UK Scores in China |
Taxes = Bad Beer |
In Japan,the local beers aren’t always palate pleasers.Blame the taxman. The Finance Ministry imposes higher taxes on drinks with greater malt content. So the biggest breweries, including Asahi and Kirin sell knockoffs, called happoshu (meaning bubbly spirits), or third beer, that may use peas, corn, or soybeans to reduce the amount of flavorful malt. Craft brewers, which account for about 2 % of beer sales in Japan, say the tax incentives help bigger companies produce bad beer that dominates the market, because it costs a lot less. Meanwhile, some expensive special brews with serious ingredients must be advertised as the cheap stuff because their recipes don’t meet official definitions of beer—defined in part, as having at least 67% malt content. The current tax regime dates to a time when beer was a luxury primarily used by foreigners. It was seen as a way to raise money without putting a burden on Japanese citizens. |
British brews are becoming insanely popular in China. According to Beverage Daily, beer exports from the U.K. experience a 500 percent increase in 2016 due to rising consumer demand throughout the country. Some analysts have cited Chinese president Xi Jinping's interest in beer as contributing to the beverage's rising popularity. In 2015, he was photographed enjoying a beer with former British prime minister David Cameron. But China isn't the only country to have a stronger interest in British brews-- exports to India grew by 417 percent and exports to the EU grew by 5 percent. Approximately 63 percent of Britain’s beer exports are for the EU while the remaining 37 percent are destined for other locations around the globe. The increase in brewery exports has boosted beer to the third most valuable food or drink export coming out of the U.K., falling behind only whisky and chocolate. |
Planet Trappist- Belgian scientists just announced the discovery of a new planetary systems -- and named it after their favorite beer - TRAPPIST-1 . It is a system of seven Earth-size planets orbiting a dwarf star "just" 40 light-years away Numbers- A new survey says that women account for 28 % of the weekly craft beer drinkers (up 3% year over year) and 36 % of new drinkers. Meanwhile, craft beer lost share with Hispanics, only 18 % of whom identified themselves as weekly craft beer drinkers. New Boss - Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that Andy Goeler would take over as the new vice president of Bud Light, the largest beer brand in the U.S. The Bud Light brand is down 2 % over the last 52 weeks, however Mr. Goeler promises no changes in the beer. Aren't you glad? Beer Shipments Decline - The Beer Institute published an unofficial estimate of domestic tax paid shipments by beer brewers for March 2017 of 11,724,000 barrels, a decrease of 9.4% versus last year. Cigar in Carolina - Cigar City is making its way up the eastern seaboard. The Florida-headquartered brewery announced that it would begin shipping its popular Jai Alai IPA and other brands to North Carolina. Cigar City produced more than 65,000 barrels of beer last year. |
Craft Beer For Non-Craft Drinkers Heineken is hoping to tempt the 75% of beer drinks who have never tried craft beer into the growing category, with the launch of two new beers under its new Maltsmiths Brewery label. The new beers – a Bavarian-style Pilsner and an American-style IPA – are being rolled out from this month, and are intended to take a slice of a “huge untapped market” by appealing to people who haven’t yet started to experiment with the growing trend. The Maltsmiths’ Pilsner contains Centennial, Chinook and Columbus hops to give it earthy pine and citrus flavours with depth, while the Maltsmiths’ IPA has a more caramel base with hops giving notes of citrus, grapefruit, and tropical fruits and a little pine for freshness, Heineken said. The beers, which clock in at 4.6% ABV and are available in 330ml cans, bottles and on draught, were developed at the Caledonian Brewery in Edinburgh by Heineken’s brewers, Alex Brandon-Davies and Sarah Bartels. Brandon-Davies explained they had wanted to brew beers that “would appeal to the beer-curious” who for whatever reason, have “yet to experiment”. “We’re hoping that drinkers will love the fuller flavours and it will be their first step into experimenting with beers from the hundreds of other breweries in the UK,” he added. The Dutch brewing company entered the craft beef market in September 2015 when it acquired a 50% share in US beer brand, Lagunitas Brewing Company. At the time of the acquisition, Lagunitas was one of the top ten craft beer brands in the US. Send contributions for On Tap to webmaster@beernexus.com |
QUICK HITS |
FLASH NEWS - FLASH NEWS - FLASH NEWS |