| 2/3 of a pint? British officials considering allowing pubs to serve two-thirds of a pint of beer as well as pints and half-pints, tinkering with a national icon in a break with centuries of tradition. Facing a downturn in profits due to the credit crunch, the smoking ban and rising alcohol taxes, pubs are keen to try out anything that may boost trade, in particular by tempting women who do not fancy drinking a whole pint (568 millilitres). Currently, draught beer and cider is served in Britain in pints or half pints. A third of a pint remains a legal measure, though it is rarely seen outside hardcore beer festivals. England's Ale Measures Act 1698 stated that beer should be sold in pints or quarts (two pints) -- anyone selling short measures being "of evil consequence" and guilty of "a great wrong and prejudice to wayfaring men, travellers, manufacturers, labourers". The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), meanwhile, felt that rather than smaller glasses, pubs should first of all be filling up the ones they have. |
| Beer Beats Newspapers As print newspapers crash and burn, it’s looking like drowning your sorrows away in beer may have been the wiser investment, at least according to a study from StocktAdvice.com Instead of investing $10,000 in newspaper companies three years ago, you would be financially better off buying the same amount in kegs of beer, downing a six pack a day, and collecting the deposit, says Vin Crosbie, stock analyst. Fifty-five half-kegs of Budweiser ($105 each, plus a $75 deposit per keg three years ago) would net you 22 full kegs and $4,125 in deposits after consumption. you would end up with just over $3,000 today after a $10,000 investment in 2005 if you split your investment evently among the nations top 20 papers. He's the One to Blame Green beer. Blue beer. Beer with the frothy 'head' in the middle of the glass, rather than at the top. Beer which emits light. For Barry Axcell, chief brewer at the world's third- largest brewer, SABMiller, these are some of the more outlandish concepts he has helped design. As it is, Mr Axcell has overseen a number of marginally less unorthodox developments. His firm launched a black lager called Miller Midnight into Russia this month. It has also successfully produced a pineapple version of the Chinese beer brand Snow it part owns. And Miller Chill, brewed with lime and salt to tap into the Latinisation of American culture, became a hit after its US launch last year. |
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| Stop the Stocks Nearly 1,000 people gathered outside Thailand's stock market recently to protest against plans to list one of the country's top beer makers, claiming the move would threaten the nation's morals. Campaigners from the Network Against Alcoholic Beverages submitted a letter to the chairman of the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) urging him not to accept Thai Beverage's application. The company had attempted to get listed several times in the past few years but were denied thanks to protests led by conservative monks who said beer offended morals in mainly Buddhist Thailand. Thais are among the world's heaviest drinkers, but a strong puritanical strain dominates their society. Thai politicians often capitalising on this by reducing opening hours of bars and banning alcohol advertising. Guinness Light Guinness Red - which it says is lighter in colour and taste than the traditional black stuff, has quickly become a best seller since its recent introduction . The brew is aimed at those who like the brand but only drink it rarely - perhaps while watching sport or on St Patrick's Day. And like most extensions of a brand, the plan of Guinness owner Diageo is to steal market share from rival brewers. After a trial in 140 pubs in 2007, it has been extended to about 700 in central England. Next up is a trial run in the USA. |
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