Greetings,
After a quick search of the news, it seems that there is a great deal of battle about beer these days. The first news item tells of the happy folks of South Sudan… who fought a war to be able to drink beer.
South Sudan brewery shows distance from Khartoum
Mon Mar 23, 2009 11:41pm EDT
By Skye Wheeler
“JUBA, Sudan (Reuters) - The south Sudanese like to joke that alcohol has a special meaning for them: they fought a bloody two-decade long war so they could enjoy a cold beer at the end of a long, hot day.”
“This year — the fourth since a peace deal between the mostly Christian south and the north, where alcohol is forbidden under Shariah law — southerners will get their own beer from the region’s first factory, being built by brewer SABMiller.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE52N0JI20090324
Beer war in Texas…
Here in the United States a brewery in Texas is taking on the holy “three-tier” system of beverage alcohol distribution instituted after “Prohibition” in the United States. The system was supposed to insure that booze and beer businesses would not be able to run “tied houses” where only one brand would be sold. The resulting middle-men would be the only way for producers to get product to market. What this did was create an interesting social/economic class. The Beer Distributor (organized into the National Beer Wholesalers Association - NBWA) is clannish group of multi-millionaires who lean to the right with a social conscious that tilts to the left. It could be said that they form the most powerful commercial lobby in most state governments, and the national legislature.
The following two items tell the tale from the Texan point of view…
Beer drinkers could purchase direct from local breweries under compromise plan
By Matt Pulle | Tuesday, March 24th, 2009
“On a chilly Saturday in South Fort Worth, a large, boisterous crowd gathers to drink cold beer inside an old warehouse.”
“They’re at a Rahr Brewery tasting, which includes a tour of their operations, a live set from a blues and country band, and, best of all, three pints of the brewer’s finest and a glass for $5. The attendees here, who gushingly speak of the microbrewery like fans of an iconic rock star, sit on picnic benches or spill out onto the concrete floor, drowning barbecued sandwiches with a good Texas beer.”
http://www.texaswatchdog.org/2009/03/a-distributors-theory-of-warfare/
Heads up: Microbreweries want Legislature to clear the way for sales on site
Wednesday, Mar 25, 2009
Posted on Mon, Mar. 23, 2009
By BARRY SHLACHTER
barry@star-telegram.com
“Texas law allows boutique wineries to sell their vintages directly to visitors, but folks who stop by a microbrewery can’t go home with a six-pack, says Tony Formby, managing partner of Fort Worth-based Rahr & Sons Brewing Co.”
“Now, Rahr and the states’ seven other small breweries, including St. Arnold’s of Houston and Real Ale of Blanco, are trying to get the law changed in the current session of the Legislature, saying such a six-pack might inspire follow-up sales at supermarkets and liquor stores.”
And the never-ending battle for “Budweiser”…
US brewer loses latest battle over Budweiser name
Times Online
March 25, 2009
“The American brewery giant behind Budweiser beer today lost the latest round in a 100-year old dispute with a tiny Czech rival over the trademark rights to the legendary name.”
“EU judges said the commercial right to use the term “Budweiser” as a Europe-wide trademark already belongs to the small, state-owned Czech brewery Budejovicky Budvar.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article5974289.ece
And that’s the way it is… Wednesday 25 March 2009.
