World Cup

According to various sources, ABInBev has decided to allow a South African brewery access to the fan parks outside of stadiums in South Africa in June. This had to be a particularly difficult decision, as the most likely South African beer is Castle, which just happens to be owned by SABMiller. Like the last World Cup in Germany, I suspect that ABInBev, which is currently set to have Budweiser as the only beer available in the stadium, will end up capitulating in the stadiums too. And in the long run, I wonder if it decides that soccer is not worth its money, as it finds that the majority of the rest of the world would rather not have Budweiser forced upon them. As a soccer fan, I'm glad that Bud recognizes and supports the game, but as a drinker, their one size fits all approach leaves something to be desired.

Asahi Breweries Pushing Fast-Cooling Kegs in the U.S. - Beverage World

Asahi Breweries Pushing Fast-Cooling Kegs in the U.S. - Beverage World: "Asahi Breweries Pushing Fast-Cooling Kegs in the U.S.
Wednesday, 03 March 2010 09:29

Tokyo - Japan's Asahi Breweries Ltd. has begun to tap the urban eateries market in the U.S. for rapid-cooling kegs of its Super Dry brand of beer.

Beer kegs typically need to be chilled in a refrigerator before use, but Asahi has developed a keg server that uses ice-cold water to cool the beer instantly.

This setup allows even small establishments with no space for a keg refrigeration room to serve beer on tap. Small restaurants that currently only serve beer in bottles and cans will be able to add a fresh brew to the menu.

Asahi is already testing the business in Los Angeles and San Francisco and plans to start sales in New York this month. By 2012, the company hopes to have 150 shops signed up for its Super Dry kegs.

Marketing will be targeted at smaller pubs and clubs, steering clear of establishments that already offer multiple beers on tap. One focus will be Japanese restaurants, which tend to carry only one choice of beer.

With beer sales down in Japan, Asahi is working to position Super Dry as a strategic global product. Its goal is to double volume sales of Super Dry in foreign markets over the next three years, expanding the scale of overseas sales to reach some 10 percent of the current domestic tally.

(C) 2010 Asia Pulse Pte Ltd."


This is a good idea. Not sure it is as innovative as claimed, but definitely something in a different direction.

Big Beer Bet for Obama, Harper on Olympic Hockey - Beverage World

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama owes his Canadian counterpart a case of beer.

Obama made the friendly wager with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper before Sunday's U.S.-Canada gold medal game. Canada beat the United States 3-2 on Sidney Crosby's overtime goal.

White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama had a case of Yuengling, a Pennsylvania regional brew, riding on the game. Harper wagered 24 bottles of Molson. The beer battle pitted Canada's oldest brewery against the oldest beer maker in the United States. Molson Canada is now a subsidiary of Molson Coors Brewing Co., a marriage of Molson and Denver-based Coors.

There was no word on where the cross-border exchange would occur.



"Well, Canada got the better of this deal too."