Olly Wehring's beverage industry blog - from just-drinks.comOlly Wehring's beverage industry blog - from just-drinks.comThe 'Aldi effect' - what will it mean for you- July 16, 2008 A 0.4% rise in sales at a UK pub chain wouldn't normally give much rise to discussion on the pages of just-drinks. However, news today that JD Wetherspoon has reported a small rise in sales in the 11 weeks to July 13 - taking the performance for the second half as a whole to flat - is significant on two fronts. Firstly, the result is well ahead of the 3.1% decline experienced in the second quarter. And, as a result its gives the struggling UK pub industry a welcome fillip. More interestingly,...http://www.just-drinks.com/blogdetail.aspx?ID=1413 InBev gets its man, I don't get my ride- July 14, 2008 So you want to know the biggest repercussion of Inbev's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch Could it be Grupo Modelo Cuba Oh no, I'll tell you what the most seismic of effects is. I've had to cancel my trip on the Stella Artois-sponsored airship around London this afternoon, so I can listen in on a conference call from the two brewers. Never mind, it's just a load of hot air, eh I'll get my coat.http://www.just-drinks.com/blogdetail.aspx?ID=1412 InBev & Anheuser-Busch - this one's going to run and... Eh Oh.- July 14, 2008 Well, that was quick, wasn't it Just as we were settling down to enjoy what we all were convinced would be a long summer of takeover to-ing and fro-ing, Anheuser-Busch this morning decided that the price was right, and climbed into bed with InBev. While I'm not one to gloat - honestly, mum - I did say that, despite all the nationalistic noises coming out of the US, InBev's move for A-B would come down to numbers, pure and simple. What makes InBev's victory - at US$70 per share - so...http://www.just-drinks.com/blogdetail.aspx?ID=1411 The whisky-taster ahead of his time - that's me- July 8, 2008 Among my friends, there is one drinks-related story that gets rolled out far too often than I would prefer. About a year ago, I (somewhat foolishly) thought it might be fun to introduce some friends to the joy of a whisky-tasting, hosted by my good self, based only on the handful of tastings I'd attended, and not on any training of note that I'd been given. I looked quite the Don, swirling and sniffing - my chums were all most impressed. Straight afterwards, one friend produced another whisky...http://www.just-drinks.com/blogdetail.aspx?ID=1410 |