Boortmalt invests in malting plant

In Nova Gradiska, 120km to the east of Zagreb, the Belgian company Boortmalt invested almost US$23 million in a new 50,000 t malting plant (including infrastructure) which was officially opened this summer. The malting technology, acronymically called GKV (germination kilning vessel) was provided by the German company Seeger. As early as 1997, Boortmalt bought a stake in the one and only Croatian malting facility (18 000 t) which was constructed 30 years ago and whose malt quality was beginning to leave a lot to be desired for. Although the new malting plant, Slavonija Slad, was built without any Croatian government guarantee or credit arrangement, the risk associated with an investment of this sort seemed negligible. There are only three malting plants in Serbia..

Bye, then

lair Shier (43) has been replaced as president of Molson USA by David Perkins, formerly president of Molson’s Ontario and western Canada division, after only eight months on the job.
Shier has held senior positions with Molson since the brewer acquired his previous employer, Carling O’Keefe Breweries in 1989. He was appointed president of Molson USA in January after Molson bought back control of its US business from Miller Brewing Company and Foster’s Brewing Group. Perhaps Shier should have studied the Greek story of Sisyphus - the story about the poor guy who for all eternity has to push a heavy stone up a hill only to see it rolling down again when he has almost reached the top. Then he would have known what his brief was..

Vive la France

What a blow to the Grande Nation’s pride the news must have been that Australian wines were about to overtake French wines in UK supermarket sales. However, order was restored when in the first four months of this year, French winemakers increased their lead over OZ producers in British shops. French wine accounted for 23.1% of the value of still wine sales, while Australia’s market share dropped to 19.2% from 21.5% at the end of 2000.

Topvar’s beer sales up

Topvar Brewery, Slovakia’s third largest beer producer, reported sales of 604,000 hl beer in 2000, up from 588,000 hl the previous year. The brewer also sold 75,000 hl of Topvarkofa, a cola-like soft drink. Topvar Brewery is owned by its management (51%), workers (34%) and the Topolcany municipality (15%).

Efes to double capacity

Turkey’s Efes Beverages group plans to double production capacity to 3.0m hl beer at its Moscow brewery in which Efes holds 91% of the stock. The company plans to apply for a US$17m European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) loan.

Guaraná drink to hit European shore

In a surprise debut, the Brazilian soft drink brand Guaraná Antarctica had its first overseas launch in Lisbon in July 11 and not in the US as originally expected. The move is part of AmBev’s five-year plan to introduce the sparkling product in all major beverage markets. Distribution to more than 70,000 outlets will be handled by Sumolis, a Pepsi Cola bottler in Portugal.

Prize for Michael Jackson

The British beer and whisky writer Michael Jackson was honoured by the leading Beer Bars of Finland Association. He received the first Beer Ambassador award in Helsinki, Finland. This award was presented to him in recognition of his work and efforts on behalf of beer culture. The Leading Beer Bars of Finland Association was founded in 1995 and has 22 members.

Big Stella

Size matters. That’s why Belgian brewers have been bottling their beers in champagne bottles for ages. Never tardy to develop new marketing strategies, Interbrew will launch Stella Artois in a one-litre bottle later this summer. The big Stella bottle will be aimed at restaurants and selected food pubs. The wide-neck bottle will cost between £7 and £8 in restaurants and will be suitable for a group of diners to share. The Belgian brewer will also offer ice buckets for restaurant tables to keep the beer at the required temperature. According to market research by A.C. Nielsen, Stella Artois is Britain’s top selling alcoholic beverage whose retail value rose 23% to £300m in 2000, ahead of Carling whose value rose 11% to £161m..

I got news for you 2

In June, Heineken started a promotion sending mobile phone text messages to young drinkers in an effort to present the brand as contemporary, hip and cool. Pub-goers will be offered the chance to play a mastermind quiz on their mobile phones with a prize of a free pint. Only those outlets taking part in the promotion will display a special telephone number which punters have to dial to receive a text message with three knowledge questions. If they answer all three correctly they receive a text message saying that they have won a free pint of Heineken. The game will be in action from Monday to Thursday to help outlets attract business during quiet trading times.

Interbrew report reaches DTI

The Office of Fair Trading’s report on Interbrew’s £2.3bn take-over of Bass Brewers has been passed to the Department of Trade and Industry. A decision is expected some time in August.
In July the OFT listed four remedies to a situation thrown into uproar when the original ruling by the former Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Stephen Byers, that Interbrew must sell all of Bass Brewers was rejected by the High Court on the grounds that Interbrew had not been given a fair chance of stating its case.
According to speculation by the British media, the OFT favours the third remedy, by which Interbrew would keep the Bass business in Scotland and Northern Ireland and the Bass Ale brand, but sell the Carling lager brand to a third party..