Belgian Brewery & Zythos Tour, 2011

Like Belgian beer? Like Belgian breweries?

Then come along with me, Marlin Travel and Taps Magazine for our incredible Belgian brewery tour, which includes a day with me at the famous Zythos Beer Festival, Belgium’s largest and most important beer fest.  Full details are over here. Hope you’ll be able to join us!

That Budweiser Question Below

Maybe this is the answer?

Lew, no!

Really Not Getting It 101

Thanks to Alan for pointing me towards this remarkable example of the incredible degree to which the big breweries are just not getting it:

Joel Levesque, Moosehead’s vice-president, said the demographic that drinks the most beer, New Brunswickers aged 19 to 25, is shrinking and despite sunny weather, summer sales are down. He said that had sparked a fierce competition among the big brewers. “You entice people to take your brand by offering something that they can’t get from their brand regularly, for example a T-shirt in the box or in this case, it’s $5 coupons,” he said. Levesque said there would be more discounts as major labels try to clear shelves by Labour Day.

T-shirt? Check. Coupon? Check. Flavour? Oh, I must have missed that memo…

(Interesting to note the pull quote from this story, which has Sean Dunbar from Picaroons Brewing talking about how the brewery hasn’t been able to keep up with demand. Guess he got the memo!)

Attention Facebook Friends

If you’ve liked World of Beer on Facebook, you may want to scoot over there now and offer your two cents on the burning question of the day. And if you’re on FB but haven’t yet liked WoB, well, here’s a good time to do so!

The question, BTW, is what and where is the right time and place for a bottle of two of Budweiser?

Budweiser Stats and the Decline of an Icon

Like everyone else who follows the brewing industry in North America, I knew that Budweiser has been haemorrhaging market share in the U.S. for years now. But even I was surprised by the numbers contained in this St. Louis Post-Dispatch story.

Anheuser-Busch knows it has a Budweiser problem. The beer’s share of the U.S. market peaked in 1988 at 26 percent, sinking to 9.3 percent last year. Even more troubling for A-B is that Budweiser seems at risk of being forgotten by an entire generation. Four out of 10 people in their mid-20s have never even tried Budweiser — a rate 2.5 times higher than when it reigned supreme, according to the company.

That’s going to be a long road back if, as he says he is, A-B President Dave Peacock is intent on turning around the brand.

Read the full story here.

Housekeeping and Beer

You may notice that World of Beer looks a bit different now, primarily because I’ve finally taken the time to figure out how these widget thingys work. (Next up: twitter?) And if you look to the right, you’ll notice that the Facebook badge touts a blurb of text along the lines of “Colorado, USA: Avery Brewing Company’s…” You may wonder what it all means.

Well, first off, it means that if you’re on Facebook and haven’t already liked the World of Beer page, well, shame on you. You’re missing out on reviews like the one I posted about Greg Nash’s tremendous Kryptonite from Halifax’s Hart & Thistle a few days ago, not to mention the easiest way imaginable to keep up to date on new posts here and at my other two blogs.

More importantly, however, it touts my review of a limited edition, barrel-aged beer from Colorado’s Avery Brewing, which is everything I could write in 420 characters and much, much more. The bad news is that precious little of this wonderful, 9.9% ale – I still can’t believe it’s that strong! – made it outside of Boulder. On the positive side, though, the label on the bottle i have states “60 cases shared, 37 hoarded.” So there’s hope yet!

Benefits of Beer: No. 1,763 in a Series

Forget all the blather CAMRA has been spouting about how beer can help you lose weight, and never mind Alan’s well-voiced scepticism of same. Hell, even ignore all the joyful, palate pleasing, stress-busting satisfaction of a cool glass of ale or lager enjoyed at the end of a difficult day.

Here’s why moderate drinking is good for you, fellows, and for your significant others, as well:

Alcohol stops men being a flop in bed

I’ll drink to that!

Out of the Mouths of Winos…

Decanter magazine is offering up a batch of multi-discipline jewels this month, beginning with a reminder I posted over here about how much guidance the average consumer needs to sort through the miasma of the drinks world these days. (Don’t start with me! If you are about to comment that “the average consumer is fully able to choose a wine or beer or spirit for themselves,” well, you’re not an average consumer. Trust me on this.)

Then up comes this gem from another prominent wine guy, Jacques Lardière, head winemaker for the French winery, Louis Jadot. In discussing what I might be temnpted to call the pinot grigio-ification of modern wine, Lardière says:

”I’m not after technical perfection. I don’t have much time for the Australian approach, where the ideal wine is the most neutral.’

‘It’s easy to clean up a wine, but by removing faults, unless they’re truly detrimental, you also remove its life.’

‘I refuse to go along with it,’ he adds.

You could, and should, say the same thing about beer.

De Koninck Sold!

A while back, I posited that De Koninck might perhaps be up for sale. Turns out it was, and the winner is…

Duvel Moortgat!

In a deal announced Thursday, August 5, the family-owned regional brewery has acquired 100% of the Antwerp-based De Koninck for an undisclosed amount. The deal includes “significant real estate” in the Antwerp area, including the iconic bar – and scene for me of many enjoyable evenings – Den Engel.

On the surface, this would appear to be a good arrangement. De Koninck has been struggling for some time and Duvel Moortgat has proved thus far to be a good steward of its acquisitions, which include the Wallonian brewery Brasserie d’Achouffe and the northern Liefmans. In the release, Duvel ceo Michel Moortgat seemed to express interest in reinvigorating the De Koninck brand.

I may have to drop in to a De Koninck-carrying bar this afternoon to toast the future of the bolleke!

Stupid Councillor Tricks and an Interesting Juxtaposition

So this morning, in one of the beverage digest email newsletters I receive regularly, I’m reading about this ridiculous new tax being proposed in San Francisco, where councillors are contemplating a “nickel a drink” fee – read: tax – to pay for the costs the city incurs in the treatment of alcohol abusers. And I think, “Hmmmm.”

There are also significant costs associated with overeating and obesity, thinks I, so what about a “nickel a burger” tax to pay for those? And since traffic accidents cost Americans millions, nay, billions each year, what about a “nickel a mile”? Since hypertension brought about by caffeine addiction must also have an associated cost, we’d best consider a “nickel a coffee” tax, too. And don’t get me started on my “nickel a bullet” idea.

The point is that alcohol abuse is a social ill, and as such, the costs associated with it should be paid by the social collective, not the people who also happen to have a drink now and again. The fact that I will be having a beer tonight, perhaps two or three, in fact, should not mean that I or anyone else who enjoys a glass of beer, wine or spirits, or a wonderfully mixed Manhattan, have anything in common with the person described in the story as drinking “the $2 bottle of the cheapest vodka you can find,” much less share a common responsibility for the abuse of alcohol.

But you already know all that. The reason I’m writing this, then, is to contrast the above with a story that followed two down in my email digest, about Molson Coors, who posted a 27% increase in profit for their second quarter. An interesting juxtaposition, is all I’m saying.