Food & Drink

PMA contributors win top beer accolades

02-Dec-2011

Three Publican’s Morning Advertiser (PMA) contributors received top accolades last night at the British Guild of Beer Writers Annual Awards Dinner.

RBS sells 918 pubs to Heineken

02-Dec-2011 By Mark Wingett

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has sold 918 freehold pubs, the portfolio known as the Galaxy estate, to Scottish & Newcastle Pub Company (S&NPC), a subsidiary of Heineken, for £422m, in the largest deal in the tenanted pub sector for eight years.

Pernod Ricard and AA resume drink driving campaign

29-Nov-2011 By Adam Pescod

Pernod Ricard UK and the Automobile Association (AA) have launched the third phase of their marketing campaign to encourage drivers to ‘accept responsibility’ when it comes to drinking and driving.

A mighty drop of excellence

28-Nov-2011 By Pete Brown

One of the things I love most about this job is the little pockets of beer and pub excellence you discover around the country, developing relationships with people and links to places that transcend the initial contact to become something much more life-enriching.

Wine sales lag in on-trade, says new report

28-Nov-2011 By Matthew Moggridge

Wine sales are lagging behind total alcohol sales in the on-trade for the first time in five years, according to a recent market report. Accolade Wines’ recently published Wine Nation Report 2011 shows that while total alcohol sales are down 2.8 per cent...

Five men sentenced over fake vodka plant

28-Nov-2011 By Michelle Perrett

Five men who masterminded a major counterfeit vodka manufacturing and bottling plant in Leicestershire, were sentenced to a total of 17 years and ten months on Friday (25 November)at Hull Crown Court.

Molson Coors unveils price hikes

25-Nov-2011 By Michelle Perrett

Molson Coors has announced it will be increasing its wholesale prices to the on-trade by, on average, £19.99 per barrel, or 7p per pint from 2 January 2012.

BIS: Pubcos and brewers welcome self-regulation

24-Nov-2011 By Michelle Perrett

Family brewers and pubcos have welcomed the Government’s decision to protect the tie and shun a Statutory Code of Practice for the industry.

WKD backed in Christmas run-up

18-Nov-2011 By Jssica Harvey

WKD is set to be backed with TV, in-outlet and digital support to ramp up consumer demand for the brand in the lead-up to Christmas, while stockists will receive a range of trade deals and free PoS.

Peroni drives SAB Miller UK lager volumes by 6%

17-Nov-2011 By John Harrington

SABMiller has shrugged off the difficult comparatives with the 2010 football World Cup to report a 6% growth in UK lager volumes in the six months to 30 September.

Diageo repositions Bell's

17-Nov-2011 By Jessica Harvey

Diageo is re-positioning its Bell’s blended Scotch whisky through a new £1.35m TV advertising campaign.

Academy teaches beer sommeliers

17-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Licensees are being urged to help increase the importance of beer by becoming a beer sommelier through a new course with the Beer Academy (BA).

Castle Rock wins top prize at SIBA Business Awards

16-Nov-2011

Nottingham brewer Castle Rock took the top prize at the SIBA Business Awards 2011 yesterday.

Brains makes craft brewery investment

15-Nov-2011 By Mark Wingett

SA Brain, the brewer and pub operator, is to extend production facilities at its Cardiff-based brewery by installing a new craft brewery.

SIBA launches keg repatriation scheme

15-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Members of the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) will see their empty kegs collected more efficiently from January.

Britain's oldest lager re-launched in north Wales

14-Nov-2011 By Tony Halstead

The first lager ever to be brewed in the UK 129 years ago has been re-launched this month in its native north Wales.

New winter taste for Kopparberg

14-Nov-2011 By Jessica Harvey

Swedish cider brand Kopparberg has introduced its winter variant, Kopparberg cranberry & cinnamon, into pubs and bars.

A pivotal change is brewing

11-Nov-2011 By Pete Brown

In my last column, I talked about how the cask ale message – that cask is on the up, that it’s a real boon to publicans — has finally got through. I said that this was a good thing, and that we perhaps need to stop repeating ourselves.

'Two-thirds pints are being shunned'

11-Nov-2011 By Michelle Perrett

Pubs and pub goers have shunned the two-third pint glasses, says research from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).

New lime flavour for So-Co

11-Nov-2011 By Noli Dinkovski

Bacardi Brown Forman Brands (BBFB) is to capitalise on the “daytime drinking occasion” by launching a lime-flavoured Southern Comfort to the on-trade.

Exclusive

Spring relaunch for healthier J2O

10-Nov-2011 By Noli Dinkovski

Soft drink J2O is to under-go a major relaunch and healthier reformulation next spring, the Publican’s Morning Advertiser can exclusively reveal.

Fuller’s hails its Black Cab Stout

09-Nov-2011 By Noli Dinkovski

Fuller’s is celebrating London’s Hackney carriage with a new seasonal stout in time for Christmas.

Carlsberg sales flat

09-Nov-2011 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Carlsberg said third-quarter sales stagnated as poor summer weather held back volumes in Europe and its sales in Russia fell compared to the previous year.

Save the Pub Group: action needed now on beer tie

08-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

The All-Party Parliamentary Save the Pub Group has urged the Government to stick to its promise to act now in regards to the Business Innovation and Skills Committee report on pub companies.

Pub groups voice concern over Tennent's lager price hike

07-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Punch Taverns is encouraging its Scottish lessees to look for alternative products to replace Tennent’s lager after brand owner C&C Group added 40p to the cost of a pint.

Brewers exceeding energy efficiency targets

07-Nov-2011 By John Harrington, M&C Report

Large UK brewers have exceeded their energy efficiency targets, according to the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA).

Kirkstall Brewery buys first pub

07-Nov-2011

Kirkstall Brewery Company, the Leeds-based brewing venture which was revived earlier this year by Vertical Drinks managing director Stephen Holt, has acquired its first pub.

Embracing change: IFBB admits Cain’s

04-Nov-2011 By Roger Protz

Nine years and three months after Cain’s first applied to join the Independent Family Brewers of Britain (IFBB), the Liverpool brewer has at last been admitted to membership. Why has it taken so long?

Adnams' House of Fraser concession

04-Nov-2011 By John Harrington

Adnams, the Suffolk brewer, distiller and pub operator, is to open its first concession in a department store this week at House of Fraser in Chapelfield, Norwich.

Strongbow's advert roll-out after Facebook campaign

03-Nov-2011 By Noli Dinkovski

Strongbow is putting one of 30 different versions of the same TV advert out each day this month as part of its Hard Graft campaign.

WSTA's Jeremy Beadles to join Heineken UK

02-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) chief executive Jeremy Beadles is set to leave the organisation in the New Year, after six years, to take up the position of corporate relations director for Heineken UK.

Scottish Beer and Pub Association voices minimum price concerns

02-Nov-2011 By Adam Pescod

The Scottish Beer and Pub Association (SBPA) has expressed “concern” about parts of the Minimum Pricing Bill published by the Scottish Government yesterday.

Coca-Cola launches designated driver scheme

01-Nov-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) and Coca-Cola Great Britain will once again be offering free soft drinks to designated drivers, in partnership with the Department for Transport (DfT), over the upcoming festive period.

What lies beyond the ale?

31-Oct-2011 By Pete Brown

At the start of this month we launched the latest Cask Report. You may have noticed it — the page after page of coverage it received in this magazine was hard to miss.

Hot ideas for the chilly days of winter

28-Oct-2011 By Steve Haslam

So summer has ebbed away and despite the dreams of all those who fantasised about 16 weeks of cracking weather — me included — once again it didn’t happen.

Heineken Q3 sales up on emerging markets

27-Oct-2011

Heineken, the international brewer, has reported a 0.6% rise in third quarter revenues to €4.65bn driven by volume growth in emerging markets, which offset a poor performance in Western Europe.

Carlsberg UK boss Sheps moves to Russia

27-Oct-2011 By Mark Wingettt, M&C Report

The chief executive of Carlsberg UK Dr Isaac Sheps is to move to a new job within the company at the start of December.

Vanilla variant for Smirnoff vodka

27-Oct-2011 By Jessica Harvey

Diageo has launched a vanilla variant to its Smirnoff vodka ‘Flavours’ range.

Pub-finder site’s cider call

27-Oct-2011

Pub-finder website Use Your Local has teamed up with O2 to encourage people into their nearest pub to try a Bulmers cider.

Cask seen again as saviour for pubs

25-Oct-2011

Cask ale has once again been hailed as a real force for good for the pub trade with 80% of licensees expecting sales of Britain’s national drink to rise over the coming year — although 35% believe they are still in for another tough 12 months.

Cask Ale Week success hailed

25-Oct-2011 By Gurjit Degun

Cask Marque has reported the ‘World’s Biggest Ale Trail’ to be a “great success” with 948 people registering for the £50,000 initiative.

Giving the Americans an IPA history lesson

24-Oct-2011 By Roger Protz

India Pale Ale was a beer designed to travel, and it keeps on going. First brewed in England in the 19th century for export to India and other British colonies, it has become a cult style in the United States.

Exclusive

Miller's abbey beer plan

21-Oct-2011 By Jessica Harvey

Miller Brands, the UK arm of SABMiller, is set to launch a Belgian abbey beer, named St Stefanus, by the end of the month.

Pernod Ricard Q1 revenue up

20-Oct-2011

Pernod Ricard, the spirits maker, has reported an increase in first quarter revenue, driven by sales in emerging markets and a good recovery in mature markets.

Jack Daniels set to launch Tennessee Honey in UK

20-Oct-2011 By Ewan Turney

Jack Daniels is set to launch a honey-based whiskey liqueur in the UK next year.

Britvic in line with full-year expectations

20-Oct-2011

Britvic, the soft drinks maker, said this morning that its trading was in line with full-year expectations as it reported a slight increase in fourth-quarter sales.

Diageo warns on global economy

19-Oct-2011

Diageo, the global drinks group, has reported a rise in sales for the three months to 30 September, but warned that the global economy remains fragile.

Jagermeister competitor hits back at 'passing off' claims

19-Oct-2011 By Adam Pescod

Herbal liqueur brand, Josef Meier’s, is encouraging greater communication in pubs and clubs which sell its product to ensure it is not passed off as its competitor on-trade product, Jagermeister.

BrewDog eyes more bar openings and £7m brewery

19-Oct-2011

BrewDog, the Scottish brewer, is eyeing Leeds, Birmingham and Sheffield for its next craft beer bar openings.

Smooth criminals: my love affair with pub's founders after laptop theft

18-Oct-2011 By Pete Brown

I’ve written a great deal over the past eight years about how much I love pubs, about how I see the pub as the crucible of everything that’s good about humanity: the warmth, good cheer and democracy, the benign anarchy, the hint of surrealism, the tradition,...