US BREWERIES HIT MEGA NUMBERS
IF IT SEEMS that there’s a brewery on every corner these days it’s probably because there pretty much is. Data from the US TTB on the number of permitted breweries hit another all-time high for 2O16 with 719O total permits as of December 31, 2O16. The count means the TTB... Read More
WALMART BEER
WHEN IS CRAFT BEER not craft beer? When it’s produced by Walmart. With cool packaging and names like After Party Pale Ale and Cat’s Away IPA, Trouble Brewing may have the look and sound of a craft line, but the beer is a Walmart product created after the mega store... Read More
GRUPPO CAMPARI ACQUIRES BULLDOG GIN
GRUPPO CAMPARI has signed an agreement in which it will acquire most of the assets of Bulldog London Dry Gin, an independently owned brand, for $55 million plus the assumed liabilities and working capital for approximately $3.4 million. The deal leaves cash-on-hand and other assets on the balance sheet, resulting... Read More
GIN WILL LIVE ON
GIN LOVERS can breathe a sigh of relief: juniper, the spirit’s main ingredient, is to be added to the UK’s national seed bank thus preserving it for posterity. Horticultural experts from the UK National Tree Seed Project have collected and preserved seeds of juniper plants gathered from different parts of... Read More
TEQUILA TO GET CERTIFICATION MARK IN US
TEQUILA JUST GOT legitimate. Mexico’s Consejo Regulador del Tequila (DRT), or the Tequila Regulatory Council, has won the right to register “Tequila” as a certification mark in the US following a legal battle with drinks group Luxco. The Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (TTAB) found that “Tequila” does not refer... Read More
OBITUARY – PARKER BEAM, 75
Heaven Hill Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam passed away on January 8. He had been battling Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS, since 2O13. Beam began working at Heaven Hill in 196O, where he was trained by his father, Earl, the distillery’s previous Master Distiller. He earned the title himself in... Read More
THE SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AMERICAN HISTORY
THERESA McCULLA has been appointed as historian to oversee the museum’s American Brewing History Initiative. The three-year brewing initiative is part of the Smithsonian Food History program and was created in 2O16 to collect, document and preserve the history of brewing, craft brewers and the beer industry and explore how... Read More
THE BREWERS ASSOCIATION
NEIL WITTE has been appointed to the role of quality ambassador. In his new job he will work to promote the vision of the BA Quality subcommittee to, “develop a membership that consistently produces beer of high quality”. He began his career in the Kansas City brewpub industry, moving to... Read More
CONSTELLATION BRANDS
BILL NEWLANDS has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, a new position within the company. He joined Constellation in 2O15 as Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer and currently serves as president of the Wine & Spirits Division. In his new role, Newlands will oversee the Beer... Read More
ROYAL BUBBLY
IN CASE YOU’VE BEEN living under a rock . . . British bubbly is a big deal. It’s so big that even the Queen of England has latched onto the craze by producing 3OOO bottles of sparkling wine from vines grown on her estate. Don’t get out your credit card... Read More