Chinese drink more

Demand for mineral water, fruit juices, health drinks and "Lifestyle Drinks" should increase in the Peoples’ Republic of China as the standard of living goes up, in particular in urban areas. Some Chinese beverage producers have moved to establish their own brands and are trying, by product innovation, to increase market share. US American suppliers in particular have positioned themselves very forcibly in the Chinese beverage market whereas German machinery builders are among the most important suppliers.
Beverage consumption is expected to double in the Peoples’ Republic of China within the next five years. Per-capita consumption is expected to reach 20 l and output 270 million hl by 2005. Output will thus rise by an average of 14 % annually.3 CNY). Sales of 156.3 million hl..

Coonawarra brew

You have to give winemakers the credit for always getting their prose right. Who else but a winemaker would describe his beer as 2a table beer which really shines after you have had a meal." Mind you, on our tables only the glassware shines ... and only when it’s polished and empty and unused. But that’s probably an irrelevancy to Coonawarra winemaker Phillip Dohnt who is the man behind the Coonawarra Pale Ale by the Lawrence Victor Estate. At present, the beer is brewed 700 km away from Coonawarra but plans are underway to establish a brewery in nearby Penola. The boutique beer seems to be doing well in Sydney and Melbourne among the fashionistas who know their peppery shiraz and complex cabernets sauvignons ... and the latest "table beer".

United front

The opposition to GST brought them together: Australian Associated Brewers is suing the government to force it to pay back more than A$100 million (US$56 million) in beer taxes. The Australian government increased taxes on beer on 1 July 2000 (see the article "More buzz in Shiraz" in this issue) which brought up the price of draught beer by as much as 9 % whereas the tax on packaged beer was raised by only 1.9 %. The brewers argue that the Prime Minister John Howard broke a promise that the beer would only rise the uniform 1.9 % when the new tax took effect. Lion Nathan, Australia’s No 2 brewer, released a statement saying that the amount of beer sold on premises fell 4 % in the second half of 2000 from the same period a year ago. Grassroots activism, Australian style..