Beer

Government must tackle beer duty fraud and treat wine as a separate issue, claims wholesaler chief

29-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The Government must tackle the growth of beer duty fraud and treat wine as a separate issue, or legitimate wholesalers will be forced out of business, claims the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD).

Freedom Brewery turns to customers to provide tasting notes for new lager

29-Aug-2012 By Adam Pescod

Freedom Brewery has turned to customers to provide tasting notes for its new Pioneer lager, after managing director Edward Mayman said it was “frustrating” that Cyclops Beer profiling couldn’t be used for lagers.

Croft and Taylor’s maker QVB produces two new Ports for Molson Coors

28-Aug-2012

QVB, the Port producer behind the Croft and Taylor’s brands, has produced two new Ports exclusively for Molson Coors.

'Sports beer' Erdinger merits a medal

24-Aug-2012 By Robyn Black

Competing in a triathlon is obviously only for the deranged — a newspaper columnist recently described it as the sport that says to Bradley Wiggins: Pack your wetsuit next time, big boy.

Mitchells and Butlers trials Cyclops Beer scheme across 20 pubs

20-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), the UK's largest managed pub group, is trialling Cyclops Beer notes as part of its staff training and customer education in 20 of its Village Pub and Kitchen outlets.

Champion Beer Coniston Brewery's No. 9 Barley Wine sets the gold standard

17-Aug-2012 By Roger Protz

They’re tearing their hair out at Coniston Brewery in the Lake District. They didn’t expect, in their wildest dreams, that their 8.5% ABV No 9 Barley Wine would be named Champion Beer of Britain last week at the Great British Beer Festival, says Roger...

Guinness to Paint The Town Black in new ad campaign

16-Aug-2012 By Noli Dinkovski

Diageo has launched a new advertisement campaign for Guinness as it ramps up activity ahead of the beer’s annual Arthur’s Day celebrations.

Three pubs win free Spitfire beer for a year

16-Aug-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The George & Dragon in Ilfracombe, Devon, the Bull in Tunbridge Wells, Kent and the New Hall Tavern in Preston, Lancashire, have all won free beer for a year as part of Spitfire Premium Ale’s Glorious 2012 promotion.

Target in sight for beer duty escalator petition - but what happens next?

16-Aug-2012 By Mike Berry

We are hardly storming towards the tape in the manner of a Mo Farah sprint finish, but the line is in sight. Helped in no small part by the wonderful efforts of the volunteers at the Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA’s) Great British Beer Festival last week,...

Competition: Win the ultimate Carlsberg quiz for your pub

16-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Four pubs will get the chance to host the ultimate Carlsberg pub quiz with BBC Sport’s Chris Hollins and football legends Peter Reid and Ian Rush.

Parliamentary debate over beer duty escalator moves step closer as petition closes in on 100,000 signatures

16-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

A Parliamentary debate over the impact of the beer-duty escalator moved a step closer this week as the industry e-petition closes on the magic 100,000-signature figure.

Trade bodies should help brewers with social media

13-Aug-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) and the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) should do more to highlight the pitfalls of social media to its members.

Great British Beer Festival: Visitor numbers break previous record at Olympia

13-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Visitor numbers at CAMRA's Great British Beer Festival hit 47,500 - the highest ever recorded at Olympia.

British Beer and Pub Association forum will tackle licensing and business rates issues

10-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) Midlands and North Key Issues Forum is set to tackle a range of issues from licensing changes to business rates.

Erdinger to launch an isotonic beer into UK on-trade

10-Aug-2012 By Robyn Black

An isotonic sports beer sounds too good to be true, but German brewery Erdinger are launching just the thing into the UK on-trade.

BBPA flies the flag for British beer exports at global summit

09-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) along with some of its leading members are flying the flag for beer exports at today’s British Business Embassy global business summit on retail, food and drink at Lancaster House in London.

Cyclops Beer launches new website

08-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Cyclops Beer is launching a new website to make searching for a beer easier than ever before.

Great British Beer Festival: Coniston Brewery not expecting huge rise in demand after winning Champion Beer of Britain

08-Aug-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The brewer behind the Champion Beer of Britain, Coniston No 9 Barley Wine, is not expecting a huge rise in demand for the beer because "it isn't a style of beer that you can drink gallons of".

Great British Beer Festival: SIBA celebrates its members' success at Champion Beer of Britain judging

08-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

SIBA was celebrating as six of the seven class winners announced at the Champion Beer of Britain are members of the organisation.

Great British Beer Festival: Coniston No 9 wins Champion Beer of Britain

07-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Coniston No 9 Barley Wine from Coniston Brewing Company  has been crowned champion beer of Britain at the Great British Beer Festival today.

Great British Beer Festival: London leading the brewing boom

07-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

London is leading the brewing boom, with 30 breweries now operational, compared to just seven in 2006.

Great British Beer Festival: CAMRA research reveals young adults priced out of pub

07-Aug-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The percentage of young pub goers (18-24 year olds) visiting the pub regularly – once a week or more – has plummeted from 38% to 16% since 2005 - new research from CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) has revealed. 

Great British Beer Festival: Greene King’s rare 5X ale to make debut appearance

06-Aug-2012 By Noli Dinkovski

A rare 12% ABV oak-aged ale from brewer Greene King is to be rolled out for the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF).

Great British Beer Festival is a great shop window for real ale

06-Aug-2012 By Mike Benner

It’s that time of the year again. Each and every August 1,000 Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) volunteers pack their bags and head down to west London to run the Great British Beer Festival (GBBF). There’s little doubt that this event is the biggest annual...

London 2012 Olympics: Toast the Games with the best of British beer

03-Aug-2012 By Greg Mulholland

Well, here we are, the culmination of this quite remarkable summer of Jubilee, sport and rain — the London Olympics. Last Friday’s wonderful opening ceremony focused on much that is associated with London, England and the UK. Yet amid the sponsors’ logos,...

Time for the drinks industry to do its own research on minimum pricing

02-Aug-2012 By Pete Brown

Minimum pricing looks likely to be introduced despite a lack of evidence to suggest that it would help eradicate problem drinking — so why doesn’t the drinks industry produce its own research?

Indian beer Cobra introduces sleeker new font to pubs

31-Jul-2012 By Noli Dinkovski

Cobra is continuing on its drive to become a top 10 UK beer brand by launching a new font to pubs.

London 2012 Olympics: Great British Beer Festival organisers 'gear up for a big week'

30-Jul-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Sign up to our daily alert for pub trade Olympics news and Janet Dooner's – licensee of the Railway Tavern in Stratford – Olympic diary.

Britain’s brewing heritage in peril

27-Jul-2012

Why is it that international brewers seem to lack appreciation for Britain’s great brewing heritage, culture and traditions? A few weeks ago, Carlsberg announced it was stopping production of Ansells Mild on the grounds that volumes were so small there...

The Big Interview: Oliver and William Robinson, Robinsons

24-Jul-2012 By Phil Mellows

So this is the biggest hopnik in the world? Even if you’ve never seen one before, it’s a little disappointing size-wise — like the Ashes urn or the Manneken Pis in Brussels. But like them, too, it has immense symbolic significance.

Why music is a match for beer

24-Jul-2012 By Pete Brown

Beer and music have always been natural bedfellows. Bands are now coming together to create tasty beverages after getting tired of downing woeful lagers on tour, says Pete Brown.

UK beer sales drop due to weather and tax

24-Jul-2012 By Michelle Perrett

UK beer sales dipped by 5.3% in the second quarter of 2012, due to poor weather and the impact of the  tax hike in the March Budget, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) quarterly Beer Barometer.

Woo Hoo! Duff Beer now available in UK pubs and bars

19-Jul-2012 By Robyn Black

You can’t get enough of that wonderful Duff, said Homer Simpson — but now you can as a German company has launched the brand into UK pubs and bars.

Beer Tax Fraud Inquiry: Enforcement should be central to Government strategy claim MPs

16-Jul-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group (APPBG) has called for enforcement to be central to the Government’s policy to tackle beer-duty fraud in a report presented to ministers today (16 July).

Government beer tax stamps plan could be illegal

16-Jul-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The Government’s plans to introduce a tax stamp for bottles and cans of beer could be illegal, according to lawyer DLA Piper.

First women accredited as Beer Sommeliers

13-Jul-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The first two accredited female Beer Sommeliers have been announced by the Beer Academy. 

Roger Protz: An Open Letter to Chloe Smith, Economic Secretary to the Treasury

13-Jul-2012 By Roger Protz

PMA beer writer Roger Protz has written an open letter to Chloe Smith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, urging her to reconsider the Government's position on beer taxation.

Czech lager Krusovice to launch in UK

12-Jul-2012 By Robyn Black

A drinks distribution company is hoping the £4.15-a-pint price tag on a new Czech lager won’t put off UK drinkers, as retail sales of world beers in the past 12 months approach £1bn.

Wychwood gets fruity for over-ice fans

11-Jul-2012 By Robyn Black

Beers made with berries and apples are joining the Wychwood Brewery's portfolio as it looks to lure fans of the “over ice” serve.

Carlsberg UK appoints Bruce Ray as corporate affairs director

10-Jul-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Carlsberg UK has appointed Bruce Ray to the newly created role of corporate affairs director.

Craft-beer pubs deserve to be sound-proofed

10-Jul-2012

Maybe I’m getting old. I’m starting to make witty, derisive comments about young people on TV that aren’t witty at all, and I’ve started talking back to the ads between the programmes, like my nan used to.

Neame: "Time for the industry to fight its corner on taxation"

06-Jul-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Apathy is the greatest enemy of the trade, the new chairman of the British Beer & Pub Association has claimed. Jonathan Neame, also CEO of Shepherd Neame, said the industry should be united and rally round one message — that there is “too much taxation”.

Major marketing push for Grolsch

05-Jul-2012 By Robyn Black

A bigger bottle, new fonts, glassware and a major marketing push all form part of a rebrand for Dutch lager Grolsch.

Beer tax fraud inquiry: HMRC "disappointed" with lack of ideas from trade

04-Jul-2012 By Gurjit Degun

An HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) official has accused the trade of not coming forward with innovative ideas to help tackle beer duty fraud.

Global Brands to revive Reef

03-Jul-2012 By Robyn Black

Retro RTD brand Reef is to be revived with a £400,000 relaunch this month.

Treasury says removing beer duty escalator 'would cost £105m'

03-Jul-2012 By John Harrington, M&C Report

The alcohol duty escalator is an integral part of the Government’s plan to reduce debt and removing it would cost the Exchequer £105m over two years, a Government minister has told Parliament.

Unfiltered and unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell available in selected UK outlets

03-Jul-2012

Unfiltered and unpasteurised Pilsner Urquell will arrive in the UK for the first time this month — just 24 hours after leaving the brewery in Pilsen.

Doom Bar sales grow 22% – fastest growing cask ale in UK again

02-Jul-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Doom Bar, the beer produced by Cornish brewer Sharp’s, saw volume sales grow 22% in 2011, making it the fastest growing cask ale in the UK for the third consecutive year.

Daniel Thwaites sets £15,000 ‘floor’ price for tenant earnings

02-Jul-2012 By John Harrington

Lancashire brewer and pub operator Daniel Thwaites has set a £15,000 ‘floor’ price for tenant earnings, director of pub operations Andrew Buchanan told the Tenanted Pub Company Summit.

Protz: Statistics reveal we can handle our drink

29-Jun-2012 By Roger Protz

The British and alcohol: what images spring to mind? Young people staggering around city centres on Saturday nights, fighting or falling down, and making pavement pizzas in the streets. Some of them engaged in fisticuffs with the Old Bill or ending up...