When it comes to doing politics, Bavaria’s anti-smoking legislation can only be called a blunder. Without warning or public pressure, the Bavarian coalition government in January 2008 introduced a blanket ban on smoking in public buildings, hospitals and pubs. Yet to mitigate its effects, the new law temporarily exempted beer fests like the Oktoberfest from it. As could be expected, media commentators accused the government of weasel politics and called critics into action, who immediately set out to organise a plebiscite on the issue. Although on 4 July this year only a minority of Bavarians cast their vote in favour of a strict ban of smoking, the anti-smokers’ lobby won, which meant that as of 1 August 2010 the exemptions for the Oktoberfest had to be scrapped.

The minority Scottish Government, on 2 September 2010, proposed a minimum price of GBP 0.45 (EUR 0.55) for one alcohol unit in an effort to curb excessive alcohol consumption. The proposed price would see the cost of a two-litre bottle of supermarket own-brand cider soar from GBP 1.32 to GBP 3.80 (EUR 4.60), while the price of a bottle of private label vodka would rise from GBP 7.97 to GBP 11.80 (EUR 14.40). Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Health Secretary, said a minimum price was essential to help tackle the high death toll and health burden from alcohol abuse. Scots drink 25 percent more per head of population than the rest of the UK. Her proposal will be added to an alcohol bill going through the Scottish Parliament this month. Opposition parties have already vowed to throw out the proposal. The Scottish Labour Health spokesman argued that minimum unit pricing is effectively a tax on the poor paid directly to the shareholders of the big supermarkets. The Scotch Whisky Association, which represents the producers of Scotland’s most valuable single export, said the measure fails to meet the basic tests of EU law and will do little to address alcohol misuse. It would only cut total alcohol consumption by 4.3 percent. Read on

Carlsberg pitched Beo as a “bio refreshment” (in other parts of the world this translates as “organic refreshment” with “purely natural ingredients”). However, the soda contained only 5.5 percent of bio-stuff, namely sugar and malt extract, the German consumer watchdog Foodwatch.org noted with glee. For extra taste Carlsberg had added flavours plus citric acid (E 330) and ascorbic acid (E 300). Proper apples and pears, as advertised, had never got near the product.

Berlin, Germany’s capital city has little to boast about. The city is broke and unemployment is rife. Still, the cosmopolitan arty set regularly jets to Berlin to take a look at its edgy art galleries, which thrive on low rents and a never-ending stream of hopeful young artists keen to make a name for themselves. In early September, right at the start of this autumn’s art season, 60 of Berlin’s estimated 400 galleries were pressed into service as tasting rooms, with an average of three different VDP producers serving their wines to paying members of the public. Jancis Robinson, the wine writer, admitted that initially she could not quite imagine how wine & art would work out. In London it could all too easily have degenerated into a sleazy booze-up - provided there would have been enough galleries volunteering for such an event in the first place.

This move is part of the ongoing optimisation of the production network in the Carlsberg Group. For Carlsberg, Switzerland is just a tiny country in the heart of Europe. Why respect Swiss patriotism and maintain a network of costly production sites, if the beer volume can be split between two breweries less than a 90 minute drive apart – albeit in two different countries?

For too long for us to remember there has been talk in the Czech Republic about selling the Budvar brewery. Everybody with half a brain thought that the buyer would be Anheuser-Busch. Moreover, they believed they would have the Americans over a barrel. The reasoning went that in order to end the accursed trademark dispute, the Americans would be prepared to pay far more for Budvar than the brewer’s fair market value.

Seven of the capital’s brewers met at the Redemption Brewery in Tottenham in late August to brew a porter. The seven brewers were Brodie’s in East London, Camden Town Brewery, Fullers, The Ha’Penny Brewing Company, The Kernal Brewery, Meantime Brewery and Redemption Brewery.

The volume of beer sold declined. The decline was led by a 9.4 percent slump in central and eastern Europe. Volumes in western Europe, the company’s biggest profit contributor, fell 2.5 percent. In Africa and the Middle East, volumes jumped 7.2 percent, the company said, helped by output growth in Nigeria and South Africa. Heineken is working to expand capacity at the Sedibeng brewery, which opened near Johannesburg this year.

By contrast, in the U.S. sales by volume were down 2 percent and net sales 3 percent lower, while in Europe volume rose 1 percent but net sales fell 2 percent.

In its consultation paper, the UK’s Home Office says it wants to overhaul the Licensing Act, which regulates the sale of alcohol in the UK, to give local communities a greater say in these decisions.