News Briefs
Rockies Brewing Co., Boulder, Colo., is celebrating its 25th
anniversary this year by expanding its distribution to New York, New Jersey,
Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The East Coast will now get a chance to try
the company’s Hazed & Infused Dry-Hopped Ale, MoJo India Pale Ale, Sundance
Amber Ale, Pass Time Pale Ale and Planet Porter. Golden State Vintners last month settled a heated takeover battle
by agreeing to a $111-million acquisition by The Wine Group.
The high price of milk might force Starbucks to implement its
first system-wide price hike in four years, the company’s Chief Executive Officer
Orin Smith told Reuters last month. For now, the company plans to absorb the
cost increases, but it has indicated rising dairy costs are a negative factor
in otherwise strong results.
PepsiCo has extended its
partnership with the National Football League through the 2011 season. PepsiCo will become an
advertiser on the NFL Network, increase media spending on game telecasts,
and continue to promote NFL calendar events.
The company also will continue to have rights to all NFL trademarks
and the collective use of the 32 NFL teams for its Pepsi, Tropicana and Frito-Lay
products. PepsiCo’s Gatorade division has a similar agreement with the NFL,
which also runs through 2011.
The Gambrinus Co., San Antonio, Texas, and Trumer Brauerei,
Obertrum, Austria, recently announced the creation of Trumer International,
and Gambrinus has begun distributing Trumer Pils in South Carolina. The companies
will develop a dedicated brewery for the Trumer products in Berkeley, Calif.,
that is expected to open this summer.
During its recent shareholders meeting, Cott Corp. awarded its
sixth annual Gerald N. Pencer Award for Excellence in Innovation to its Bentonville
and Sikeston teams for the launch of the Kid Connection line of products for
Wal-Mart. The award, named for Cott’s late chairman and chief executive officer,
includes a prize of $10,000; $5,000 in Cott stock and $5,000 in cash. The company
reported record results for 2003, and first-quarter 2004 sales that were 26
percent higher than the same period last year.
Shaw-Ross International Importers, Miramar, Fla., has become
the exclusive distributor of Liquid International Premium Spirits’ Sol Dios
Tequila, NapaSaki Sake, Liquid Ice Vodka and Kensington London Dry Gin.
The International Bottled Water Association announced the theme
of its 46th Annual Convention and Trade Show will be “Uncap the Future”. The
meeting will be held in conjunction with BevExpo, Sept. 29-Oct. 1 in Tampa,
Fla.
Crescent Crown Distributing recently purchased Miller and Coors distributor Pearce Beverage Co., Phoenix, Ariz. Pearce will continue to operate under its
current name, and the sale does not include the new 284,000-square-foot
distribution center in Phoenix.
Allied Domecq taps two as ‘First Choice’
Allied Domecq recently announced “first choice supplier” agreements
with National Distributing Co. in Colorado and Southern Wine & Spirits in Arizona,
Kentucky and Pennsylvania. The distributors will have exclusive distribution
rights to Allied Domecq’s wine and spirits brands in their respective states.
“Allied Domecq’s long-term ‘First Choice Supplier’ agreement…features a new
way of partnering with our exclusive distributors, including state-of-the-art
performance assessments, increased investment in market spending and more ‘feet
on the street’ than any other sales force in the marketplace,” Allied Domecq
said in a statement.
The Life of Jack Daniel
A new book titled “Blood & Whiskey: The Life and Times of Jack
Daniel” tells the life story of the founder of one of the industry’s best-known
brands. Author Peter Krass depicts Jack Daniel as a “charismatic distiller with
a penchant for diamonds and young ladies”, and explores the reasons behind the
name Old No. 7, the politics of the time and Daniel’s marketing savvy. The book,
which began shipping last month, was published by John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken,
N.J., and sells for $24.95.
ChampionLyte scores new contract
ChampionLyte Beverages Inc., Miami, recently announced a new
long-term distribution agreement with Miami-based Havana International Inc.
and FTZ Ship and Duty Free Supplies Inc. for a minimum of 18,000 cases per month
of its sugar-free ChampionLyte. The company says the new deal is the largest
contract order for the product in its history. Havana will distribute ChampionLyte
to 16 states, cruise ships, sea stores, duty-free stores and U.S. military accounts.
And the winners are...
It’s competition
season in the beverage industry,
and both brewers and distillers recently stepped out to collect awards. The Association of Brewers recognized brewers in 81 styles of beer in the Brewers World Cup, held in San Diego, and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition ranked products in 60 categories of distilled spirits.
and both brewers and distillers recently stepped out to collect awards. The Association of Brewers recognized brewers in 81 styles of beer in the Brewers World Cup, held in San Diego, and the San Francisco World Spirits Competition ranked products in 60 categories of distilled spirits.
Held every two years, the World Beer Cup saw a record
number of entries in 2004, with 1,566 beers from 393 brewers in 40
countries. The hefeweizen category scored the highest number of entries per
category with 56 competitors.
“As this competition grows, we are seeing the diversity of the
competition and the pride of winning grow as well,” said Charlie Papazian, president
of the Association of Brewers, in a statement. “It is truly international when
a brewer from Nicaragua competes in the same category as German, Czech and Korean
brewers and wins.”
A little farther north, in San Francisco, judges tasted 454
spirits from 40 countries in a competition modeled after the San Francisco International
Wine Competition. The San Francisco World Spirits Competition experienced a
10 percent increase in the number of entries this year, and awarded 59 Double
Gold Medals, 65 Gold Medals, 141 Silver Medals and 125 Bronze Medals.
World Beer Cup Winners
Small Brewing Company
(1-15,000 barrels per year) Oggi’s Pizza and Brewing Co., San Clemente, Calif.
Mid-Size Brewing Company
(15,001-2,000,000 barrels per year) Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif.
Large Brewing Company
(More than 2,000,000 barrels per year) Miller Brewing Co., Milwaukee, Wis.
Small Brewpub (1-1,200 barrels per year) Laurelwood Pub & Brewery, Portland, Ore.
Large Brewpub
(More than 1,200 barrels per year) Russian River Brewing Co., Santa Rosa, Calif. |
2004 San Francisco World Spirits Competition Best of Show Awards |
DISTILLER OF THE YEAR Johnnie Walker WHITE GOODS Tanqueray Gin BROWN GOODS Bowmore 25 Year Old Single Malt Scotch CATEGORY WINNERS Vox Vodka Classic Shakers Rose Flavored Vodka Linie Aquavit Malibu Mango Flavored Rum Matusalem Gran Reserva Rum El Tesoro Reposado Tequila Old Forester Small Batch Bourbon Connemara Peated Single Malt Irish Whiskey King's Crest Blended Scotch Whisky Johnnie Walker Green Label Scotch Vatted Malt Richard Hennessy Cognac Marquis de Montesquiou Vintage 1965 Armagnac Christian Drouin Coeur de Lion Vintage 1963 Calvados Valentin Tomato Viski Grand Marnier Cuvée du Centenaire, 100th Anniversary Bottling Bushmills Irish Cream |