Suntory, Asahi and Kirin: These three companies are quite similar to one another and share a common heritage. Each of them has total sales of about USD 15 billion (or less); each of them has a top three brewing business in Japan; and each of them has diversified into other alcohol drinks, soft beverages and food products, in an effort to cope with Japan’s declining beer market (15% over the past decade).

But first things first. What do you call Kirin and Suntory?

This is the second reduction in alcohol in two years, presumably aimed at keeping retail price levels.

The two majors, along with Lion Nathan and Australian Vintage, report significant decreases in winery assets. Lion Nathan said its wine operations, which were much smaller than the beer operations, had profitability affected by the economic environment in the U.S., Britain and Australia. For the six months to 31 March 2009 the wine division’s EBIT fell 55.7 percent to AUD 3.5 million.

Cricket Australia and Foster’ s as the owner of the VB brand maintained that wearing the cap was “standard practice” and part of the sponsorship deal. The VB logo will be prominent on Aussie shirts and training uniforms for the Ashes tour and other matches in what is being officially promoted as the “VB Tour of England” which sees its first test match in Cardiff on 8 July.

According to media reports, there are more than AUD 450 million worth of wineries and land on the market. Such a fire sale would not have been imaginable ten years ago but there is a tidal wave of departures, from both small lifestyle dreams gone sour and big corporate investments now short of friendly bankers and cash.

A recent increase in the number of mid-strength drinkers is seen mainly in the state of northern New South Wales as the popularity of the style extends south from the Queensland border.

At the conference’s opening VLB-CEO Dr Josef Fontaine appeared to be very happy about the attendance and the lively interest in the transfer of knowledge. The three-day seminar was divided into different sections, starting with the raw materials malt and hops.

Rob Moodie, Chairman of the Government’s Preventative Health Taskforce, called the switch to drinks with higher alcohol content alarming. The Federal Government declared war on alcohol abuse in April last year, when it announced a 70 percent increase tax on alcopops, targeting young drinkers in particular.

Lion Nathan’s Chairman Geoff Ricketts said in April he expected the deal to be finalised by August or September, but according to the timetable in the agreement, the deal is not anticipated to be wrapped up until October.