Three Expected To Bid On Beck's

REAL BEER NEWS - SPARGING ONLINE
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Issue 76 – 18 JULY 2001 – Three Expected To Bid On Beck's **********************************************************

BEER DINNER – FRIDAY NIGHT 6.30PM – Eden Park, Auckland Sample nine Trappist beers, and dinner. Call (09) 360 7251 to buy tickets mailto:trappist@realbeer.co.nz

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THREE EXPECTED TO BID ON BECK'S Three big players are expected to bid for Germany's Beck's brewery, according to a July 12 Reuters report. Scottish & Newcastle PLC of Britain, Belgium's Interbrew and Anheuser-Busch of the U.S. are the lead players for Germany's biggest beer exporter. Goldman Sachs, a U.S. investment bank, has been hired to "review future options" for Beck's, and the sale of the company is a possible outcome of that review. Beck's, if sold, could bring in as much as 600 million pounds ($843 million).

S&N, the UK's biggest brewer, has the exclusive rights to distribute Beck's in Britain, the beer's biggest market outside of Germany. The contract is thought to have about ten more years before it expires.

"We are Beck's number one customer, so we would watch the situation with interest. We are a key part of the Beck's equation, and we would have an important role to play in the future of the brand," said an S&N spokesman.

Interbrew and A-B, though both interested parties, could raise duopoly concerns in the UK if one of the two purchased Beck's. Interbrew's Bass Brewery regulatory problems are still in need of a final solution and a Beck's acquisition could lengthen the process. Interbrew's Stella Artois is Britain's best-selling premium lager with Beck's running third behind Anheuser-Busch's Budweiser. A combination of any two of those three beers could prompt British regulators to step in.

Anheuser-Busch has been looking for a big-name import to add to its U.S. distribution chain. Should A-B acquire Beck's, the company would have a formidable weapon to use against other major imports such as Heineken. http://www.realbeer.co.nz/news/articles/news-001564.html

FOSTER'S SHOUT Foster's Lager bottles have increased in size from 330mls to 355mls with no increase in price. The move flies in the face of the trend set by New Zealand brewers who have recently downsized their cans, according to Foster's International (NZ)."They say you don't get something for nothing these days but at Foster's we disagree," says Andrew Bonner, vice president/general manager Foster's International (NZ). http://www.brewing.co.nz/20010712fosters.htm

GUARD YOUR HEART WITH BEER? Beer may provide the same "good for your heart" ingredients as fortified grains and green leafy vegetables. "Moderate beer consumption may help to maintain the total homocysteine levels in the normal range due to high folate content," the report stated. The findings support earlier research showing that drinking beer regularly for 3 weeks led to a 30% increase in vitamin B6 levels. This vitamin is thought to help break down homocysteine. Drinking red wine or Dutch gin brought only about half that increase, research showed. http://www.realbeer.co.nz/news/articles/news-001563.html

GLACIER BEER IS BACK Fischer Beverages has announced it will bring back 63°N 46°W beer, which drew international attention when it was first sold at the end of 1999. The beer is brewed with water collected from the glaciers of Greenland at polar coordinates 63° North by 46° West. In these extreme regions, the ice lying dormant thousands of meters below the surface may be up to 250,000 years old. http://www.realbeer.co.nz/news/articles/news-001562.html

SMOKEFREE HOTEL A 'CHALLENGE' TO OTHERS Dr Hutchison was told by hotel owner Joyce Lepperd that patronage in some weeks had soared from 200 to about 2000.Not only were patrons flocking in, but bands were offering to play at no charge because of the smokefree environment. http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,865736a3845,FF.html

NEWCASTLE BROWN SET FOR RELAUNCH Brown ale is probably not the first thing you think of when you see the famous Opium ad featuring a reclining, naked Sophie Dahl. But all that could change. A relaunch campaign for Newcastle Brown Ale is to parody famous campaigns which have little to do with the northern ale's rugged image. http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?p21927540

MORE THAN JUST A SINGLE MALT This has to be the best beer to come out of McCashins brewery yet. As with the previous two limited edition beers from Macs - Aromac and Blonde Mac, the new Malt Mac is big on flavour. There are two exciting ingredients in this beer. One is the aromatic Cascade hops which have only been commercially grown in NZ for a year and are the signature flavour of microbreweries in the USA. The other is the peated barley malt, traditionally use in making Scotch Whisky, which has been combined with three other specialty malts. http://www.realbeer.co.nz/library/alefile/maltmac.html

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IMPORTANT BEER DATES

20 JULY – AUCKLAND The Ultimate Trappist Tasting – 6.30pm $65, Eden Park – sample 9 Trappist Beers, dinner and desert. http:www.brewing.co.nz

21 JULY - GUILDFORD, WA Little Creatures Tasting – 7pm $45, Guildford Hotel - including food, beverage, giveaways and entertainment http://www.brewing.co.nz/tastingWA010721.htm

MONTEITH'S WILDFOOD CHALLENGE Christchurch 29 June - 14 July Dunedin 6 - 21 July

BrewNZ 2002 21st- 25th May 2002 – Wellington, NZ

AUGUST 2002 UK/EUROPE BEER TOUR Including the Great British Beer Festival mailto:2002tour@realbeer.co.nz

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More equipment for sale here: http://www.brewing.co.nz/equipment.htm

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