The "B" Word
Goodbye Meantime
SABMiller (SAB.L) is buying Britain's Meantime
Brewing Company, swallowing up one of the
pioneers of the country's craft brewing
movement to give the owner of big brands such
as Peroni and Grolsch exposure to a
fast-growing part of the drinks market.

A surge in demand for craft beers in recent
years has stolen market share from the world's
two biggest brewers, SABMiller and
Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR), as drinkers
seek new tastes and support niche, local
suppliers.
Sales volumes of Meantime's beers including
London Pale Ale and London Lager soared 58
percent in 2014, compared with a 1% rise in

SABMiller said it aimed to grow sales of
Meantime's beers across Britain and use its
distribution networks to export it to other
markets in Europe.

"Smart Relief" is a mobile app for parental control of
Android smartphones. South Korea's government
funded the app, which alerts parents to possible
bullying based on its monitoring of phrases and words
used in smartphone messages and in online searches.
The developer says it can also give parents insight into
the worries or preoccupations of their children.  

Such apps are criticized in South Korea as an invasion
of privacy but their use is burgeoning, particularly after
the country's telecoms regulator ordered monitoring
applications be installed on the smartphones of
Koreans aged 18 and below. Smart Relief is not one
of the 15 apps authorized for use in that program but
shares similar features with them.

The app monitors about 800 words and phrases in
messages including, you guessed it, beer
NY Loves Beer-  The number of craft breweries in New York
state more than doubled, from 95 to 207 last year causing production to jump
54%, to 859,535 barrels. Craft beer accounts for 6,552 jobs in NY and has a $3.5
billion economic impact. And if you care, there are now 400 New York wineries.

Mexico-US Beer-  U.S. imports of Mexican beer jumped 15 %t last year,
contrasted against less than one percent domestic beer sales growth overall.
Mexico also dominates other imports to capture more than 60% of the total U.S.
import beer market.

Beer City - Last year Tampa was ranked the No. 2 "Best Beer Town" in America
by USA Today's online poll. Grand Rapids, Mich., was No. 1.  The 2015 polll will be
conducted in the early fall.

Florida Growlers- Florida breweries will finally be able to sell beer in 64-ounce
refillable size known as a “growler.” Gov. Rick Scott just signed into a law a measure
that ends the “growler war” over craft beer that has been swirling in the state for
several years.  

Wisconsin Beer Illegal in Minnesota

In an unusual beer bust, Minnesota undercover officers busted Minnesota's
Maple Tavern for selling New Glarus Spotted Cow, a farmhouse ale that can
only be sold in Wisconsin — a felony criminal offense.

In a search warrant the state Department of Public Safety said it was tipped
off to the alcohol-related crime by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue,
which was notified by an anonymous complaint. Allegedly, the Maple
Tavern’s manager made beer runs to get six Spotted Cow kegs for retail sale
from a liquor store in Hudson, Wis.  But investigators didn’t need to go far
for confirmation the crime. Maple Tavern’s own Facebook page showed a
photo of a Spotted Cow tap handle! Investigators confirmed the purchase at
the liquor store and then went right to the source itself — ordering a glass of
Spotted Cow at Maple Tavern to collect the evidence.

Beer manufactured by New Glarus is only distributed in Wisconsin. The
company is not a licensed manufacturer of alcoholic beverages in Minnesota,
so it’s illegal to distribute New Glarus beer to a retail establishment. Neither
the bar’s manager nor the Maple Tavern are licensed to transport or import
alcoholic beverage into Minnesota. At New Glarus’ brewery, where the
motto states “Only in Wisconsin!”, the website says “You know you’re in
Wisconsin when you see the Spotted Cow.”

I Brandon Hlavka, manager at Maple Tavern said in his defense  "it was a
just a mistake, but it was the best of intentions."

In most states it is a crime to purchase alcoholic beverages from a retailer for
resale. Bars and other similar establishments must buy their product from a
third-party wholesaler, or from the brewer and/or manufacturer.


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Edited by Jim Attacap

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