The Business of Beer

Lowenbrau Moving: Labatt Brewing Co. of Toronto has signed an agreement with Lowenbrau AG of Munich to produce, import and market Lowenbrau beers in North America. The deal goes into effect when the existing contract with Miller Brewing ends in 1999.

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New Brewery for Albany: C.H. Evans Brewing started construction this month and is slated to open in the Quakenbush Square area of Albany, NY, in January.

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More Room = More Brew: Sleeman Breweries Ltd. has announced it will spend $10 million to expand its Guelph, Ontario, brewery. The move will almost double capacity at the plant, to 4.8 million cases.

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Taking on the King: Three California breweries have filed a class action suit against Anheuser-Busch for demanding "100 percent share of mind" from its distributors. St. Stan's of Modesto, Anderson Valley Brewing of Boonville and El Toro Brewing of Morgan Hill are plaintiffs.

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Time to Relax and Have a Cold One: Peter W. Stroh, who is about to turn 70 years old, will retire as chairman of the Stroh Companies at the end of the year. John W. Stroh III has been named president and chief executive.

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First Yeast Infections, Now Hop Mildew: About 10% of the hop harvest from Washington's Yakima Valley is expected to be lost due to hop mildew. Don't worry, there are a surplus of hops worldwide.

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Back to School: The Budweiser Mobile Beer School was visited by 46,452 students during its first year on the road. A total of 1,403 classes were offered in 90 cities across 29 states.

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Best Beer Ads: The best American beer advertising -- from television commercials to websites -- will be recognized at the Great American Beer Festival, this year slated for Oct. 2-4 in Denver. The Beer Cup Advertising and Design Awards are open to work done in 1996 and 1997. Call 303/447-0816 for details.

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And the Envelopes Please: Donald Feinberg and Wendy Littlefield of Vanberg & DeWulf have been inducted into the Belgian Brewers Guild. They are the first Americans and only couple to receive the honor.....Charlie Gottenkieny of Dallas was named the American Homebrewers Association's 1997 Homebrewer of the Year. The Derby Brew Club of Derby, Kansas, was named Homebrew Club of the Year, with the Chicago Beer Society named first runner up and the Ann Arbor Brewers Guild tied with the Capitol Brewers of Salem, Oregon, as second runners up....Samuel Adams was named best international ale at the Australian International Beer Festival, beating 43 ales from eight countries.

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Don't Get Lost: The American Homebrewers Association is offering members "Maps on Tap", a new mapping software system to create custom city maps highlighting brewpubs, microbreweries and brewing supply shops.

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More from Jackson: Michael Jackson's Beer Companion from the Running Press has been revised with new information, 50 new photographs and 60 new labels.

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Thanks Jerry: A former Miller Brewing Company executive fired and accused of sexual harassment for telling a female co-worker about a sexual plot line in an episode of NBC's Seinfeld was awarded $26.6 million by jurors who said the firing was not justified. The jury gave Jerold Mackenzie about three times the amount he had asked for in the lawsuit.

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Draught Choices: Thanks to the growth in beer bars, a number of specialty draught beers are hitting the U.S. market for the first time. They include G. Schneider & Sohn's Aventinus from Germany, imported by B. United International...Belgian lambic Lindemans Kriek, Framboise and Peche from Merchant du Vin Corp.....Corsendonk Abbey Ale from Belgium by Phoenix Imports Ltd....and Pete's Wicked Strawberry Blonde Ale.

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New Brew Revue: Flatlander's Restaurant and Brewery in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is brewing a Continental Pilsener....Great Lakes Brewing Co. in Cleveland is offering Commodore Perry IPA, Grand Cru, Oatmeal Stout, Oktoberfest, Cleveland Brown Ale and Nosferatu Red....Independence Brewing is now offering Franklinfest, a Marzen-style lager, year-round in bottles and on draught...Blue Ridge Hopfest is a new unfiltered American brown ale from Frederick Brewing Co.....Clint Eastwood's Pale Rider Ale is being brewed at Celis Brewery in Austin. Money from the proceeds will be donated to charities such as the Carmel Youth Center and Monterey Peninsula Boys & Girls Club....St. Croix Serrano Pepper Ale is now available in Wisconsin and Minnesota.......Saranac Black Forest from the F. X. Matt Brewing Co. is now in bottles....Breckenridge Brewery has released Old World Pilsner across 33 states and at six brewpubs, including one in Buffalo, NY...The Penn Brewery has released its 1997 edition of Oktoberfest Bier....B. United International is importing Pripp's Vintage Carnegie Porter from Sweden, Sinebrychoff's Porter from Finland and J.W. Lees Harvest Ale from England....Milwaukee's Water Street Brewery is now bottling its Honey Lager Light....Phoenix Imports Ltd. is importing three artisanal brews from De Gouden Boom Brewery of Belgium: Brugse Tripel, Steenbrugge Dubbel and Steenbrugge Tripel....Jasper Ridge Brewery of Ishpeming, Michigan, has unveiled an Oktoberfest.....Blue Cat Brewpub of Rock Island, Illinois, is brewing Coriander & Orange and Red Toad as two seasonals.... Paulaner North America is importing Brasserie Lefebvre Abbaye de Floreffe Double in three liter bottles....Vanberg & DeWulf is importing Clovis from Brasserie Dubuisson of Belgium in bottles and kegs, plus several holiday brews including Affligem Noel, Pater's Vat, Scaldis Noel and Avec les Bons Voeux de la Brasserie Dupont....Michelob is debuting Maple Brown Ale as the first seasonal beer from the Michelob Specialty Ales & Lagers Family....Canada's Brick Brewing in Ontario is contract brewing Celis White at its Waterloo brewery....Boston Beer Co.'s Winter Classics 12-packs and Winter Lager 12-packs are available, as well as huge Samuel Adams Octoberfest mugs.

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New Packages: Leinenkugel's Red Lager features a sunset label design, while Hudepohl-Schoenling's Little Kings Cream Ale has updated photo-quality graphics.

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Here's to Your Health: An 8-year study of 130,000 Kaiser Permanente members in California published in the American Journal of Cardiology found that light consumption of beer, white wine or red wine definitely helps protect against heart disease. Wine was noted as best for women, while beer appeared to do the best job for men......The U.S. Government's Dietary Guidelines for Americans includes warnings about alcohol consumption, but also notes that moderate drinking has lowered heart disease risk for some people...A Harvard University Physicians' Health Study found a decreased risk for ulcers among those who consume alcohol when adjusted for factors including age and smoking....At the fourth International Conference on Preventive Cardiology held during July in Montreal 15, papers on alcohol were presented showing significant reductions in mortality rates for moderate drinkers when compared to non-drinkers.

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Stock Ticker: Sleeman Breweries Ltd. (TSE - ALE) announced second quarter results with net income of $1,285,000 compared to $571,000 for the same period in 1996....Anheuser-Busch Companies achieved record sales and earnings for the second quarter and first six months of 1997. The company's worldwide beer volume rose 1.3% to 47.4 million barrels....The Boston Beer Co. (NYSE: SAM) announced second quarter sales of $49.8 million, compared to $54.1 million during the second quarter of 1996....The Lion Brewery (Nasdaq: MALT) third quarter net income of $622,000 up from $438,000 the previous year.....Adolph Coors Co. said its profits more than doubled in the second quarter, in part because of a $71 million settlement it received in a dispute with Molson Breweries....Banff Brewery (Alberta Stock Exchange: BBW.) said the final stage of its private placement of shares has been completed. Proceeds will be used to increase plant capacity in response to recent orders from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia and Missouri.....Frederick Brewing Co. (Nasdaq: BLUE) said second quarter sales almost doubled to $875,416 compared with the same period last year. Production at the company's new $8.8 million brewery doubled each month of the quarter...Minnesota Brewing Company (Nasdaq: MBRW) announced net sales for its second quarter were $6,449,619 a decrease of 19%.... Perry's Majestic Beer Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: PYMB) reported net sales totaling $298,325 for the first quarter, up from $255,293....Portland Brewing Company reported an operating profit of $2,000 for the quarter ended June 30. Net sales were $3.1 million, essentially flat compared to the same period in 1996.....and Rock Bottom Restaurants (Nasdaq: BREW), operator of Rock Bottom Restaurant & Brewery restaurants and Old Chicago restaurants, reported second quarter net income of $941,817 compared to $882,788 in 1996.

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From the Foreign Desk: Britain's Bass PLC said it sold its 50% stake in Carlsberg-Tetley Brewing to Carlsberg AS of Denmark for 110 million pounds after the British government blocked Bass' planned purchase of Carlsberg's half of the venture...Microbreweries in Japan are cutting into the sales of regional brands marketed by national brewers. The major brewer's regional products are down 30%, causing Kirin, Asahi and Sapporo to put more emphasis on their national labels.... Five so-called alcopops have been pulled from the British market, while eight others are changing their names and graphics after criticism from the Portman Group, a U.K. brewing industry watchdog. The brands involved include Barking Frog, Moo, Vixen and Raw Passion.....The Czech Republic's two largest brewers announced merger plans. Plzensky Prazdroj, makers of Pilsener Urquell, and Radegast, makers of Nosovice, need government approval to close the deal.... The European Union says it will meet with executives of Guinness PLC and Grand Metropolitan PLC over concerns that the merger of the two drinks industry giants would limit competition in Europe.

Send news about your brewery to Rick Lyke, 14 Bluestone Ridge, Clifton Park, N.Y. 12065 or Lyke1or2@aol.com.

Copyright 1997, Great Lakes Brewing News. No material herein may be reprinted without permission of the Great Lakes Brewing News Distributed On the W3 For personal, non-commercial enjoyment and use only. Cheers!