Beer

Carlsberg Pub Cup attracts 4,000

06-Mar-2012 By Adam Pescod

More pubs have been urged to enter a football team for the Carlsberg Pub Cup which has already attracted the signature of nearly 4,000 pubs throughout the UK.

Beer guru Iain Loe retires from CAMRA

06-Mar-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Industry veteran Iain Loe will be hanging up his pub guides and statistical handbooks to retire from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) after 23 years.

New generation heads Robinsons brewery

05-Mar-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The chairman of Robinsons, the Cheshire-based brewer and pub operator, has passed on day-to-day management to nephews Oliver and William Robinson.

S&NPC to invest £24.5m in estate

02-Mar-2012 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company (S&NPC), the leased pub operator, has announced plans to invest £24.5m across its c.1,300-strong estate over the next two years.

Grounds for hop-timism

01-Mar-2012 By Pete Brown

I spent the other night sitting in a room above a pub, rubbing hops. This might seem like a strange thing to do. I mean, I like hops — most beer drinkers do — but isn’t rubbing them taking things a bit too far?

Beer petition against beer duty hikes

29-Feb-2012 By John Harrington

Eleven MPs have supported calls for the beer duty escalator to be suspended in next month’s Budget.

Small brewer volumes rise 9.7%

27-Feb-2012 By John Harrington. M&C Report

Independent brewers have reported a 9.7% rise in beer volumes in the past year, while the number of people employed full time in the sector has risen 25% to 4,000.

Local lagers of distinction

23-Feb-2012 By Roger Protz

As the variety and quality of lagers increase, more fans are naming their favourites. Budweiser Budvar’s Czech range had top billing in a recent discussion at the Draft House, Tower Bridge.

Hobgoblin launches campaign to scrap beer duty escalator

23-Feb-2012 By Mike Berry

Beer brand Hobgoblin is launching a campaign calling on the Government to scrap the beer duty escalator.

Stella promotes heritage in marketing shift

22-Feb-2012 By By Noli Dinkovski

Stella Artois has unveiled a new advertising campaign that focuses on 600 years of Belgian brewing heritage.

Maypole Inn wins best pint award

21-Feb-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The Maypole Inn at Thurloxton near Taunton, Somerset, is celebrating winning the BOC Sureserve competition to find the pub serving the best pint in Britain.

'Extend smoking ban to beer gardens', says report

21-Feb-2012 By Adam Pescod

Smoke-free areas should be extended to beer gardens and other outside areas to help combat “social smoking”, according to researchers in New Zealand.

The Big Interview: David Wilson

21-Feb-2012

Nearly a year into his post, David Wilson, the British Beer and Pub Association’s (BBPA’s) public affairs director, tells Gurjit Degun about his love of a good campaign and how the industry needs to work together to tackle the elephant in the room — the...

Carlsberg to buy Baltika; profits and sales up

20-Feb-2012 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Carlsberg, the international brewer, says it will buy the remaining 15% stake in its Russian brewery venture Baltika this year as it reported a rise in Q4 profits and revenues.

Brakspear pubs in Henley to hold tax-free beer day

20-Feb-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Ten Brakspear pubs in Henley-on-Thames are to stage a Tax-Free Beer Day on 28 February, as a way of highlighting the punitive taxation on beer in the run up to the Budget.

SABMiller defends tax claims following student protest

20-Feb-2012 By Adam Pescod

SABMiller has defended itself against allegations of tax evasion after the University of Edinburgh banned all of the brewer’s beers from its student union.

Green light for Carlsberg expansion

16-Feb-2012

Brewer Carlsberg UK has been granted permission to add a new bottling line to its Northampton site that is to double its capacity for bottling beer.

Give strong beers respect

16-Feb-2012 By Pete Brown

I’ve done another collaborative brew. It’s becoming quite common now for writers and bloggers to be invited to be a guest brewer for the day, and it’s a thrilling prospect: in the past, I’ve likened it to being a music journalist and getting invited on...

Heineken UK reports rise in earnings

15-Feb-2012 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Heineken UK, Britain’s biggest brewer, has reported a rise in EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) in 2011 despite a decline in beer and cider volumes.

Blind tasting opened our eyes to future of cask

14-Feb-2012 By Stephen Crawley

In December we decided to join the brewers’ ranks with a 2.8% ABV cask to utilise the Government’s gift of 50% duty relief for non-PBD (progressive beer duty) brewers brewing 2.8% or below.

San Miguel’s £6m Fresca push

13-Feb-2012 By Matthew Moggridge

San Miguel Fresca, a major new brand extension from Carlsberg UK, is to be supported by a £6m marketing campaign embracing outdoor posters, press advertising, digital activity and sampling.

ABV cuts all round

13-Feb-2012 By Noli Dinkovski

Carlsberg and Molson Coors are to follow AB InBev’s move to cut the ABV of three of its biggest brands from 5% to 4.8%.

Beer duty call in SIBA Budget submission

13-Feb-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The Society of Independent Brewers’ has called on the Government to introduce a more beer-friendly tax regime in its Budget in March.

Brewing it for themselves

10-Feb-2012 By Roger Protz

The people who run Britain’s pubs often have good cause to boil with rage — but now they’re being encouraged to boil with malt and hops instead There’s a growing move to install brewing equipment in pubs — a fact underscored by the PMA report (26 January)...

So what will happen with the beer tie?

10-Feb-2012 By Simon Clarke

Greg Mulholland spearheads the growing number of MPs that recognise the tied model for what it is — a failure. Many MPs have indicated the Office of Fair Trading got it wrong.

Heineken sponsors 80,000 PASS training cards

06-Feb-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Heineken has sponsored the printing and distribution of 80,000 PASS training cards to raise awareness of the proof-of-age scheme to pubs across the UK.

I’ve ad a laugh with Foster’s

03-Feb-2012 By Pete Brown

I don’t often write about mainstream standard lagers. That’s because I don’t often drink them. In most cases (but not quite all) I don’t have any ideological opposition to their existence; I just don’t like the taste.

Worthington brewery plans to increase production

02-Feb-2012 By John Harrington, M&C Report

International brewer Molson Coors plans to increase production at its William Worthington microbrewery almost four-fold in 2012 after reporting that it produced 1,600 barrels in its first year in operation.

Net rate of pub closures hits 18 per week as beer duty escalator debate hits Parliament

01-Feb-2012 By Michelle Perrett

The net rate of pubs closures has increased by 50% with 18 pubs a week closing - up from the previous figures of 12 per week - the latest CGA-CAMRA Pub Tracker has revealed.

The taxing issue facing pubs

31-Jan-2012 By Roger Protz

I blinked in disbelief when I heard a BBC business reporter announce that one reason for a fall in the rate of inflation was a drop in the price of alcohol. “Take me to your pub!” I yelled at the television set.

Truman's asks Londoners to find new brewery site

31-Jan-2012 By Adam Pescod

East London beer brand Truman’s is asking the capital’s ale drinkers to help find a site for its new brewery.

Benet Slay appointed Carlsberg UK CEO

26-Jan-2012

Brewer Carlsberg UK has appointed Benet Slay, former managing director of Diageo GB, as its new chief executive.

Equator targets the health conscious

26-Jan-2012 By Matthew Moggridge

Beverage Brands has launched what it believes to be a ground-breaking non-alcoholic beer in response to increasing levels of health-consciousness.

Stella, Bud and Beck's get ABV cut

24-Jan-2012 By Noli Dinkovski

AB Inbev is to cut the ABV content of Stella Artois, Budweiser and Beck’s in a move that could be seen by industry observers to offset esculating duty costs.

Belhaven Black hoping to 'ignite stout market'

23-Jan-2012 By Matt Moggridge

Greene King-owned Belhaven Brewery, one of Scotland’s oldest brewers, has introduced Belhaven Black and hopes it will ignite the UK’s stout market.

Decline in beer volumes slowed in 2011

23-Jan-2012 By John Harrington

The decline in on-trade beer volumes slowed last year to the lowest rate since 2004, with sales falling 3.4%, according to the latest Beer Barometer from the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

Call time on barstaff dabbling in telepathy

20-Jan-2012 By Pete Brown

There’s a fascinating new development happening in our hostelries late at night. In a bold, ground-breaking experiment, a rising number of pubs are experimenting with telepathy as a way of communicating with customers.

1,000 beer kegs worth £100k seized in raid

17-Jan-2012 By Adam Pescod

Police seized 1,000 aluminium beer kegs worth over £100,000 last Friday (13 January) after a coordinated raid on sites in north London.

Aylesbury ends its beer duck

16-Jan-2012 By Roger Protz

Brewing has been restored to Aylesbury after a gap of 74 years. It seems scarcely credible that the town in Buckinghamshire, with a population of 60,000, has been without a beer maker since the Aylesbury Brewing Company (ABC) was taken over almost three-quarters...

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