European Beer News (Issue 21)

by Carolyn Smagalski 

Smile for the CAMRA

Laura Ulrich beamed with pride when she and her Stone Brewing colleagues won the prestigious Michael Jackson Award for American Cask Ale 2015 at the Great British Beer Festival. The Champion Beer, Stone Ruination Double IPA 2.0, drew the Stone Brewing team into a part of British culture that screams “Cask Matters.”

The 2015 Cask Report, authored by Pete Brown and commissioned by Cask Matters, notes that Cask Ale is the lifeblood of the English Pub, the medium through which the community breathes. Mr. Brown’s analytical report reveals that cask ale drinkers have an annual spend nearly double that of non-cask ale beer drinkers and 63% greater than that of wine imbibers.

He notes that bottled beer, wine and spirits may be transported elsewhere, but Cask Ale is a fresh, natural product that requires pub presence. “The caveat,” says Brown, “is that quality should never be compromised,” noting that with live yeast, each cask needs good cellar management and a quick turnaround in 3 days.

Greene King, as a tribute to UK cask ale enthusiasts, launched “To the Pub,” a lively marketing campaign highlighting the people and pubs of England’s cask ale culture. With filmmaker and documentarian Paddy Wivell, 50 pubs and publicans were chosen – from a field of 3,000 – to film “shorts” posted at http://tothepub.tv. Those featured include the ornate Salisbury, where celebs Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor celebrated their wedding vows; Ye Old Trip to Jerusalem, “a place of legends” dating back to 1189 A.D.; The Bell Inn with a tale of “gas and air” and The Fisherman’s Return, enlivened by Morris Dancing in Winterton-on-Sea, leaving no doubt that cask ale and the British Pub thrive together in symbiotic rhythm.

by Carl Kins

Not only AB InBev is doing takeovers. Duvel also came into the picture with their takeover of Firestone Walker and Brouwerij ‘t IJ (Amsterdam). Moreover, the Keersmaekers family, owners of a brand portfolio including Corsendonck, Tempelier, etc. have gained complete control over Brasserie du Bocq (Purnode), their first brewery. And Unibra (Belgian based company focusing on Africa) has taken a 30 percent stake in Brouwerij Martens, Bocholt.

Although the competition is not as important as the World Beer Cup, the World Beer Awards received plenty of attention, as Belgian brewers scored big, e.g. Rodenbach (Rosso), Timmermans (Tradition Oude Gueuze) and Vander Ghinste (Oud Bruin).

Speaking of Rodenbach, they started a new initiative, Foeder Nights. This is a guided tour through all nooks and crannies of the brewery, with food pairing along the way. Hugely successful.

AB-InBev finally decided to help the Belgian hop growers, and ordered Eric Lagache, one of the bigger Poperinge growers to grow Whitbread-Goldings for their Leffe Royale.

Belgium is now included in the Brewdog realm, with the opening of their pub in a great and convenient location, next to the Brussels Central railway station.

Westmalle started distributing their cheese via retail, contrary to the past where the cheese could only be bought at the abbey gate. Meanwhile, construction work for the new brewery is going well, and one might expect the brewery to be operational in H1/2016. Meanwhile, the Norbertine Averbode monks already sold beer, cheese and bread, but have now added “monastic” gingerbread.

In September, there was a celebration in Hoegaarden, to commemorate Pierre Celis’ first brews of the famous witbier, 50 years ago.

Next to the US, there is also a “Beer Bloggers and Writers Conference” in Europe. It was hosted in Brussels in August, and included not only Belgian beer tastings but also some kind of a speed dating exercise, consisting of trying 11 beers in 1 hour all the while trying to put info on social media about them. Sounds like fun, right? However, most attendants talked about the presentation by Jean Hummler, owner of the famous Moeder Lambic pub, railing against gypsy brewers.

Werner Van Obberghem, telecom manager at Proximus, joined the 3 Fonteinen team. Werner received a part of the company shares, and in return was made responsible for marketing, finances, administration, etc., tasks he will fulfill after hours. Expect more 3 Fonteinen beers to be made available.

Kevin Verstrepen, professor at Leuven University and team have performed large-scale breeding experiments between six carefully selected Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains and two feral Saccharomyces eubayanus strains and achieved a number of new yeasts with desirable aromatic profiles that were significantly different from the profiles produced by the current applied lager yeasts. The intention is to use this new intelligence to produce more flavorful lagers.

by Max Bahnson

Merger is the Case

After a not entirely successful IPO last year, Pivovary Lobkowicz, a company that runs 7 regional breweries, sold almost 80% of its shares to CEFC, from China. The transaction was part of a shopping spree by the Chinese energy conglomerate that included a football team, two heritage-listed buildings in the centre of Prague and stakes in an airline.

According to the management of Lobkowicz, the influx of cash will help them acquire a yet unnamed brewery and to expand their business activities in China. Industry insiders, on the other hand, are scratching their heads trying to figure out why CEFC bought a brewing company in the first place.

The mega merger of AB InBev and SABMiller has not gone unnoticed here. SABMiller is the owner of Plzeňský Prazdroj, the country’s largest brewer and maker of Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus.

Besides concerns about Pilsner Urquell’s future in terms of quality, there’s also the question of the effect this may have in the seemingly endless trademark disputes AB-InBev has with Budějovický Budvar. It’s well-known that Anheuser-Busch has always wanted to buy Budvar should it ever be privatised – it is still a state company – but this discards the possibility, as Prazdro’s market share is declining.

by Jim Dykstra

Tapping Beck’s Coffers

In a case of mistaken identity, American drinkers of the once-imported German pilsner Beck’s have successfully sued for $20 million in a class action suit after claiming the beer’s packaging was deceptive.

The lawsuit was filed in 2013 by a group of several drinkers who noted a lack of “Made in the U.S.A.” labeling on Beck’s packages, despite being brewed in St. Louis by Anheuser-Busch since 2012. The beer also emphasized its “German quality”, referencing its general adherence to the Reinheitsgebot.

While it is technically brewed under the same strictures as true German lager, being brewed in the U.S. technically disqualifies Beck’s from making the claim, and according to the plaintiffs’ attorney, Tucker Ronzetti, the packaging and pricing should reflect that.

“They realized they had been deceived,” Ronzetti said of his clients. “The packaging didn’t really explain that it was a domestic beer.”

After an attempt to have the case thrown out, AB agreed to change its packaging to feature its American origins more prominently.

“We reached a compromise in the Beck’s labeling case,” said Jorn Socquet, Anheuser-Busch vice president for marketing. “We believe our labeling, packaging and marketing of Beck’s has always been truthful, transparent and in compliance with all legal requirements.”

With receipts, anyone who purchased retail, packaged Beck’s can receive up to $50, and those without are eligible for up to $12. Claims can be filed at www.becksbeersettlement.com.

Less Guests and Arrests at Oktoberfest

Oktoberfest 2015 saw a significant drop in attendance at 5.9 million, down 400,000 from the previous year, and the lowest since 2009.

Oktoberfest chief Josef Schmid attributed the drop to sullen weather and newly introduced border checks, an attempt to gauge the record numbers of Syrian refugees seeking asylum in the country.

Along with the tightened border security, the influx of refugees led to heightened usage of Germany’s railways, which in turn limited would-be festival attendees from neighboring countries.

Though the beer consumption saw a drop on par with the number of attendees, crime was also significantly reduced, down nine percent from last year. That’s something to celebrate – with beer.