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Excerpt: The Boston Beer Company, brewers of Samuel Adams, will have several new beers including Blackberry Witbier, which was voted by fans as the Beer Lover’s Choice winner. It will be available this month in stores.
Beginning next month, Samuel Adams will also begin a new imperial series. There will be an Imperial White Ale, Imperial Stout and a Double Bock. They will be sold in four-packs… The Mayflower Brewing Co. of Plymouth will bottle its India pale ale for the first time. Previously, it was only available on draft and in 64-ounce growlers at the brewery. Brewer Matt Steinberg said the brewery also plans to add a draft-only barrel-aged series some time this year. The Cape Ann Brewing Co. will have its Navigator and Tea Party available in limited release. Also, in April, the new Fisherman’s Bavarian Wheat will be in stores. ------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt: If Anheuser-Busch distributors lose incentive payments from the brewery, the pressure to consolidate and realize greater efficiency will rise, analysts said. Meanwhile the competition is getting stiffer. Rivals Miller Brewing and Coors Brewing -- neither of whom embrace exclusivity deals with their distributors -- have cut their number of wholesalers in half in recent years, from about 1,200 to 600, Thompson said. On July 1, parent companies SABMiller and Molson Coors merged their U.S. operations in a joint venture called MillerCoors to better compete with market leader Anheuser-Busch. Thompson estimated that within the next three to five years, about 100 to 125 distributors will sell 90 percent of MillerCoors' beer volume in the United States. In many markets, Anheuser-Busch distributors already face Miller and Coors megadistributors who can operate more efficiently and allocate more money for local marketing than smaller Miller and Coors wholesalers could a few years ago. By continuing to combine forces under MillerCoors, even larger megadistributors will carry even more brands that stores, restaurants and bars want, and they will be in a stronger position to negotiate better terms from retailers, Gilpin said… "The profit and growth outlook for wholesalers looks pretty good," Peacock said. "Brands above premium pricing are growing in share. We're seeing beer sales growth of more than 1 percent. They are doing pretty well. And MillerCoors is trying to consolidate wholesalers within a territory. We don't have that issue because we've had exclusive territories throughout the country." Changes from above might not necessarily be bad for wholesalers. Terminating the exclusivity program would allow Anheuser-Busch distributors to compete with MillerCoors wholesalers for the rights to sell fast-growing, high-margin craft and import beers, Thompson said. ------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt: The top trends emerging from January's Atlanta International Gift Show place the focus squarely on the comforts and pleasures of home, especially a home with a green kitchen as the gathering point for family and friends to share in cooking and eating. "The exciting news out of Atlanta is the exceptional number of products that have seen improvement and innovation for the modern kitchen-centered home," said Bob Kratchman, president and chief buyer for Kitchen Kapers upscale retail and Web site stores. "There is definitely a movement toward the comforts of home for entertaining as well as preparing meals with friends and family." In entertaining, Kratchman cites the new mantra for 2009, "Beer is the New Wine," confirming that beer and beer-related products are hot and getting hotter. He points especially to The BeerTender TM from Heineken and Krups as the new standard in at-home beer consumption, which puts fresh Heineken beer on tap right at home. Kratchman also picks barware and beer sets from Libbey International and Guinness's Classic Pub Mugs as must-haves. ------------------------------------------------------------- Excerpt: As many industries struggle in the recession, the microbrew business keeps flowing strong. Sales for microbrews and crafted beers have soared as more customers splurge on high-end hops… Miller stocks more than 100 different types of beer at the World Market, the large majority of which consists of microbrews and crafted beers. Miller says these days it is good to be the "Beer Guy." "Our beer sales for the last 12 months increased 130% compared to the same months the year before," said Miller. "Last year we sold around $100,000 in beer." Nationally, specialty beer sales are up 15 percent from this time last year. Source: http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=76578&catid=2 |
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