Friday's opening ceremony in Moncton was attended by New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham and Molson family members and executives.
"This is a significant investment for our company and today we are proud to officially call Moncton home," Molson president and CEO Kevin Boyce said in a statement.
The event began with a ceremonial keg tapping and daytime fireworks, part of a weekend celebration, Molson said in a release.
Moncton will brew Molson Canadian and Coors Light brands. The plant's total capacity is about 250,000 hectolitres. |
| October 13, 2007 - Denver, CO - More than 100 judges labored for three days to evaluate 2,793 beers and pick the best entries and top breweries for this year's Great American Beer Festival. A total of 222 medals were awarded in 75 beer style categories and top breweries and brewers were designated based on the total number of medals won. The five top awards recognize small, medium and large breweries and small and large brewpubs.
Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Pabst Brewing Company, Woodridge, IL
Bob Newman
Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.
Firestone Walker Brewing Company, Paso Robles, CA
Matthew Brynildson
Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management
Port Brewing & The Lost Abbey, San Marcos, CA
Tomme Arthur
Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group
Redrock Brewing Company, Salt Lake City, UT
Kevin Templin
Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.
Montana Brewing Company, Billings, MT
Travis Zeilstra
Beer Journalism Award
During the GABF awards ceremony, journalists and distributors were also recognized for their important role in the craft beer industry.
For the fourth year, the Brewers Association Beer Journalism Awards recognized journalistic excellence in the coverage of American beer. 2007 sponsors are Brooklyn Brewery, Rogue Ales and Samuel Adams. The winner in the Consumer Print media category was Marnie Old for "Beer Takes the High Road" published in Sante magazine in June 2007. In the Consumer Electronic media category the winners were Roger Sherman and Jesse Sweet of Florentine Films for THE AMERICAN BREW which first aired in April 2007 on the History Channel. The Trade and Specialty Beer media winner was Julie Johnson Bradford for "The Men in the Tall RubberBoots" published in All About Beer magazine's May 2007 issue.
>>Read Full Release
Craft Beer Distributor Awards
The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) and the Brewers Association (BA) presented the Craft Beer Distributor of the Year Award to Monarch Beverage Co. of Indiana. The award recognizes the beer distributor in America who does the most to market, sell and promote craft beer in their market. The Craft Beer Distributor Achievement Award went to Louis Glunz Beer Co. of Illinois, and the Craft Beer Distributor Recognition Award went to Cavalier Distributing of Ohio. This was the first year these awards were presented.
>>Read Full Release
Pro-Am Competition
Medals for the 2nd annual GABF Pro-Am Competition, sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients, Co. and HopUnion CBS, LLC, were also awarded. The GABF Pro-Am entries are brewed by professional craft brewers based on award winning homebrew recipes from American Homebrewers Association (AHA) members. Homebrew recipes are scaled up and brewed at a craft brewery for submission into the competition. The winner of the GABF Pro-Am Bronze medal is Sculpin IPA brewed by Ballast Point Brewing Co., San Diego, CA with AHA member Doug Duffield. The winner of the GABF Pro-Am Silver medal is Kentucky Weissbier brewed by Alltech's Lexington Brewing Co., Lexington, KY with AHA member Bill Caldwell. The GABF Pro-Am Gold medal winner is English Style India Pale Ale brewed by Allentown/Bethlehem Brew, Allentown, PA with AHA member Chris Bowen. The medals for the GABF Pro-Am competition do not count toward the Brewery or Brewpub of the Year award.
 GABF Podcasts
The Brewing Network has produced several podcasts before during and after the festival. Be sure and checkout.
25,000 gallons
of beer flowing at the festival.
408 Breweries
on the festival floor
(24 more than last year)
1884 Beers
on the Festival floor
(Yikes! 230+ more than last year)
473 Breweries
in the competition
(24 more than last year)
2793 Beers
in the competition
(includes 48 GABF Pro-Am entries)
39,000 bottles/cans
will be recycled.
~ 84% of beer
arrives in kegs
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75 Style Categories
being judged + 1 GABF Pro-Am Competition Category
(6 more than last year)
107 judges from 7 countries
(4 more judges than last year)
Avg number of competition beers in each category: 37
(2 more beers than last year)
Category with most entries: American Style India Pale Ale, 120 Entries
(Same category last year and 26 more entries)
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updated 10/13/07
What you should know about the GABF?
GABF visitors enjoy one-ounce beer samples from the fest's breweries. These breweries are arranged on the festival floor by regions of the country, giving beer lovers a walking tour of the nation’s beer-blessed landscape. Many of the booths are staffed by the brewers themselves. Over 41,000 beer enthusiasts from Colorado, the US and around the world attended last year's GABF. The 2007 GABF will cover 188,000 square feet of the Colorado Convention Center.
The GABF also hosts one of the world's largest and most prestigious tasting competitions. Over 100 professional beer judges from the United States and abroad evaluate over 2,800 beers entered by more than 470 domestic breweries. Gold, silver and bronze medals in 75 beer-style categories will be awarded October 13 at the 1:30 p.m. awards ceremony held during the Members Only Tasting Session.
The GABF's popular food & beer pairing seminars will feature an A-list of America's brewers will join local and national celebrity chefs for demonstrations on how to cook with beer, and pair different styles of beer with various dishes. |
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Miller, Molson Coors Merge Ops
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| October 09, 2007 - By Aaron Baar
CHICAGO - SABMiller Brewing and Molson Coors are merging their domestic operations in a joint venture called MillerCoors.
The venture will have combined net revenue of about $6.6 billion and combined beer sales of 69 million barrels in the U.S., according to the companies.
The two companies' parents, SABMiller and Molson Coors, will each have a 50 percent voting interest in the new venture. In terms of economic value, SABMiller will have a 58 percent stake, while Molson Coors' interest will be 42 percent.
Pete Coors, vice chairman of Molson Coors, will serve as chairman of MillerCoors, while SABMiller CEO Graham Mackay will serve as vice chairman. Molson Coors CEO Leo Kiely will be CEO of MillerCoors, while Miller Brewing CEO Tom Long will be president and chief commercial officer. Other senior managers will come from the two companies.
"This transaction is driven by the profound changes in the U.S. alcohol beverage industry that are confronting both of our companies with new challenges," said Pete Coors, in a statement. "Consumers are broadening their tastes and are increasingly looking for greater choice and differentiation; wine and spirits companies are encroaching on traditional beer occasions, and global beer importers and craft brewers are both taking a larger share of volume and profit growth."
The companies said the merger will present greater choice for consumers with greater distribution and access to imported brands such as Peroni, Molson and Pilsner Urquell, craft brands like Blue Moon and Henry Weinhard's and specialty beers such as Miller Chill and Sparks. The companies identified cost savings of $500 million from the merger.
The deal is still subject to a final agreement and approval from U.S. regulatory authorities and Molson Coors Class A shareholders.
It was not immediately clear how advertising and marketing assignments would be affected by the deal. SABMiller agencies include Publicis Groupe's Starcom (media), WPP Group's Young & Rubicam, and Publicis Groupe-backed Bartle Bogle Hegarty and Publicis Groupe agencies Digitas and Arc. Molson Coors lead agency is Interpublic Group's DraftFCB.
MillerSAB and Molson Coors had $445 million in combined advertising expenditures last year, according to Nielsen Monitor-Plus. Miller accounted for $245 million of that number.
http://www.adweek.com/
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The Heart of Darkness: Askinosie Chocolate and Dogfish Head Make a Perfect Pair at the
Great American Beer Festival
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| October 09, 2007 - Springfield, MO - Dark beer and dark chocolate - the combination of these
American favorites becomes even more unique this week in Denver at the Great American Beer
Festival. Askinosie Chocolate, a small batch, single origin chocolate maker was selected by
Dogfish Head Brewery to offer a delightfully unique combination of chocolate and beer. The
paring will feature the Single Origin 75% Dark Chocolate Bar made with beans from the historic
Soconusco region of Mexico with the 2006 GABF award winning dark, rich, and roasty World
Wide Stout; creating perfect sweetness.
Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewery, will be featuring beer and food combinations,
one of which includes the specialties of Askinosie Chocolate. The event will take place on
Thursday, October 11 from 9 - 9:30 p.m. at the Beer & Food Pavilion. Askinosie Chocolate,
making a debut at the Great American Beer Festival, will be highlighting their specialty Dark
Chocolate Bars and Roasted Cocoa Nibs at booth #115. Varieties will include a 70% Del Tambo
Dark Chocolate Bar made with Arriba Nacional beans of Ecuador and a 75% Soconusco Dark
Chocolate Bar made with Trinitario beans from Southern Mexico. Shawn Askinosie said, "We
are excited to be the first chocolate maker at the Festival but thrilled by the opportunity to pair
with Dogfish Head. Sam's book, Brewing Up A Business was an inspiration to me when I
started our little factory."
Askinosie Chocolate, a small batch chocolate manufacturer located in Springfield, Missouri,
sources 100% of their beans directly from the farmers. Shawn Askinosie, founder and chocolate
maker, shifted his focus after 19 years as a criminal defense lawyer. In search of re-wirement
outside the courtroom, Shawn began baking. His obsession with cupcakes turned into a passion
for making chocolate from scratch. Now Shawn travels to regions of Mexico and Ecuador to
work directly with the farmers and source cocoa beans for his chocolate. This allows the
chocolate to be traced to the source and labeled Authentic Single Origin Chocolate. It also
enables Shawn to profit share with the farmers, giving them a Stake In the OutcomeTM.
Askinosie Chocolate is committed to chocolate that tastes good, is good for the farmers, and is
good for the planet. Real people - real places. |
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Great Divide Goes Into Hibernation
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| October 06, 2007 - One of Colorado's longest-running craft beer traditions returns this month. Great Divide will release its award-winning Hibernation Ale -- Colorado's original strong ale -- on October 15th.
A true precedent setter in the state's craft beer history, Hibernation's rich flavors and winter-warming heft created a stir upon the beer's debut in 1995. Twelve years later, Hibernation Ale is now one of the most sought-after winter beers in Colorado.
"We have a lot of history with Hibernation," says Great Divide founder Brian Dunn, "and it's a fall tradition for our fans to buy a case of it when it comes out each year. It also personifies our brewery in many ways. It's edgy but balanced, assertive but elegant. It set the standard for our brewery, especially for the bigger beers we make."
The beer has also landed a slew of honors for Great Divide, including three Great American Beer Festival honors and a World Beer Cup medal (see below for details). A 2005 vintage of Hibernation Ale was awarded a silver medal in the Aged Beer category at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival in Denver on September 30th.
"This is one of our best beers for aging," Dunn says. "As good as the beer is fresh, its malty richness and layered hop flavors go through some wonderful changes over a year's time. The hops pull back, the malts become more rounded, and the beer develops a nice caramel character you don't find in the fresh version."
Hibernation is brewed each summer, dry hopped, then aged for two months before its release. This year Great Divide upped its Hibernation production to 700 barrels, from 500 in 2006. The beer is pre-sold to the brewery's distributors. It's only available for about 8 weeks each year, from mid October to mid December, in limited quantities of draft and 12 ounce bottles, in most Great Divide markets.
Gold Medal, Great American Beer Festival, 1997 – Strong Ale/English-Style Old Ale
Silver Medal, Great American Beer Festival, 2006 – Aged Beer (2005 Vintage)
Silver Medal, World Beer Cup, 1998 – Strong Ale/English-Style Old Ale
Silver Medal, Great American Beer Festival, 2003 – Strong Ale/English-Style Old Ale
For details on all of Great Divide's beers visit www.greatdivide.com |
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GREAT DIVIDE RELEASES WET HOPPED FRESH HOP PALE ALE
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| September 27, 2007 - (Denver, CO) - On the heels of the US hop harvest, Great Divide is releasing its unique "wet hopped" beer, Fresh Hop Pale Ale. Fresh Hop is an American-style ale brewed with freshly picked hops instead of the dried and pelletized hops brewers typically use. It will be released on October 1.
"Wet hops are expensive and difficult to brew with," says Great Divide founder Brian Dunn, "and Fresh Hop is a very labor intensive beer for us to make. A brew takes several extra hours and 3 times the normal staff." But Dunn says the extra effort is well worth the trouble. "It's a really unique opportunity for us to brew with seasonal ingredients, something we don't get to do very often. And fresh hops give a distinctly fresh, almost grassy hop character to the beer."
Fresh Hop is an American-style pale ale with moderate hop bitterness, highlighted by a unique and intensely floral and citrusy hop character. Fresh Hop is a superbly refreshing, medium bodied, light-copper colored pale ale weighing in at 55 International Bittering Units (IBUs) and 6.1% alcohol by volume.
Dunn and his crew first brewed Fresh Hop four years ago, making it the first large-scale beer of its kind to be brewed in Colorado. The fall seasonal beer has won outstanding reviews from America's food & beer press and consumer reviewers.
Brewing with fresh hops requires four to five times the hop volume of pelletized hops. The very perishable, just-harvested hop cones are shipped overnight to Great Divide shortly after harvest. The morning of the scheduled hop delivery, Great Divide's brewers begin brewing Fresh Hop Pale Ale, and have the brewing beer ready for its hop additions as the fresh hops arrive at the brewery.
Dunn says his staff gets extra pleasure from the process. "When those boxes of freshly harvested hops arrive," he says, "we open them up and everyone in the brewery crushes them between their hands and takes a huge whiff. It's really incredible to smell that fresh hop aroma."
Great Divide brewed just 200 barrels (a barrel equals 31 US gallons) of Fresh Hop. The beer is available in limited quantities of draft and 22 ounce bottles. |
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Visit with The Brew-Monkey at GABF
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| September 27, 2007 - Coming up real quick is the Great American Beer Fest. Since I am now a resident of Colorado, I thought it would be a good idea to go hang out and see what this is all about. I will be covering some of the events for Brew-Monkey.com, but if you do happen to see me, please stop and say hello.
So again, mark your calendars for October 11-13 and come out to the GABF, meet beer celebs, brewers, sample many beers, and say hi to the Brew-Monkey.
Cheers! |
| September 12, 2007 - (Probrewer.com) - The British pint is safe forever after the European Commission announced a policy U-turn on Tuesday.
The European Union executive said British and Irish pubs may go on serving beer in pints after 2009, when such measures were due to be phased out.
After consulting industry and consumers, the Commission gave an indefinite reprieve from the legal obligation to use metric units for milk in returnable bottles and beer and cider on draught in response to widespread public hostility.
"This proposal ... honours the culture and traditions of Great Britain and Ireland, which are important to the European Commission," EU Enterprise Commissioner Guenter Verheugen said in a statement.
A government spokeswoman called the decision "good news for British industry and international trade" and said it was the result of close work between London and Brussels. |
| September 10, 2007 - (Probrewer.com) - The Great American Beer Festival's beer list has grown to 1884 beers, a boost of 230 beers beyond last year.
This years annual event in Denver has bumped up the number of attending breweries to 408, 34 more than last year.
In the GABF beer judging, the number of beers has also risen from 2426 to a total of 2806.
"The GABF's expanded beer list is a reflection of America's love of craft beer," says festival director Nancy Johnson. "At this year's registration deadline, we realized the beer totals were huge, bigger than our anticipated growth. And we kept getting requests from breweries wanting to serve more beers, and new breweries wanting to pour beer at the festival. So we raised the cap on beers and bought more draft gear."
"With some minor tweaks to the festival floor layout," Johnson adds, "we were able to add a few more tables for brewers while still keeping the nice wide aisles people expect at the GABF."
GABF founder and Brewers Association president Charlie Papazian says the bigger GABF beer list fits perfectly with the 2008 GABF's mission.
"Boosting the 'Great' in Great American Beer Festival, that's been our major emphasis this year," Papazian says. "Great beer, great brewers, great beer-drinking country, and great fun. That's what the festival celebrates, and that's what makes American beer the best value on the planet." |
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