Food & Drink

Premium vodka brand OVAL in British Comedy Awards tie-up

06-Dec-2012

Premium vodka brand, OVAL, has become the official vodka of the British Comedy Awards.

Thwaites to splash £2m on Wainwright cask ale

06-Dec-2012 By Michelle Perrett

Thwaites, the family brewer based in the north-west, is investing £2m in its Wainwright brand during 2013, with the aim of making it a top-10 cask ale.

The Big Interview: Gary Haigh, Miller Brands UK

05-Dec-2012 By Robyn Black

Miller Brands supremo Gary Haigh tells Robyn Black about bouncing back from a double disaster in Poland, how he cannot abide the beer-duty escalator, and why we should blame him for the soggy spring.

Who’s up for the Pepsi challenge?

05-Dec-2012 By Robyn Black

We are fast approaching what is becoming known in marketing circles as “empty 2013”. With no royal wedding, Diamond Jubilee or Olympics to rely on, marketing departments are radically re-thinking the way they’ll promote products and services next year....

Mojito beer Masquerido to receive UK push

03-Dec-2012 By Robyn Black

The UK’s only mojito beer and its brother, a Tequila-flavoured lager, are set for a UK push with drinks distributor Alan Ramsay Marketing.

Sainty’s secret of success

03-Dec-2012 By Roger Protz

Licensee Ellie Sainty has realised the potential of the Old Badger Inn, Eastington, writes Roger Protz.

PMA launches new event - Beer Innovation Summit

03-Dec-2012 By Mike Berry

The Publican’s Morning Advertiser has launched an exciting new event focused purely on the beer category.

Four weeks left to enter International Brewing Awards

03-Dec-2012 By Michelle Perrett

There are only four weeks for brewers and ciders makers to enter the International Brewing Awards.

Accolade Wines chief executive Troy Chistensen to step down

03-Dec-2012

Accolade Wines, the Champ Private Equity-backed business, has announced that Troy Christensen has decided to step down as the wine company’s chief executive with immediate effect.

Guinness hopes new fonts fuel a revival

03-Dec-2012 By Robyn Black

New fonts for Guinness have been unveiled as the latest salvo in the battle to reinvigorate the brand.

The true spirit of the Great British Pub

28-Nov-2012 By Pete Brown

The industry may be facing some ‘stinking issues’, but you need look no further than the George in Southwark to fully appreciate the tenacity and dauntlessness of the Great British pub, writes Pete Brown.

Outlook is black as Guinness sales fall

28-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Times look black for the ‘Black Stuff’, as sales of Guinness in UK pubs and bars have dropped by nearly 10% in volume and almost 5% in value over the past 12 months, according to CGA Strategy data.

Truman’s Brewery eyes pub estate

28-Nov-2012 By M&C Report

Truman’s Brewery, the London-based enterprise re-established in 2010 by Michael-George Hemus and James Morgan, is eyeing plans to establish a pub estate after securing a new brewery site.

Accolade Wines boss calls for drinks industry to unite against "crushing tax regime"

27-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

The boss of the UK’s biggest wine company has issued a challenge for all drinks companies to unite in a call for “common sense over alcohol duty.”

On-trade wine sales fall as prices surge

27-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Years of relentless price increases in pubs, bars and restaurants have led to falling sales of wine in the on-trade, according to a new report by Accolade Wines.

Harvest Fruits fruit-wine brand launched

26-Nov-2012

Drinks company CWF is hoping that the popularity of fruit ciders will ensure its new fruit-wine brand becomes a success.

Thor soft drinks to be trialled in pubs

22-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Thor Drinks, a new UK company, is trialling an eponymous brand of soft drinks in UK pubs and bars in the hope of driving the adult soft-drinks category.

Young's exceeds £100m sales in first half

22-Nov-2012 By John Harrington

Young’s, the London-based pub operator, has broken the £100m revenue mark in the six months to 1 October, which it described as a period of contrasting fortunes, with the first quarter being the wettest on record followed by a second quarter that featured...

Tyrrells crisps founder creates a potato gin

21-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Chase Distillery, the business set up by Tyrrells Crisps founder William Chase, has added a second gin to its portfolio in a bid to tap into the resurgence in premium gins.

Young's directors enjoy hefty pay rises after successful year

20-Nov-2012 By John Harrington

Senior directors of Young’s, the London-based pub operator, saw their pay packets increase significantly in the year to 2 April 2012, a period described by the company as a “transformational” year.

Molson Coors launches new advertising campaign for Carling Zest

19-Nov-2012

Molson Coors has launched a £1.8m marketing campaign for Carling Zest, the limited edition seasonal lager.

Pete Brown's tale of the George will delight beer and pub enthusiasts

19-Nov-2012

Pubs, inns and taverns are so deeply rooted in UK history and culture that they have often featured in books and films as a backdrop to the dramas enacted on the printed page or the screen.

St Austell opens cellar doors for annual Celtic Beer Festival

19-Nov-2012

Award-winning Cornish brewer St Austell will be opening the cellar doors this coming weekend to host its popular Celtic Beer Festival.

Jägermeister to shift focus away from Jägerbombs with biggest marketing spend

16-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Jägermeister is to get its biggest investment in the UK to date, with its first consumer advertising campaign set to launch on 26 November.

Licensees encouraged to join mass rally to fight beer duty escalator

16-Nov-2012 By Gurjit Degun

Licensees are being encouraged by the Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) and the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to attend a mass rally at Westminster to lobby the Government and call for the beer-duty escalator to be scrapped.

Pub food ideas: Sharing food

15-Nov-2012 By Sheila McWattie

From simple late-night snacks to an elaborate New Year’s Day lunch, sharing foods offer chefs opportunities to experiment creatively and enable customers to tuck into dishes that promote a convivial atmosphere. Sheila McWattie looks at different ways...

Fuller’s set to roll out its own coffee offer Brewer Street

15-Nov-2012 By John Harrington

Fuller’s, the London-based brewer and pub operator, is set to roll out its own coffee offer, Brewer Street, into more of its managed pubs.

Britvic and AG Barr agree merger deal

14-Nov-2012 By M&C Report

Soft drinks suppliers Britvic and AG Barr have announced that they have reached an agreement to merge to create a new company called Barr Britvic Soft Drinks.

Celebrating drink in the Food and Farming Awards

14-Nov-2012 By Pete Brown

A few months ago, I wrote a column urging brewers who read the PMA to enter awards schemes that recognise beer within a broader range of food and drink. This was part of a general call to arms to attract interest in the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards,...

Jennings: Trying to understand the anti-beer conspiracy

14-Nov-2012 By Tony Jennings

I really am fascinated by conspiracy theories and arcane organisations and have always been a great fan of Dan Brown, he of The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons, The Lost Symbol and so on. So it will come as no surprise to learn that I believe our business,...

Romanian couple convicted for stealing beer kegs worth £76,000

13-Nov-2012 By Adam Pescod

A married Romanian couple have been convicted of stealing beer kegs worth £76,000.

Beefeater launches #MyLondon campaign

13-Nov-2012 By Jessica Harvey

Pernod Ricard has launched a London-focused campaign for its Beefeater gin brand to coincide with the upcoming launch of a new limited edition bottle - Beefeater #MyLondon.

The Big Interview: Stephen Oliver, Marston's Beer Company

12-Nov-2012 By Phil Mellows

Stephen Oliver would do anything for British beer — except take it up mountains, it seems. A disappointed Phil Mellows meets the Marston’s Beer Company MD at sea level

Beer Duty: Andrew Griffiths puts pressure on Treasury to review escalator with early day motion

09-Nov-2012 By Adam Pescod

All-Party Parliamentary Beer Group chairman Andrew Griffiths MP has tabled an early day motion (EDM) calling for a review of the economic and social impact of the beer duty escalator before the 2013 Budget.

Miller Brands adds a new Belgian beer to its St Stefanus range

09-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Miller Brands is expanding its world beer range with a second offer under its Belgian Abbey ale brand, St Stefanus.

Miller Brands adds new Belgian beer to its St Stefanus range

09-Nov-2012 By Robyn Black

Miller Brands is expanding its world beer range with a second offer under its Belgian Abbey ale brand, St Stefanus.

Treasury confirms it has 'no plans' for beer duty escalator review

09-Nov-2012 By Gurjit Degun

The Treasury has confirmed that it has no plans to review the beer-duty escalator just days after a debate in the House of Commons saw MPs vote unanimously for a reassessment.

Media support of beer duty campaign is reason for optimism

08-Nov-2012 By John harrington

At times, campaigning against the beer-duty escalator has felt like pushing a beer keg uphill. Politicians and the national media have long paid lip service to the importance of pubs and breweries and the impact of taxes, but in truth there’s been little...

Protz: Getting hip to British hops

07-Nov-2012 By Roger Protz

The French and the Germans must think the British are bonkers. Can you imagine the French allowing their grape farmers to face ruin because wine makers are buying most of their grapes from abroad?And, in a similar vein, would the Germans stand back and...

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