Beer Blog with Roger Protz

Yorkshire brewery scores a hat trick

2010-03-06T11:57:00.002Z

Saltaire Brewery of Shipley, West Yorkshire, scooped three awards in the 2010 National Beer Competition run by SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers. The awards were announced this week at SIBA's annual conference in Stratford-upon-Avon.
Saltaire took the top title of Supreme Champion Beer 2010 for its Triple Chocoholic, a 4.8% chocolate stout. The same beer won the Gold Award in the Champion Speciality Beer category, while the brewery's Cascade Pale Ale took the Champion Premium Bitter accolade.
All 10 winning beers were chosen by 50 judges who gathered to pick the winners from the 56 cask and seven bottled finalist beers. A Gold, Silver and Bronze awards were given in each of the nine categories and the Supreme Champion title was then selected from the eight draught Gold winners.
The winners were:
Supreme Champion Beer 2010: Triple Chocoholic, Saltaire Brewery.
Champion Milds (up to 4% ABV): Dark Mild, Bank Top Brewery, Bolton
Champion Bitters & Pale Ales (up to 4%): Lord Marples, Thornbridge Brewery, Derbyshire
Champion Best Bitters (4.1-4.5%): Darwins Origin, Salopian Brewing, Shrewsbury
Champion Premium Bitters (4.6-4.9%) Cascade Pale Ale, Saltaire Brewery
Champion Strong Bitters (5.1-5.5%): Big Chief Bitter, Greenmill Brewery, Rochdale
Champion Strong Ales (over 5.5%): Dorothy Goodbody's Country Ale, Wye Valley Brewery
Champion Porters, Strong Milds, Old Ales & Stouts: Guerilla, Blue Monkey Brewery, Derbyshire
Champion Speciality Beers: Triple Chocoholic, Saltaire Brewery
Champion Bottled Beers: Proper Job, St Austell Brewery

Bott is new SIBA chairman

2010-03-05T08:58:00.003Z

Keith Bott, boss of the Titanic Brewery in Stoke-on-Trent, has been elected chairman of SIBA, the Society of Independent Brewers, the body that represents most of Britain's craft breweries.
Boot took over the helm at SIBA's annual meeting in Stratford-upon-Avon this week from outgoing chairman Peter Amor of Wye Valley Brewery, who was in post for the past three years. Keith Bott has been SIBA chairman before, from 2002-2005, and helped mastermind the campaign to introduce Progressive Beer Duty for smaller breweries. He said: "SIBA today is a very different organisation to the one I chaired three years ago. Since then we have appointed our first chief executive, Julian Grocock, who has steered SIBA through a period of change and enhanced our standing with government, trade bodies, the media and other stakeholders.
"This is an exciting time to be taking on the chairman's role and I look forward to working with Julian and SIBA's trustees and directors, to ensure the continued success of the UK's thriving quality beer sector."
Bott will stand from his current role as SIBA President and will include that role's lobbying elements within the chairman's remit.

May Day opening for brewery centre

2010-03-04T15:58:00.002Z

The National Brewing Centre in Burton-on-Trent is due to open on Saturday 1 May, following a major campaign to maintain a museum dedicated to beer in the town that was once the capital of British brewing.
The centre was originally the Bass Museum. It became the Coors Visitor Centre when the American brewing group took over the Bass breweries in Burton in 2000. Last year Coors announced it would close the centre as it was making a £1 million-a-year loss. A spirited campaign, led by the local MP, Janet Dean, led last November to Coors reaching a deal with Planning Solutions to re-open the centre.
Planning Solutions chief executive John Lowther said he was confident his company would meet the planned opening on 1 May. He said the much-loved shire horses, a feature of the old museum, would return to their stables next week to prepare for the opening. The new centre will feature live actors and audio-visual displays.

Carlsberg switches Tetley cask ale to Wolverhampton

2010-03-02T20:05:00.003Z

The insensivity of global brewers knows no bounds. After months of speculation, Carlsberg announced today (2 March) that production of the cask version of the legendary Tetley Bitter from Leeds will be switched to Banks's Brewery in Wolverhampton when the Leeds brewery closes in 2011.
Tetley Bitter is an iconic Yorkshire beer. Wolverhampton, when last checked on a road map, is in the West Midlands. Conscious of the need to save on carbon footprints, Carlsberg will trunk the beer 100 miles to the beer's Yorkshire heartland every time a batch is brewed at Banks's.
The keg "smoothflow" version of Tetley Bitter will be switched to the John Smith's factory in Tadcaster. The fact that keg beer will stay in Yorkshire speaks volumes for the priorities of Carlsberg. John Smith's should perhaps be renamed the Brewery of Lost Souls: as well as fizzy Tetley, it will also soon become home to Newcastle [sic] Brown Ale when Heineken UK closes the Tyneside brewery.
Bob Stukins, vice-chairman of CAMRA and a Yorkshireman, said: "Carlsberg don't do geography lessons but if they did they'd clearly realise the impact this move will have on the beer-drinking copmmunity in Yorkshire. It's unbelievable to think that a long-standing global brewer would make this move at a time when the real ale industry is recording year-on-year growth and CAMRA's annual research is showing a steep increase in the number of consumers try real ale for the first time."
A spokesman for Carlsberg said Tetley Mild and Dark Mild will continue to be produced but at present no new home had been found for them.

Freeminer stars in Fairtrade Fortnight

2010-02-25T11:49:00.002Z

The Co-operative supermarket group is highlighting the wider availability of its certified Fairtrade bottled beer range brewed by Freeminer during Fairtrade Fortnight (22 Feb-7 March) with a generous price promotion across the range.
The Co-op now owns Somerfield, which means its range of Freeminer-brewed beers will be available in around 450 new outlets across the country, given them greater access to beer drinkers. Both the Co-op Fairtrade Bumble Bee Honey Ale (4.6%) and Organic Premium Ale (5%) are available at a discount during Fairtrade Fortnight.
Organic Premium Ale is the first-ever nationally-listed beer to be both Fairtrade and organic. The brewery, based in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, uses floor-malted barley and traditional organic hops from Germany. They are blended with Fairtrade Demerara sugar. Bumble Bee Ale is the biggest-selling Fairtrade beer in Britain and uses honey from Fairtrade producers in Chile.

Freedom enters the 4% lager sector

2010-02-23T17:23:00.002Z

Freedom Brewery in Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, has entered the growing 4% lager sector with a new beer of that strength. The lager-only brewery, run by Ed and Susan Mayman, brews Organic Lager,Organic Dark Lager and Pilsener. The 4% sector was kick-started a few years ago by Beck's of Hamburg and has been followed by Stella Artois and other major lager brewers.
The Freedom 4% has a fine toasted malt aroma, with sweet malt, spicy hops and light citrus fruit in the mouth, and a dry and hoppy finish. By mainstream lager standards, it's a bitter beer.
The beer is currently only available on draught -- there are no immediate plans to bottle it. See www.freedomlager.com.

CAMRA appoints Scot as national chairman

2010-02-23T17:20:00.003Z

Colin Valentine from Edinburgh is to be the first Scottish national chairman of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA). He will take over the reins in April at the campaign's annual meeting in the Isle of Man as current chairman Paula Waters steps down after six years in the post. Valentine is currently CAMRA's vice-chairman and has also been Scottish organiser.

Local brewers chalk up success

2010-02-22T12:35:00.002Z

22 February:-More than one million hectolitres brewed for the first time, sales growth of close to 4% in a year of deep recession, increased on-trade listings despite record pub closures and investment in the equipment, staff and technology for brewery expansion are all highlighted in the annual Local Brewing Industry Report published today by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).
While the overall UK beer market declined by 4.2% last year, the local brewing sector achieved an impressive 3.75% increase in volume sales. Threequarters of all local brewers recorded volume growth in 2009 and on average they achieved a 17% increase in turnover. And the number of pubs sourcing local beers through SIBA'S Direct Delivery Scheme (DDS) grew by 12% -- a reflection of local cask ale's unique ability to help pubs weather the recessionary storm.
SIBA's chief executive Julian Grocock said: "More than 60% of our members were founded after 2000, so the current recession is the most severe they have traded through. That the vast majority managed a sales uplift last year and are anticipating the same in 2010 speaks volumes about the resilience and resorcefulness of the UK's quality independent brewers."
This year's report from SIBA contains the organisation's pre-election manifesto, which highlights the current government's "schizophrenic" approach to the local brewing industry. The list leads with a call for a commitment to retain Progressive Beer Duty (PBD), introduced in 2002, and is followed by a series of other fiscal strategies such as cancelling the beer duty escalator, freezing beer duty and considering lower duty rates for lower-strength beers.
Julian Grocock says: "The government's support for PBD is welcomed and has helped the formation and growth of many smaller brewers, whom it claims to support. Yet, with its punitive taxation policies, which have meant a 20% rise in beer duty over the past two years, it appears set on destroying them.
"We urge, whoever is elected in May, to take a fresh look at the local brewing industry. Cask ale -- which accounts for more than 80% of SIBA members' output -- is a relatively low alcohol drink, served in the controlled environment of a pub where drinking is part of a social occasion, rather than an end in itself. As such, we deserve to be treated as part of the solution to alcohol-related harm, rather than being part of the problem."
The Local Brewing Industry Report says brewers continue to use PBD to build their businesses by adding capacity, buying new equipment and marketing their beers, while a sizeable minority also state an ambition to buy a pub during 2010.
SIBA members demonstrate exceptional green credentials. Some 80% are committed to reducing their energy use, more than half are looking at ways to reduce their packaging and "food miles", and a similar number source ingredients locally. Sixteen per cent either alerady brew organic beer or plan to do so.
*SIBA celebrates its 30th anniversary this year.

BBC boost for Guinness

2010-02-21T11:31:00.002Z

I learn from the BBC that David Cameron, leader of the Tory Party, likes a game of darts down the pub with a pint of Guinness. Clearly "Bullingdon Dave" needs to attract support from the drinking classes but I find it curious that the publicly-funded BBC, which doesn't carry advertising, has given a free plug for the Irish stout.
It's not usually so generous. A few weeks ago, the BBC1 Country File programme featured "a brewery in Oxfordshire". The presenter said it was his local brewery and showed the magnificent Victorian buildings, complete with steam engine and traditional brewing vessels, along with horse-drawn drays delivering the beer. But the brewery wasn't named (it was Hook Norton).
Last year, the James May/Oz Clarke series on drinking beer, wine, whisky and anything they could get their hands on included a lengthy piece on a CAMRA beer festival. Except there was no mention of CAMRA. The organisers told me the production company that produed the series for the BBC told them to take down all brewery logos from the tents and even the CAMRA logo because "BBC guidelines say you cannot promote commercial organisations". Yet CAMRA is a consumer organisation, not a commercial company.
But when it comes to Guinness, the BBC has no such inhibitions. It was good to know, as a licence payer, that Cameron likes to play arrers down the rub-a-dub with a glass of Barmaid's Pout.

Worth missing a train for...

2010-02-20T09:57:00.002Z

I'm a bit of a Johnny-cum-lately where the Sheffield Tap is concerned -- see Pete Brown's Blog on the subject -- but I had half an hour to wait at Sheffield railway station for a train to Wombwell (home of Acorn Brewery -- more anon) so I naturally gravitated to Platform One for the recently opened bar in the former First Class Refreshment Rooms.
The spacious bar is a wonderfully ornate blend of tiles, hanging globe lights and wooden settles. The servery is immense, running almost the length of the room, with a massive bank of keg founts that serve tempting beers from around the world, including Bernard lagers from the Czech Republic and Sierra Nevada Pale Ale. But I knew the Tap is the result of co-operation between Thornbridge Brewery in Derbyshire and the specialist beer importer Pivovar (the word is Czech for beer), so I naturally headed for the Thornbridge pumps and had a delicious pint of White Swan, with hop resins dancing out of the foam and tingling the nostrils.
The Tap is great news for travellers. It means you no longer have to leave the station and cross dangerous roads to get to the nearest pub, a shabby montrosity with badly-kept cask beer.
My watch was running one minute late and I had barely finished my pint when I saw the doors of my train starting to close. Shock news -- British train leaves on time. I managed to scramble on board but I shall return to Platform One at Sheffield station at the first opportunity.

Beer is good for your bones

2010-02-08T09:59:00.002Z

Beer is a rich source of a nutrient that can help prevent weak bones -- but it depends what type you drink, researchers at the University of California, Davis, say. Beer is a rich source of dietary silicon, which can help cut the chance of developing diseases such as osteoporosis, the researchers conclude.
But not all beers are the same and those containing malted brley and hops have higher silicon content than beers made from wheat. The research, published in the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, examined 100 commercial beers and their production methods.

5GBP million new brewery for Badger beers

2010-02-06T11:50:00.004Z

Dorset brewer Hall & Woodhouse is to invest 5GBP million in a new 21st century brewery at its existing site in Blandford St Mary. The new plant will be dedicated to brewing its range of cask and bottled Badger beers.
The beers will continue to use high-quality ingredients, including Dorset spring water that has been naturally filtered for up to a century through the Cretaceous chalk downs and drawn from the brewery's own wells. Work on the new brewery will start in October this year.
Brewery vice-chairman Mark Woodhouse said: "Hall & Woodhouse has been brewing Badger ales for more than 225 years and this excitingt development ensures we will be doing so for many more generations to come. I believe an investment of this magnitude also demonstrates our commitment to brewing and the growth of our premium bottled and cask ales."

OFT to reopen pubs inquiry

2010-02-06T11:37:00.002Z

CAMRA -- the Campaign for Real Ale -- has reached an agreement with the Office of Fair Trading to stay its appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal challenging the OFT's initial response to the campaign's super-complaint in October 2009. CAMRA's appeal is now put on hold until 1 August this year to enable the OFT to consider further evidence of anti-competitive behaviour by the large pub-owning companies. The OFT will now conduct an open public consultation before reaching a final decision.
CAMRA's super complaint argued that anti-competitive practices are inflating beer prices in pubs by around 50 pence a pint, restricting consumer choice and leading to chronic under-investment in the nation's pubs.
The campaign's chief executive, Mike Benner, said: "We are delighted that the OFT has responded to our appeal by agreeing to conduct an open consultation and I will encourage all parties to use this opportunity to submit further evidence of anti-competitive practice. The consultation will lead to a new and final decision from the OFT."
Mike Benner added that he hoped the re-examination of the pubs market will lead to the OFT acting against anti-competitive behaviour in order to deliver a fair deal for consumers.
CAMRA's fund-raising appeal for the reform of the beer tie, which raised more than £8,000 since January, will be suspended during the consultation period. The funds will go towards CAMRA's legal fees. The campaign says it reserves the right to re-activate its appeal should it be dissatisfied with the OFT's final decision following the conultation.

Batemans toasts record sales

2010-02-05T15:23:00.002Z

Proving it's not all doom and gloom in the brewing industry, Lincolnshire family brewer George Bateman & Son has reported record beer sales for 2009. Batemans saw a 5% increase in its beer trade, distributing more than 40,000 barrels through its retail estate of 65 pubs as well as supermarkets, national drinks distributors and other leading wholesalers.
Managing Director Stuart Bateman said: "I believe that one of the keys to our success is that we have better and more innovative licensess today. And our customers and suppliers tell the brewery team they like dealing with us, rather than a faceless corporate group. We have increased our training levels through both the brewery and the pubs and we believe our licensees feel very well supported. We also happen to brew great tasting beer!"
Bateman's beer are now available in 14 markets, including Australia, Brazil, Channel Islands, Cyrpus, Denmark, France, Finland, Ireland, North America, Norway, Russia, Scandinavia, South Africa and Spain. The brewery's Christmas ale, Rosey Nosey, had another bumper year in 2009, performing exceptionally well through major multiples and selected independents. All Bateman's bottled beers are vegetarian and vegan friendly.
*There's more good news further south in Suffolk, where Adnams of Southwold has announced it's to hold its beer prices for a further 12 months until the end of
2010. Following a price freeze throughout 2009, Adnams beer prices have been held for its tied and free trade customers since March 2008 -- that's excluding duty rises.
Adnams owns 74 pubs in East Anglia and London while its cask and bottled ales, including Bitter, Broadside, Explorer and East Green, are available throughout the country.

One of Britain's greatest pubs

2010-01-31T12:41:00.002Z

I had one of the most memorable days of my drinking life on Friday when I went to the Shoulder of Mutton in Castleford, West Yorkshire. I was in Yorkshire for a beer talk and tasting at The Works in Sowerby Bridge and went to Castleford the following day at the invitation of landlord Dave Parker, known to all and sundry as "Tetley Dave".
Dave is a former Tetley drayman. After a number of run-ins with Enterprise Inns, owners of the Shoulder -- who at one point tried to evict him with 24 hours' notice -- Dave now owns the pub and is his own master. As well as selling vast amounts of Tetley Dark Mild and Bitter, he has beers from many Yorkshire micros. When I arrived in the pub, I was confronted by a pump clip bearing my image. The beer is called Jolly Roger and is brewed by the Great Heck Brewing Co. It's porter-style beer, creamy and luscious,just like me.
The pub,based in a wasteland of former coal mines and potteries,is a great, no-nonsense old boozer. The George Formby Society performs there every Wednesday -- how I would have loved to see them -- but Dave was persuaded to get out hus ukelele and play a few old Formby numbers.
In the course of a few riotous hours I met local TV celebrity Ian Clayton, a local historian, retired miners, workers from Thomas Fawcett's maltings and brewers from Coors of Tadcaster and Sam Smith's. The Coors man told me that Tadcaster alone brews 1.4 million barrels of Carling a year. I've never drunk it -- perhaps I'm missing something (but I suspect not). I also met a woman known as the Beer Monster who claims to have sampled 1,500 beers -- or was it 15,000? -- and Viv Nicholson, the woman who famously won a fortune on the Pools in 1961 -- worth £3 million in today's money -- and blew the lot. She lives in Castleford and drops into the Shoulder on a regular basis where everyone is happy to buy her a gin.
An amazing pub with amazing beer and people and masses of old Tetley memorabilia. If you're ever in the area, don't miss it.

Stella faces malt crisis

2010-01-27T20:23:00.002Z

As a result of continuing industrial action in Belgium by workers employed by AB InBev, the brewer says it's running short of malt at the plants that produce such delights as Stella Artois and Jupiler. The workers are protesting against plans by the global giant to close plants in Belgium, with the loss of many jobs.
It will come as a surprise for beer lovers to learn that Wife Beater actually uses malt. Come on InBev, you can do better than this -- surely there's plenty of rice, maize and grits you can use.

Fuller's Vintage on special offer

2010-01-27T20:20:00.002Z

My branch of Sainsbury's is selling the 2009 Fuller's Vintage Ale for £1.68 -- that's half price. There were only two bottles left and I naturally snaffled both of them. I imagine they are walking off the shelves at this price but it might be worth checking out your nearest branch to see if there are any left.
Not good for Fuller's but a wonderful bargain for beer lovers.

Magnet loses its pulling power

2010-01-21T11:19:00.002Z

Heineken UK, Dutch owner of Scottish & Newcastle, has announced it will stop production of John Smith's Magnet. "What is John Smith's Magnet?" I hear you cry. The beer is so little seen that most younger beer drinkers have probably never heard of it let alone drunk it. The last time I came across it was in a pub in Southampton in 2005, a long way from Yorkshire. Not that it's been brewed in Yorkshire for some time: S&N didn't let such a low-volume beer trouble its fermenters in Tadcaster and had it brewed under licence elsewhere.
The reason given by Heineken is that the beer is now sold in only 100 outlets. That speaks volumes for the priorities of the global brewers. I can think of many brewers who would love to have a beer that was sold in 100 outlets but brewers the size of Heineken can't be bothered with such tiny volumes.
Magnet was a 4% cask beer and it was a nice drop. While it was only 2% stronger than John Smith's Bitter and had an identical recipe, it had an appealing malty and fruity character. And it has been a victim of the law of diminishing returns: a brewer doesn't promote a beer then wonders why it doesn't sell and finally cuts off the blood supply.
It makes me wonder what future such once revered cask brands as Boddington's, Draught Bass and Draught Burton Ale have. Bass once accounted for more than two million barrels a year but first Bass and now AB InBev have allowed it to wither on the hop bine. When I first drank Boddington's in Manchester in the 1970s I didn't think beer could be that good. But that fine beer has all but disappeared.
Draught Burton Ale was a such a sensational success in the late 1970s that it played a vital role in the first cask beer revival. It's the only beer produced by a national brewer to have won the Champion Beer of Britain competition. It was an Ind Coope brand brewed in Burton but when the brewery closed it moved to Tetley in Leeds and has scarcely been seen since. When the Tetley brewery closes either this year or next, I have no doubt that Burton Ale will fall into the mass grave of unloved and unpromoted beers from the past.

Frightening future for global beer

2010-01-15T17:44:00.002Z

Hard on the heels of the news of AB InBev's job cuts and falling beer sales comes news of developments in brewing that could be grasped by the global producers as key ways of cutting costs.
The latest issue of Brewers' Guardian is devoted to the Brewery of the Future and is concerned about how beer can be made in a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable way. Many of its suggestions are eminently sensible: in countries threatened by drought, it's clearly vital to make the best possible use of water. The magazine also looks at the possibility of making beer in African and Asian countries from local grains such as sorghum, cassava, rice and corn when barley is difficult or impossible to grow.
But some of the steps being taken, while good for the environment, may not be good for beer or drinkers. Denmark's Harboe Brewery has launched a beer called Clim8 using 100% raw barley. The company says CO2 is saved by not malting the barley. All Very worthy, but beer traditionally is made from malted grain that contains the natural maltose that can be fermented into alcohol. Raw barley on the other hand offers starch, not sugar. It appears that the only way maltose can be extracted from the grain is for large amounts of industrial enzymes to be added during the brewing process.
In Japan, where low-malt and no-malt beers have been developed, brewers are now looking at the possibility of making beers they call "third category" -- aimed at the Third World -- from soya protein, pea and corn.
It would be the height of western impudence to tell brewers in Africa and Asia how to brew their beers. But the worry is that the global producers, who are feeling the pinch from falling sales, will look at these developments as a way of cutting costs of the beers they produce in Europe and the Americas. In recent years, the global brewers have drastically cut the time they lager or mature beers -- many international lager brands are now produced as quickly as ales -- and they may be prompted to look at the possibility of reducing costs still further by using cheaper grains.
Of course, craft brewers won't be distracted by this and will continue to use the finest raw materials for their beers. But it's a worrying thought that in a few years the lager drinker standing at the bar next to you may be drinking a global brand made from soya or peas.

Beer giant to axe European jobs

2010-01-11T11:47:00.002Z

The world's biggest brewer, AB InBev, has announced it will cut around 10% of its workforce in western Europe "to reflect falling demand for beer". That should really read "falling demand for over-promoted fizzy industrial lager". The number of jobs lost will be 800 from a total European workforce of 8,000. Of the 800, 263 jobs will go in Belgium alone. Workers at the Jupiller lager factory were so enraged by the announcement of job cuts that they took two managers hostage for several hours on 8 January.
There are likely to be job cuts in Britain and Germany as well. A spokeswoman for AB InBev said consumer demand for beer had fallen consistently in recent years. She added: "Western European consumers are drinking differently and AB InBev needs the right commercial focus". She said Belgians were drinking a "more diverse range of premium beer in lower quantities."
In which case, why doesn't the producer of Budweiser and Stellar Artois get the message, fill its mash tuns and coppers with good ingredients and produce beers with aroma and flavour? Could work a treat. The group's sales in Belgium fell by 2% in the first nine months of 2009.

Czech beer feels impact of 'free market'

2010-01-06T12:29:00.002Z

When the Czech Republic enthusiastically joined the European Union it didn't expect its world-famous beer Pilsner Urquell -- the original Pilsner -- to be hammered by price cutting in neighbouring Germany. As a result of cross-border trading, visitors to some Czech stores and restaurants find bottles of Pilsner Urquell bearing German labels. This is the result of lower wholesale prices in Germany encouraging some Czech companies to re-import the beer in order to boost profits.
The price of Pilsner Urquell has been rising in the Czech Republic for several years. The suggested retail price in 2000 was 14.6 Crowns and this had risen by 2009 to 19.9 Crowns. Jiri Maracek of the Pilsen brewery said: "There's no way we can dictate retail prices. The recommended price in Germany is 75 cents, which is roughly 20 Crowns."
That makes the German price equivalent to the Czech price but it doesn't take into account the fact that special promotions in Germany can lead to drastically lower prices, which are the main reason for re-importing the beer from Germany. Value added tax is lower in Germany than the Czech Republic and individuals can import up to 100 litres of beer without having to declare it to to Customs.
According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, the value of all beer re-imported from Germany was 62 million Crowns in 2009.

Magazine calls for re-think on 'binge culture'

2010-01-06T11:43:00.002Z

In an article in the Spectator magazine (30 December) Leah McLaren says much of the medical profession's concern with alcohol misuse is over-hyped and fails to understand the benefits of moderate drinking. McLaren points out that a £100 million campaign run by the Drinkaware Trust is funded, among others, by Tesco and Waitrose, and that such suggestions as serving water at dinner parties, starting the day with a brisk walk and eating lots of bananas will have no impact on serious alcoholics.
McClaren points out that the overwhelming majority of the British drink sensibly and moderately and that so-called "dangerous levels" of consumption in Britain would be considered the norm in France and most of Europe.
McClaren points to the bewildering change of attitudes in the medical profession. Pregnant women used to be encouraged to take a moderate amount of alcohol -- Guinness, rich in iron, was singled out in this respect -- but now they are told to avoid alcohol entirely. Research shows, McClaren says, that regular moderate drinking is good for health, especially the heart: moderate drinkers have fewer heart problems than total abstainers.
The article quotes Professor David Hanson, a sociologist at New York State University and an expert on the sociology of drinks, who says the British government's statistics on unhealthy drinking are wildly exaggerated. "There's this idea that almsot any alcohol is bad," Hanson adds. "You've got this idea that alcohol is poison and that we need to reduce consumption and that will solve all our social problems. That simply doesn't bear out historically. In the U.S., for example, Prohibition actually introduced the practice of heavy drinking by making liquor an illegal substance."
McClaren points to the cultural benefits of drink. "The pub is Britain's finest institution. The death of the pub leads to young people going to nightclubs. The local pub might well be the government's best weapon when it comes to getting young people to 'drink safe' or 'know their limits'."

Indie praise for CAMRA

2009-12-27T11:56:00.002Z

The Independent's Saturday magazine has a weekly series called Minor British Institutions and on 26 December it featured the Campaign for Real Ale. Sean O'Grady wrote:
"Obviously you don't have to have a big beer belly peeking out from your real-ale festival T-shirt to be a member of CAMRA but it helps. It's also true that there are lots of real-ale bores (just as there are wine bores too), but none of this detracts from the import and enjoyability of CAMRA's long crusade to save decent British beer and habitable, proper pubs. Its efforts are needed now more than ever. The campaign began in 1971, in the most westerly pub in Europe, Kruger's Bar in Co Kerry, when four young men from the north-west of England, Michael Hardman, Graham Lees, Bill Mellor and Jim Makin, were on holiday. Fed up with the poor quality of British beer -- too fizzy, with no character and no taste -- they formed the Campaign for the Revitalisation of Ale, soon to become the snappier Campaign for Real ale. CAMRA now boasts more than 100,000 members, an investment club and the indispensable Good Beer Guide to pubs, breweries, food and ale. Mine's a pint.

New Zealand victory for Saison

2009-12-24T11:08:00.002Z

DB Breweries of New Zealand has cancelled the registration of its trademark for Saison following a campaign by the consumer group SOBA. DB, a subsidiary of Singapore-based Asia Pacific Breweries, took out a trademark for Saison that would have effectively banned the import of true Belgian Saison beers. Saison -- the French for "season" -- was originally a beer style produced by farmers to refresh their families and workers during the harvest period. It's now produced by a number of craft breweries in the French-speaking region of Belgium where the best-known Saison brewer is Dupont of Tourpes, based on a farm.
But DB will continue with its trademark for Radler, a lager and lemonade refresher first produced by Austrian and German brewers in the 1920s and 30s to slake the thirst of cyclists. In 2008, DB forced a small craft brewery, Green Man of Dunedin, to relabel its entire production of its version of Radler, which it had to rename Cyclist.

CAMRA to challenge OFT ruling on pubs

2009-12-22T13:02:00.002Z

22 December 2009
CAMRA -- the Campaign for Real Ale -- will issue a legal challenge to the Office of Fair Trading (OFT)over its decision to reject the campaign's Super Complaint on anti-competitive practices in the British pub market.
CAMRA is pledging funds to appeal but will depend on consumers helping to raise further funds to ensure the challenge can stand the best chance of success.
In October, CAMRA criticised the OFT for failing to protect consumers by taking no further action to address consumer detriment in the pub market following the campaign's super complaint submitted in July. Under the Enterprise Act 2002, CAMRA is entitled to appeal against the OFT's decision to the Complaints Appeals Tribunal and it has decided on this course of action to continue fighting anti-competitive practices in the pub market.
From Tuesday 5 January 2010, CAMRA will call on consumers to visit the campaign's website (www.camra.org.uk)and contribute to the Consumer vs OFT Pub Market Ruling Campaign Fund.
CAMRA chief executive Mike Benner said: "CAMRA's complaint to the OFT was based on securing a fair deal for the pubgoer and building a sustainable future for Britain's pubs. We believe the OFT did not take reasonable steps to undertand the pub sector."
Bob Young, a former member of the Monopolies and Mergers Committee and Principal for Europe Economics, said the OFT's response was "as inadequate as CAMRA's super complaint was compelling. The OFT has not seriously considered whether there is fair competition at a local level which ensures that consumners or pub landlords for that matter get the best deal. This is a critical shortcoming in the OFT's response to CAMRA."
Mike Benner added: "We urge consumers and associated trade bodies to get behind our appeal and support our fund."