Today’s infographic, an overview of Craft Beer, Taking Over America’s Taste Buds, is not strictly about Ohio, but its creator, Molly Denning is from Columbus and created it as an Ohio State school project to be used in the Craft Beer Village at the Bunbury Music Festival, which begins today in Cincinnati.
Click here to see the infographic full size.
I know governments have become increasingly beholden to business interests in my lifetime, but the idealist in me is unable to just be okay with that. It’s certainly true here in the U.S., where politicians are bought and sold, and the interests of ordinary folks rarely count for much in political decisions. And that’s unlikely to change while corporations are essentially immortals with all of the rights of people and none of the consequences or responsibilities, and whose profits have been declared free speech that can be used to influence our politics. Apparently Mexico’s government is similarly business-oriented. According to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal, “Mexico’s top brewer said Thursday it reached an agreement with the country’s anti-trust authority to limit its sales exclusivity contracts with corner stores, bars and restaurants, allowing more room for craft brewers and other players in a lucrative market split by Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Grupo Modelo unit and Heineken N.V.’s Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc Moctezuma.”
In a world where people mattered, a government would tell companies what the rules are and expect them to follow them. Negotiations would be, and frankly should be, unnecessary. But that’s not the way the world works anymore, if indeed it ever did.
More from the Journal piece:
Modelo said in a statement it would cap such agreements to no more than 25% of its points of sale, with the aim of reducing that number to 20% by 2018. The brewer said it would also allow craft brewers to sell their beers in bars and restaurants where Modelo has locked in exclusive pouring terms.
…
The Mexican beer market, the world’s fifth-biggest according to Euromonitor, is a virtual duopoly, with Modelo brands like Corona claiming around 58% of the 67 million hectoliters of brew sold in Mexico each year, while Cerveceria Cuauhtemoc brands like Tecate account for 41%.
Around half of the beer sold in Mexico each year is channeled through small convenience stores, many of which agree to sell only one of the two brewers’ brands in exchange for branded awnings, signs or refrigerators, as well as discounts on beer purchases, credit and even assistance with local permits.
The country is Heineken’s largest market, accounting for about 16% of sales, while it represents around 13% of AB InBev’s pro forma sales, according to Credit Suisse.
Nice that Modelo will “ALLOW craft brewers to sell their beers in bars and restaurants.” How magnanimous. While the Wall Street Journal, itself as pro-business as they come, ignored the reasons for Modelo’s change of heart, Beer Business Daily reveals why they’ve agreed to soften their monopoly. It’s because the Mexican Federal Competition Commission ruled, 4-1, “that future exclusive contracts that Cuauhtemoc and Grupo Modelo have with retailers be limited in nature.” If they don’t, they could be fined up to 8% of their total income. According to Harry, currently the two biggest Mexican brewery’s “exclusive contracts with retailers account for about 85% of total volume.”
More from Beer Biz Daily:
The CFC ruled that craft brewers (such as Cerveceria Minerva and Primus) that manufacture beer in Mexico (under 100m hectos a year) should have unfettered access to restaurants, bars, and cantinas, and that big brewers’ exclusive contracts with accounts should not exceed 25% of the total outlets they do business with, which is reduced to 20% over five years. Current contracts are allowed to continue in effect without change until they expire.
I find it odd that Heineken apparently responded with a press release saying “that it will abide by the new rules and ‘standardise and simplify some of our future contracts with customers.'” How nice that they let us know they’ve agreed to follow the law. That’s what drives me crazy about the large multinational corporations with economies bigger than many nations. But at least it’s some good news for Mexico’s smaller breweries and their burgeoning craft beer scene.
Today’s infographic is entitled A Beer Tour Of America, showing their choices for the top ten brewery tours you should take. It was created by Travel Insurance, which describes itself as a “comprehensive online resource for travelers and people looking for more information on travel insurance.”
Click here to see the infographic full size.
Last year, the Twin Cities’ Surly Brewing announced that they would be building a “destination brewery” in Minneapolis’ Prospect Park neighborhood. The StarTribune has recently released images of what the proposed brewery is going to look like. Take a look at the architect’s renderings of the new $20 million brewery.
Got the news last week, but it slipped my mind. You may not have heard, but Denise Jones gave her notice last month that she was leaving Moylan’s, apparently to pursue an interesting enterprise brewing custom beer for celebrities. The company is somewhere in Napa, which is closer to home for Denise, though I haven’t yet had a chance to ask her about the details yet. In the meantime, Moylan’s has announced her replacement, Derek Smith, who used to brew at Black Diamond
From the press release:
Moylan’s Brewery is pleased to announce the addition of new Brewmaster Derek Smith. Smith joins Moylan’s from Black Diamond Brewing Company in Concord, California, where he served as Brewmaster for the past 6 years and was instrumental in leading the brewery to a number of award-winning beers. Derek has a seasoned history of California brewing and has been a longtime friend and fan of Moylan’s Brewery.
Smith graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in architecture. Upon graduating, Smith traveled abroad and took a job at the White Horse in London as a cellarman. The White Horse instilled in Smith a deep appreciation for great cask ales and Belgian beers. Six months abroad turned into a four-year odyssey of travel, scuba diving, and beer tasting. Smith bolstered his newly discovered passion for brewing by apprenticing at Two Rows Brewery followed by The Master Brewers Program at UC Davis. Since then, Smith has served as Brewmaster for Black Diamond Brewing Company, where he was well known for his creative and bold hop-centric IPAs, Belgian ales, and barrel-aged beers.
Founder Brendan Moylan is excited to have Smith onboard, commenting, “Derek is the perfect choice to take over the reigns here at Moylan’s Brewery. He is known in West Coast brewing circles for his passion and dedication to making great craft beer. We are excited to bring his expertise to Moylan’s and we believe Derek will play a vital role in shaping our brewery’s future.”
Smith is eager to bring his unique style and talents to the popular Novato brewery. “I am looking forward to sharing in Brendan’s vision of crafting quality beers at Moylan’s…” commented Smith, “and I am excited to be joining one of the strongest teams of innovative beer makers in the Bay Area.”
Great news for both Derek and Moylan’s.
Derek, at far right, after the Beef Chef’s Chocolate & Beer Dinner in 2009; with, from left: Arne Johnson (Marin Brewing), Fal Allen (Anderson Valley), Bruce Paton, Alec Moss (Half Moon Bay).
Today’s infographic is about the Alcohol Industry, and whether or not it’s recession-proof. It was created by Total DUI’s Check Points blog. I’m not sure what their angle was, but they pretty much came to the same conclusion most analysts did, which is that it’s more recession-resistant than recession-proof.
Click here to see the infographic full size.
Today’s infographic highlights Canadian Beer, and was created by the Brewers Association of Canada. In honor of Canada Day, which is celebrated today by our friends, neighbors, partners and allies to the north, I thought we should also celebrate Canadian beer, as well.
Click here to see the infographic full size, eh.
Today’s infographic shows beer in the state of Maine, or at least Maine Craft Beer. It was created by Carla Companion, a.k.a. The Beer Babe, for American Craft Beer Week. I missed Maine’s statehood day, which was March 15, when they became the 23rd state in 1820. But today in 1995, Allagash Brewing opened in Portland, Maine.
Click here to see the infographic full size.
Drinks Business, a European trade publication, on Tuesday published their list of the Top 10 Biggest Beer Brands, I believe as of the end of 2012.
The rankings are based on millions of barrels, which is listed after the name. The top beer, Chinese Snow Beer sells roughly 50% more than the second place beer, Tsingtao. So it’s not even close. The number ten beer, Brahma, sells only about a quarter of Snow.
Three of the top 10 brands are Chinese, not too surprising given that it recently became the largest consumer of beer worldwide. Anheuser-Busch InBev has four beers on the list, the most, by far, from a single company. It’s also interesting that Budweiser is selling more than Bud Light internationally. That says a lot about how effective the marketing of low-calorie diet beer is here in the U.S.
Snow Beer, the world’s best-selling brand.
Last week, the judging took place for the 18th annual California State Fair Craft Beer Competition in West Sacramento. This year’s entries came from 83 of the state’s breweries, with roughly 700 beers judged.
From the press release:
Some 40 beer experts from all over the state judged the various panels with blind tastings of the entries considering beers by style and classification. The judging panels were selected by Head Judge Tom Dalldorf, publisher of Celebrator Beer News, a national beer magazine.
The Best of Show tasting panel consisted of five of our top judges who were confronted with an unprecedented 47 entries all gold medal winners in previous rounds of judging. After a lengthy judging session, the panel agreed on giving Best of Show honors to a stunning Vienna Lager called Una Mas from Left Coast Brewing Company in San Clemente, Calif. A new award, Best of Show Session Beer (under 5% alcohol) was awarded to a wood-aged saison called Ocho Barril from Half Moon Bay Brewing Company in Half Moon Bay, Calif.
Beer enthusiasts can taste the award winning beers from the State Fair’s Craft Brew Competition on Saturday, July 20, from 3 pm–6 pm at Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd., Sacramento, Calif.
Full disclosure, I was privileged to be one of the dozens of judges who tasted all of the beers over three days, and even was on the panel of five that tasted all 47 of the winners of each category to pick the “best of show,” this year’s choice for the best beer in California. It was a very hard decision, as there were some unbelievably great beers on the table, in a breathtaking variety of styles. Best of show judging is harder than regular judging, because you’re not comparing like styles against one another. Instead, your looking for intangible qualities that make one beer stand out over another, made doubly difficult because every beer was already an award winner. But we persevered, and after a few hours emerged with a unanimous decision.
Below are all of the award winners. 1 is a Gold medal, 2 is Silver, 3 is Bronze, and 4 is an Honorable Mention.
Category 1: Light Lager — Dortmunder/Premium American
Category 1: Light Lager — Munich Helles
Category 2: Pilsner — German Pils
Category 2: Pilsner — Bohemian/Classic American Pils
Category 3: Amber Lager
Category 4: Dark Lager
Category 5: Bock
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — Cream Ale
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — Blonde Ale
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — Kolsch
Category 6: Light Hybrid Beer — American Wheat/Rye
Category 7: Amber Hybrid
Category 8: English Pale Ale — Standard/Ordinary Bitter
Category 8: English Pale Ale — Special/Best/Premium Bitter
Category 8: English Pale Ale — Extra Special/Strong Bitter (English Pale Ale)
Category 9: Scottish/Irish Ale — Scottish Heavy 70/-
Category 9: Scottish/Irish Ale — Irish Red Ale
Category 10: American Ale — American Pale Ale
Category 10: American Ale — American Amber Ale
Category 10: American Ale — American Brown Ale
Category 11: English Brown Ale
Category 12: Porter — Brown Porter
Category 12: Porter — Robust Porter
Category 12: Porter — Baltic Porter
Category 13: Stout — Dry Stout
Category 13: Stout — Sweet Stout
Category 13: Stout — Oatmeal Stout
Category 13: Stout — Foreign Export Stout
Category 13: Stout — American Stout
Category 13: Stout — Russian Imperial Stout
Category 14: India Pale Ale — English IPA
Category 14: India Pale Ale — American IPA
Category 14: India Pale Ale — Imperial IPA
Category 14: India Pale Ale — Other IPA
Category 15: German Wheat/Rye Beer
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Wit Beer
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Belgian Pale Ale
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Belgian Pale Ale
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Biere de Garde
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Belgian Specialty Ale
Category 16: Belgian and French Ale — Flavored Saison
Category 17: Sour Ale
Category 18: Belgian Strong Ale
Category 19: Strong Ale — Old Ale
Category 19: Strong Ale — English Barleywine
Category 19: Strong Ale — American Barleywine
Category 20: Fruit Beer
Category 21: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer — Spice, Herb, or Vegetable Beer
Category 21: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer — Christmas/Winter Specialty Spiced Beer
Category 22: Smoke-Flavored/Wood-Aged Beer
Category 23: Specialty Beer
A few statistics: Firestone Walker, Karl Strauss and San Pedro Brewing won the most medals, six apiece. Ol’ Republic Brewing and Sudwerk Privatbrauerei Hubsch each won five. And Auburn Ale House, Heretic Brewing, Marin Brewing and Mendocino Brewing each won four medals. Eleven more breweries won three medals each.
BEST OF SHOW
BEST OF SHOW SESSION BEER
Congratulations to all the winners.