CIBAS NEWS

Older News Items and More Intersting Beer Stuff Click Here.

• BEER CAN WITH A TWIST COOLS ITSELF. A self-cooling beer can that chills beer to only a few degrees above freezing is headed for British retail shelves this summer. Tempra Technology has signed a deal with the firm that makes cans for Britain's biggest brewer Bass, Heineken, Coke, Pepsi and Budweiser. Instant Cool (IC) cans should be available by July. "It's brilliantly simple," said Barney Guarino, head of Florida-based Tempra. "There have been attempts before but we are not aware of a successful mass-produced self-chilling product. This is it. It's finally here." The IC Can works by using water evaporation. The top half is surrounded by a layer of watery gel. The base contains a water-absorbing material in a vacuum, and a special heat-absorbing chamber. When the bottom is twisted, a seal between the two halves is broken. The vacuum draws the gel, and the heat, into the base. Material absorbs the gel, the heat is absorbed by the chamber - and the drink gets cold.

• Russians May Finally Label Beer 'Alcohol' Because beer in Russia is considered a "light alcoholic" drink it is sold alongside milk and orange juice, and anybody may buy or sell it - even teenagers. Russian legislators are considering changing that. At the urging of the City of Moscow, the legislature is considering labeling beer a full-fledged alcoholic beverage, a change that would restrict where beer can be sold and how it can be advertised. Most dramatically, to buy a beer you would have to be at least 18 years old. "Young people think beer is not alcohol, so they've been drinking it all their lives," said Vladislav Kiselyev, a spokesman for the Moscow City Duma, which forwarded to parliament a bill to declare beer alcoholic. "You see children drinking beer on their way to school."

• Brazil: Interbrew and AmBev complete combination to establish InBev. Interbrew and Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev) closed on August 27, 2004 the transaction announced on March 3, 2004 to combine Interbrew and AmBev, creating InBev, the world’s premier brewer, according to company’s press release. Brazil. InBev brings together Interbrew, the world's third largest brewer with sales in over 140 countries and a ten year track record of delivering one of the best compounded EPS growths in the industry of 24.6%, with AmBev, the world’s fifth largest brewer, and one of the most profitable, with approximately 67% of the Brazilian market and leadership positions throughout Latin America.. The creation of InBev forms the No.1 brewer in the world by volume with a global market share of 13%.

• Survey: Germans are Europe's biggest beer drinkers LONDON (AP) - Germany is now top of the European league for beer consumption, while Spain has the continent's fastest growing beer market, according to a survey released Wednesday. France, which still prefers wine, nevertheless has a taste for high-quality beers, while Italy's growing appreciation for ales of all kinds is expected to see it overtake Spain as the quickest growing market, said the survey by market researchers Mintel. Mintel, which questioned 35,000 people, found that last year the average German adult drank 120 litres of beer, 16 litres more than the average British adult.

• Global premium beer market is to top US$200 billion by 2010. Global sales of premium beer totalled US$86 billion in 2000. By 2003, total global premium beer sales had risen by nearly 35%, to US$116 billion, representing an average annual growth rate of 11.6%. In volume terms, just-drinks.com estimates that the global market for premium beer grew by a massive 79% between 2000 and 2003 to 269m hectolitres (hl), according to a just-drinks report.

• German Beer Sales Up Due to increases in export production, German beer sales for the first half of this year increased while domestic consumption declined for the same period compared to last year. Thanks to a 16.4 percent increase in the amount of German beer destined for other European countries

• China is Biggest Beer Producer HONG KONG - Sep 1/04 - SNS -- China produced 25 million kiloliters of beer last year, giving it a 17% share of the world supply of the beverage and making it the largest producer.Beer production in the country has been rising quickly in recent years on account of an improved economy and higher levels of discretionary spending power.The United States is believed to be the second largest beer producer in the world, accounting for 15% of production or 23 million kiloliters. The third largest producer is Germany, followed by Brazil and Russia.

  China note: The Chinese beer market has grown at an astounding pace in recent years. Indeed since 1997 total consumption of beer grew by 16.79 per cent up to reach 24.87 billion litres in 2003.

   

• US Warns of Booby-trapped Beer Coolers.  Security officials warned today of a possible new weapon in the terrorist arsenal – booby-trapped beer coolers. Law-enforcement officials in the US have been warned to be on the look out for the enticing bombs. It is feared that an eager beer-lover could find one of the home-made bombs and open it, to an almost certain death. The warning was sent to 18,000 law-enforcement groups by the FBI last week, Time magazine reported. People were also warned to be on the look out for booby-trapped plastic-foam containers, inner tubes and other floating objects. Such objects could be wired to explode if they hit a boat on major waterways, officials told the magazine.In October 2000 al-Qaida attacked the USS Cole with a suicide boat bomb in a Yemeni port, killing 17 sailors. Fears of a new terrorist attack were raised in recent weeks after Attorney General John Ashcroft said that al-Qaida was determined to hit the US “hard”. He cited intelligence, suggesting that major events, such as the July 4 Independence Day celebrations would make an attractive terrorist target. Despite the latest warning, sources at the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said no floating bombs or booby-trapped beer coolers had actually been found.

• Germany; Germans are drinking less German beer but foreigners are drinking more of it, according to figures released on June 17 by Germany's 1,200 breweries. Domestic beer consumption dropped by 2.1 percent in 2003 to 105.5 million hectolitres, Expatica posted. That meant the average German drank 4.2 litres less beer during 2003 than in 2002, said Richard Weber, president of the German Brewers Association (DBB). Speaking at the outset of the DBB's annual congress, he said the average German drank 117.5 litres of beer last year, dropping below the 120-litre mark for the first time in years. He cited cuts in consumer spending and Germany's controversial mandatory deposit on all canned beverages as contributing factors to the downturn. Meanwhile, exports of German beer rose 1.0 percent to 12 million hectolitres with Italy, France, Britain and the United States all showing big gains in 2003.

• BEER FOR BLOOD IN COLORADO DURANGO, Colo. - Sounds like a fair trade: blood for beer. United Blood Services of Durango, Colo., held an unusual blood drive last month. Donors got a free pint of beer for a pint of blood. Four area breweries took part in the promotion. People from the blood bank got into the spirit of the season, by dressing in Halloween costumes including vampires. There was a little more at stake for the brewers than just civic pride. The owner of the brewery that collected the least amount of blood will get a makeover today: hair dyed blood red A promotion by four Durango, Colo., breweries to help a local blood banken ded up attracting international attention last month as newspapers ran headlines like "A bottle of beer for a bag of blood" and "Sounds like a fairtrade - blood for beer." The premise was simple: Durango Bootlegger's Society members offered the public a certificate for a pint of beer if they donated a pint of blood to United Blood Services one week before Halloween. In turn,United Blood Services donated a certain dollar amount per blood unit to KDUR Community Radio, which did a live remote broadcast from the event as part of its fall pledge drive. When the 6th Street Hair Salon & Day Spa dispatchedestheticians to transform the technicians who were drawing blood into vampires, a picture of that appeared in the Durango Herald. Then the world started to take notice. The British Broadcasting Corp. in South Africahighlighted the fact that vampires were drawing blood and donors were walking away with beer. MSNBC carried a report. CNN put it on its Headline News scroll. <http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-002059.php>

   

• Brits vote for beer-can widget as best invention of the last 40 years Nov 11, 2003 - Forget the Internet, cloning and Napster. A recent survey in England determined that the greatest technological invention of the last 40 years is the widget, the plastic device placed inside of a beer can to help it pour a foamy head. David Warren of Wilkinson Sword commented: "We know Britain is a nation of beer lovers but nothing prepared us for this finding," said David Waren of Wilsinson Swoard, the razor blade maker that commissioned the survey. "It just goes to show Britons let nothing get in the way of a good pint." The widget grabbed 48% of nearly 9,000 votes cast at the technical innovation website T3.co.uk. Guinness won a Queen's Award for Technological Achievement in 1991 after spending five years and £5 million developing the device. Email and the Internet placed a distant second with 13% of the vote. The widget - now used by many other brewers as well as Guinness is a small piece of plastic with a minute hole punched into it. It is placed inside the can during the first stage of the packaging process. Guinness spent several years, and tried dozens of prototype widgets before coming up with the right shape, weight and density of plastic. Once a can is filled with Guinness from the holding vats, it is sealed. Once sealed and chilled, the Guinness inside the can becomes naturally pressurized, and this pressure forces about 1% of the Guinness inside the widget. When the can is opened, the contents reach normal atmospheric pressure. The 1% of Guinness which is held inside the chamber of the widget is forced out through the small opening in the widget as the pressure inside and outside the can equalize. The effect is to produce millions of tiny bubbles which rise to the surface and form the familiar, creamy head.

   

• ST. LOUIS - Pop open a cold one tonight and there's half a chance its an Anheuser-Busch product.
  Among the usual assortment of information about another strong showing in the brewery's first-quarter earnings report Wednesday — profits rose 6 percent — was the news that the company's domestic market share rose to 52.1 percent from 49.5 percent Industry experts say quarterly market share figures are not official. They reflect shipments to distributors, not necessarily beer sales. True market share figures are based on full-year numbers. However, Harry Schuhmacher of Beer Business Daily said he expects Anheuser-Busch to officially top the 50% mark in 2003. Bud Light remains the best selling beer in America, topping Budweiser,

• Guinness opts for tradition.
  The truth is that it is the consumers who voted for tradition. After giving its FastPour system an extensive three-month test in 30 accounts, Guinness has decided to stick with the traditional 119-second (one minute, 59 seconds) two-part draw. The new system used ultrasound technology to trigger head creation and cut average pour time to 25 seconds. Guinness said the reaction in pubs was different than in pre-test research and with focus groups. Younger Guinness drinkers first said they liked the idea of a quicker pour in a busy bar.

• A dairy in the north of England has begun selling Newcastle Brown Ale flavored ice cream. The Doddington Dairy in Northumberland will sell the ice cream at supermarkets and specialty shops across Newcastle and Northumberland during the summer. The family-owners of the dairy say the handmade ice cream reflects the region's identity. "We were looking for an ice cream flavor that was distinctive, and had a strong identity with the region," said Jackie Maxwell, director of Doddington Dairy. The ice cream uses the ale as an ingredient, and contains less than 1% alcohol.

• The Brewers' Association of America, says that America's small brewers grew by an average of 10.98% last year. From a low of 41 breweries in 1981 to 1400+ breweries presently in the US.

• Drinking beer won't prevent SARS, Singaporeans told
  SINGAPORE (AFP) - Drinking beer will not prevent SARS, abstaining from pork will not boost immunity, and all races are vulnerable. In a bid to dispel myths surrounding Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, the Singapore government has sought to disprove quack cures and baseless fears about the epidemic which has killed at least 24 people out of 201 cases here. Deputy Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong used a May Day union gathering to shoot down SARS myths, and his remarks were played up by local media Friday. He went to the extent of issuing the racial breakdown of SARS cases to dispel a claim that ethnic Indians are immune: 65 percent are ethnic Chinese, 13 percent Malay and 10 percent Indian, roughly reflecting the ratio of Singapore's three major racial groups. "So no racial group is immune," Lee said. "Let me try to kill off three more rumours. Abstaining from pork will not increase your immunity. Although alcohol kills viruses, drinking alcohol will not prevent SARS. And I hear that some people think smoking wards off SARS

• Vietnam's capital city is cracking down on people who urinate in public and will fine offenders up to $3. HANOI (Reuters) - Drawback of a Beer Drinking Culture. Inspectors will prowl the streets of Hanoi to nab people in the act, Nguyen Hai, of the Hanoi culture department, was quoted on Friday as saying. But even before the campaign, Hai is conceding the widely practiced act will be hard to control. "Truly speaking we would not be able to settle 100 percent of the violations," Hai said in the Justice Ministry's newspaper Phap Luat (Law). A beer drinking culture and lack of public toilet facilities make the sight of men urinating along highways and even downtown a common sight in Vietnam's cities. Vietnam is seeking to spruce up its image prior to hosting the South East Asian (SEA) Games in December.

• No Clear Link Between Alcohol, Parkinson's: Study By Linda Carroll
   BUT......NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - While some research suggests alcohol drinkers have a lower risk of Parkinson's disease than abstainers, a study out Thursday shows no clear association between drinking and Parkinson's -- though there was evidence moderate beer intake might offer some protection. But because no alcohol other than beer was tied to a lower Parkinson's risk, researchers suspect that a beer ingredient other than alcohol might bestow the benefit. When they broke the data down into different types of alcohol, though, people who drank moderate amounts of beer did show a 30-percent lower risk of Parkinson's. But, the authors write, "because this lower risk was not found among wine or liquor drinkers, it is possible that some components of beer, other than (alcohol), may reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease." SOURCE: Annals of Neurology 2003;54.

• BERLIN (Reuters) - A German priest has developed a novel way to brew beer -- in a washing machine.
  Michael Fey, 45, a Catholic priest from the western city of Duisburg, came up with the idea of converting his 35-year-old toploader to provide beer more cheaply for youth outings he organises. "All I needed was something that could be used to heat and stir the mix -- so why not a washing machine?" said Fey, who now uses another machine for his clothes. His machine brews 20 litres of beer in 10 hours. Fey said his unorthodox brewing method has made him consider experimenting with new flavours: "I recently read about some American beer made with chillies. Now that could be interesting."

• LAKELAND, Fla. 2/24/03- The oldest living American man died Monday from heart failure. He was 113.
  The oldest person in the world is 115-year-old Kamato Hongo of Japan. She was born Sept. 16, 1887, according to the research group. McMorran's eyesight failed in his final years, and people needed to shout for him to hear them. Otherwise, relatives said, he enjoyed good health until last week, when he was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center for complications related to pneumonia. "He was never sick," a 35-year-old great-granddaughter, Lisa Saxton, told The Ledger of Lakeland. "He lived a great life. Obviously, he was well put together. He smoked cigars, drank beer and ate greasy food. He was an amazing man."

• China is now the largest beer consuming country
  -surpassing the US in total volume of beer sold. It's per capita beer consumption still lags western Europe and the US. At the close of 2002, China surpassed the United States in total volume sold with 220 million hectoliters. China's beer sales are expected to increase 35 percent by 2007. Chinese per capita consumption is 19.8 quarts per year - less that the 90.9 quarts per year United States and behind the 71.9 quarts per year for western Europe.

   

• World Beer market to Grow 12% by 2007

• Oktoberfest Memories -
  having trouble remembering the last beer festival? Peter Inselkammer, German inventor and bar owner, has released his new perfume to remind people of their time at Munich's Oktoberfest. It smells of stale beer and cigarette butts! ($148/bottle)

• Will beer become Wisconsin's official state beverage?   http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-001844.php

• NOV 18, 2002 - Great Britain's Prince Charles has claimed his prize for being selected Beer Drinker of the Year for 2002 — a pint of Greene King Abbot Ale. He was chosen for the title by the All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group. The group chose the Prince because of his Pub is the Hub campaign to stem the tide of village pubs closures. Since the project was launched last December, more than 40 schemes have been established to safeguard local pubs by expanding their role. Charles singled out the Craven Heifer in Stainforth, North Yorkshire, where the couple running it added a village shop and ensured the Post Office did not close. Robert Humphries, secretary to the all-party group, said: "We decided to give the Prince this award because it is a fantastic project and him putting his name to it really boosted its chances of success," said Robert Humpries of the all-party group. John Grogan, MP for Selby, North Yorkshire, added: "We give it to the person who we think has done the most for beer. His Pub is the Hub campaign swung it for him."
  

 
• In response to improper disposal of plastic beer containers, on the playing field etc., the Cleveland Browns have banned the containers this year. Beer will still be sold in cups with a two beers at a time limit. Soda/pop and water can still be purchased in bottles!? No beer will be sold in the forth quarter. My advice would be to stay thirsty and walk down to Great Lakes Brewing and drink a lot.
   
•  
• Ohio ups beer alcohol limit By Bob Dyer, Akron Beacon Journal staff writer. From Jan. 16, 1920, until Oct. 11, 2002, selling this stuff could have gotten you arrested. Now, after 82 years of scorning it, Ohio lawmakers want you to make it and sell it and buy it and drink it and go forth and prosper. The revisionism involves high-powered beer. Brrraap. Since the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Ohioans have not been allowed to sell beer containing more than 6 percent alcohol. As of this month, though, brewers and retailers can crank up their suds to 12 percent. A doubling of the alcohol content would seem sufficient to launch another temperance movement, given the current anti-alcohol climate. But put away those hatchets, and we'll explain what's going on. http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/local/4320759.htm
   
• USDA and NIH recently exported that women over 50 and consuming one to two drinks a day had an improved response to insulin and lower blood triglycerides.
   
• For the first time in 142 years the Anheuser –Busch Companies, the world’s largest brewer, is not under control of an Anheuser or Busch family member. August Busch III has retired as president and chief executive. He is still chairman. In charge is Patrick Stokes. However August Busch IV will succeed Stokes as president of A-B Brewing.
   
• Non-alcoholic beer will soon be available to Russian cosmonauts in space. The ‘beer’ will have added vitamins and is propose to reduce stress and help the cosmonauts relax.
   
• Russia – again. For the first time Beer will surpass Vodka consumption this year. Per capita consumption of beer in Russia has tripled in the last six years. “People are switching from stronger drinks to beer,” said Maria Vanifatora, director of Business Analitica marketing agency’s index, which estimates that $6.5 billion will be spent on beer while 6.3 billion will be spent on vodka this year.
   
• Germans Drink Less Beer. They just don't drink beer like they used to in Germany. The German Brewers' Association reports that per capita beer consumption in Germany fell from 125.5 liters in 2000 to 123 liters in 2001. With fewer regular beer drinkers in the 30- to 45-year old age bracket, Germany has fallen to third place in Europe in per capita beer consumption, trailing the Czech Republic and Ireland.
   
• The Belgian National Statistics Office reports that per capita beer consumption in Belgium has fallen from 131.3 liters in 1980 to 98 liters in 2000. Beer is now the fourth most popular drink in Belgium, falling behind coffee, soft drinks and water.
   
• British beer drinkers will be getting a bit more ale. The government says when a patron orders a pint, bartenders must make sure the glass is 95 percent full. The current minimum is 90 percent. Pubs that fail to pour a full measure could face charges. Pulling a pint of beer is more art than science. Britain's trade secretary says foam can take up a lot of room in the glass, depending on the skill of the bartender. The new 95 percent standard means Brits will drink about 60 million more pints of beer this year.
   
• 44 cents of every dollar spent on beer now goes to taxes.

• June 2002 - South African Breweries PLC(SAB) announced that an agreement has been completed to buy Miller Brewing Co. for $5.6 billion, including debt. SAB would move from #4 to become the second largest brewer by volume surpassed only by No. 1 Anheuser-Busch!

• JAN 12, 2001 - American brewing giants Anheuser-Busch has pulled Bud Light out of Britain because the lager had failed to make enough impact in the fiercely competitive U.K. beer market.
  Anheuser-Busch introduced Bud Light to Britain two years ago, hoping it would attract a following among people who wanted to drink beer but worried about their calorie intake. Instead, the drink appears to have fallen into a void between the two, proving too light for serious drinkers and too macho for calorie-conscious women.
  Bud Light has 25% fewer calories than the regular Budweiser, but is only a little less strong: the alcohol content is 4.3% by volume compared with 5% for Bud. A-B acknowledges that many British drinkers were confused by the word "light," thinking it meant low-alcohol rather than low-calorie.
  Datamonitor, a market research company, said A-B took a risky line with its advertising, pitching the product almost as a slimming aid. "If you look at who the main beer consumers are, obviously they're men: and men certainly don't want to be seen as going out drinking a beer that's seen as a dieting aid," said Neil Broome, a Datamonitor analyst.
  In the United States, Bud Light sales continue to climb at a rate that suggest it may not be long before it overtakes Budweiser at the top-selling beer in the country.