In August, Wolf Blass Wines, which is owned by the Foster’s Group, announced the launch of Bilyara Reserve, a new range of premium Australian wines in lightweight, shatterproof and environmentally friendly 750 ml PET bottles. This is probably the first time a wine company has attempted to put a premium wine and not just plonk into plastic bottles.

With many Latin American countries enjoying an economic recovery, the synergies from the alliance of operations between Quinsa and AmBev (part of InBev) have become apparent from Quinsa’s latest financial reports. Most recently, AmBev increased its ownership of Quinsa to 91 percent, an acquisition involving about USD 1.2 billion, and now effectively controls the company. Analysts at the investment bank Zacks believe that, ultimately, public shareholders will be bought out.

It’s one thing to go out partying and drinking, it’s quite another to drive home afterwards. Apparently, they do not have any taxis in Denver, or the Coors brewing company is running a severe cost-cutting programme that not even its executives are allowed chauffeur-driven cars. Otherwise there is no explanation as to why beer company executive and former Senate candidate Pete Coors was cited in May for driving under the influence of alcohol after leaving a friend’s wedding celebration. According to reports in the media, Pete Coors (59) was driving his car when he was pulled over by a Colorado State Patrol trooper just before midnight 29 May 2006, according to officials in the Jefferson County District Court clerk’s office.

In the U.S. everything is bigger than elsewhere. Or perhaps they just know how to make the most of an award. Having won a Gold Medal at the recent World Beer Cup, Trumer Pils decided to tell it large and clear to its loyal consumers in San Francisco. At a busy street corner where the world goes by, Carlos Alvarez’ team put up a gigantic poster with the saying in German: “Das beste Pilsner Bier der Welt.” That much German everybody walking or driving by would understand. Because beer and German go together very well and can only mean one thing: quality in the widest possible sense. Carlos Alvarez, who owns the Trumer Brauerei in Berkeley, San Francisco, where Trumer is brewed, is very much pleased with the inroads the brand is making into the highly competitive San Francisco market, which also happens to be the playground of Stella Artois and Pilsner Urquell, both of whom have powerful (read cash-rich) parents.

Canada’s number three brewer, Sleeman Breweries, who has been on the block for a few months now, seems to have attracted offers from four major brewers according to reports in the Canadian media. Molson Coors, the Dutch brewer Royal Grolsch NV, Japan’s Sapporo Breweries Ltd., and Labatt, owned InBev, could all bid for Sleeman.

If you have complaints about your job, read on. “While drinking a Coors beer at a bar in Greeley, Colorado, Ross Hopkins, an employee for a Budweiser distributor, was seen by the son-in-law of his boss. When the son-in-law offered to buy Hopkins a Bud instead, Hopkins declined. The following Monday he was fired. ...

Lo and behold: Anheuser-Busch decided to buy the Rolling Rock family of brands, thus taking a big worry off InBev’s U.S. shoulders. The purchase price, which was announced in May 2006, was USD 82 million for the U.S. and worldwide rights to Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light....

In a rare piece of hagiography, the U.S. business magazine BusinessWeek in a recent issue hailed Norman Adami as a Cesar-like figure: As if he had coined the phrase “veni, vidi, vici”, Norman Adami, the head of SABMiller’s U.S. division, was congratulated upon having orchestrated almost single-handedly Miller’s turnaround. Still, upon the release of SABMiller’s full-year financials until March 2006, SABMiller cautioned on severe price cutting in the U.S. hitting Miller and rising costs for aluminium and energy. ...

Former U.S. president Clinton called it an “important announcement and a bold step forward”. In May 2006, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation – a joint initiative of the William J. Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association – issued guidelines in conjunction with Cadbury Schweppes, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and the American Beverage Association which will cease the sale of sugared soft drinks to American schools by 2010. Under these guidelines, only lower calorie and nutritious beverages will be stacked in coolers, a move affecting close to 35 million pupils and students across the country.

In June 2006 it was announced that the famous Chicago brewery Goose Island has signed a distribution agreement with Widmer Brothers Brewing Company of Portland, Oregon. This agreement is to be followed by Widmer taking a minority investment in Goose Island of up to 35 percent according to sources close to the action. On the face of it, the deal looks like two successful microbreweries throwing in their lot with each other. Beer Marketers’ Insights say that Widmer, founded in 1984, brewed 270,000 hl of beer last year and Goose Island, founded in 1988, brewed 64,000 hl. Sales of Goose Island grew 24 percent in 2005, led by its signature brand Honkers Ale. Reports in the local media claim that Goose Island turned over USD 4.2 million in beer up from USD 3.4 million in 2004.

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