Molson to build new brewery

Molson will build a CAD35 million brewery in Moncton, in the eastern province of New Brunswick. Montreal-based Molson, which plans to merge with U.S.-brew-er Coors, explained that the project will allow it to compete more effectively in the region and cut costs. The brewery is expected to be completed by 2007 and will give Molson local brewer status, which means it will have the ability to operate warehouses and have a distribution system in the region.
The new brewery will feature bottling and keg lines and its capacity will be more than 250,000 hl annually. When fully operational, the facility will produce several of Molson’s core brands such as Canadian and Coors Light for the regional market. It will also support Molson’s long-term strategy to expand its export business..

No hangover cure

Sometimes it’s raw oysters that do the trick or several Bloody Maries. But sadly, none of this works for Molson, whose Brazilian hangover shows no signs of abating. Reporting its second quarter results in October, Molson announced a CAD 210 million write-down on its Kaiser business and the shut-down of a brewery in Rio de Janeiro which will incur restructuring costs of about CAD50 million. In Brazil, total market share fell to 10.6 percent from 13.1 per cent last year. Total sales volume fell 9.6 per cent, while net sales of beer also fell.

Not spoilt for choice

Crusta Fruit Juices is set to join Asia-Pacific soft-drink group Coca-Cola Amatil. It was reportedly sold for between AUD25 million and AUD30 million. Crusta is Australia’s third-largest fresh juice brand with annual sales in excess of AUD20 million. A bid by Coca-Cola Amatil for fruit juice company Berri earlier this year was thwarted by the national competition watchdogs. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have since given the green light to Filipino beverage giant San Miguel Corp’s acquisition of Berri.

Don’t cry for me Argentina

True, the song has been over-used. But the owner of Germany’s Warsteiner brewery, Albert Cramer, has every reason to whistle the tune each time they play it on the radio. After all, ten year’s into his investment in Argentina, he can look back and say, whatever happened, "the truth is I never left you". Three years ago we at Brauwelt were amazed how nonchalantly the then Managing Director of Warsteiner let it be known at a high-powered meeting of brewers from around the world that War-steiner’s brewery in Argentina, Isenbeck, was up for grabs. "Got a brewery there. You interested?" Well, the man is no more. That’s why in November, on the tenth anniversary of the Isenbeck brewery in Buenos Aires there were smiling faces all around. So much for Argentina’s politics. Ho.

To BE or not to BE ..

.. that is the question, especially since Anheuser-Busch has claimed that its new brew by the name of BE. would take beer to a new level. Actually, it does take the E to a higher level - whatever the significance. Apparently frustrated by the success drinks companies have enjoyed with their flavoured drinks, Anheuser-Busch decided to launch its own brew under the Budweiser label which will be infused with caffeine, guarana and ginseng. Anheuser-Busch’s marketers describe BE as "well balanced with select hops and aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry". The combination will offer "a lightly sweet and tart taste - a great mixture of beer and new flavours for adults to enjoy when out with friends at a club or at
a bar after work with colleagues.S. BE will contain 6..

Coors adding brewery

Signs, wonders and miracles still happen today. Coors’ announcement that it will add a brewery to its packaging facilities in Virginia is a case in point. For more than a decade, Coors’ executives have pondered the issue of whether to build a new brewery in the U.S. The "official" worry being, so to speak, the quality of the local water. Would consumers accept a Coors that had not been brewed with Rocky Mountains water? True, part of Coors’ lore is its Rocky Mountains heritage. But ever since Coors built a packaging facility in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia 17 years ago, few people seem to have lost any sleep over the fact that Coors has regularly sent tankers from Colorado to Virginia with "beer concentrate"..

Don’t mention those names

Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne have been getting a lot more attention in Florida than George or John. And not just in Florida. Also in Amsterdam. Heineken, the world’s number-four brewer, trimmed its growth forecast for 2004 beer sales volume in the US market to 3.5 percent, from a previous 5.0 percent, as a series of hurricanes have taken their toll. A spokeswoman for the Dutch company said that the reduction was due to hurricanes that spoiled a major US holiday and reduced sales. However, Heineken is maintaining its overall 2004 earnings forecast thanks to positive developments in Spain and elsewhere.

Give me land, lots of land

At the beginning of October leading Mexican brewer Modelo, maker of Corona, said it bought land in the north of the country but does not plan to build a new brewery there or elsewhere soon. Modelo’s purchase of land in Coahuila state was a long-term investment. According to local media reports Modelo spent close to USD2 million.
At present, Modelo, which is half owned by U.S. brewer Anheuser-Busch and operates seven breweries in Mexico, still has brewing capacity to spare which means that it is not compelled to build a new brewing plant anytime soon. Moreover, the planned 2007 expansion of its brewery in Oaxaca State will push back any new plant-building operations even further. Modelo’s current capacity amounts to 51 million hl beer which will reach 60 million hl per year in 2007..

Running for senate

It must be something in the water. Or why would Colorado brewers want to become politicians? Last year Denver brewer John Hickenlooper stood for mayor of his city - and won. This year it is Pete Coors, 58, chairman of the Coors Brewing Co. who is has stuck out his head (and spent more than USD400,000 of his own money) as a Republican candidate for the Senate to save his party’s Colorado seat. Mr Coors won his party’s nomination in August only after what local observers described as an acriacrimonious inner-party battle against his rival Bob Schaffer, an ultra-conservative who steadfastly refused to campaign on Sundays.
The GOP’s (as the Republican Party is also called) internal bickering raised many an eyebrow. After all, the Colorado is a swing state.e.S. Hey, he had to sell beer..

Beating a retreat

How does the old saying go? Two’s company, three’s a crowd. That seems to apply to brewers too. Chile’s largest brewer CCU will support plans by its shareholder Anheuser-Busch Cos. Inc. to sell its 20 percent interest in the company, CCU announced at the beginning of October. Although Anheuser-Busch has denied a sale so far, those in the know maintain that the St. Louis-based brewer will dispose of its stake before the end of the year.
The withdrawal of Anheuser-Busch, which analysts said signalled a weaker presence for the company in the competitive South American market, is due to conflicts with Dutch rival Heineken. Heineken indirectly bought a controlling stake in CCU last year despite Anheuser-Busch’s efforts to prevent it.A. (CCU) for USD224 million.6 percent of CCU..