ALCOHOL POLICY

Flavoured cask wine under fire New cask wine ‘infusions’, introduced recently by Banrock Station (Accolade Wines), have been slammed by public health expert Prof Daube as being directly pitched at young women and could encourage binge drinking. However, the maker claims that the 2L packs of premium rose and sauvignon blanc cask wines, infused with strawberry, lychee, peach and mangos flavours, are aimed at adult alcohol consumers and ‘refutes in the strongest terms that any of our products are targeted at children or teenagers.’ [From Adelaide Advertiser, May 29, 2012]

Insurance for drink drivers Submissions to a SA Government review recommend that people who drink-drive should not be covered by a reformed compulsory third party insurance scheme. Business SA has submitted that only minimal support should be provided to those injured whilst engaged in an illegal activity. The State Government has flagged moving to a no-fault CTP insurance scheme. [From Adelaide Advertiser, May 22, 2012]

New code of practice Australian Hotels Association (SA Branch) has announced that a new mandatory code of practice, to be in place in months, will include restrictions on gender-based promotions of free and cheap liquor and promotions involving rapid and excessive consumption of alcohol. The action is in response to the growing problem of drunkenness among children and young teens in Adelaide’s CBD and elsewhere. [From Adelaide Sunday Mail, Jun 3, 2012]

Reduced consumption helps housework Research from Deakin University (Vic) suggests that slashing alcohol intake by five drinks a week could save the nation 54,000 days in lost housework per year. Alcohol-related illnesses – from hangovers to broken limbs and burns – were affecting working and domestic lives, a hidden cost that has not been quantified before. The current average consumption is 9.8L alcohol per year, or two standard drinks per day – the research estimates that a reduction of 3.4L per year would save $21m in domestic duties such as childcare, cooking, shopping and cleaning. [From Adelaide Advertiser, May 22, 2012]

Wrong guidelines? A new study, conducted by Oxford University, suggests that three small glasses of wine or two pints of beer per week should be the limit for drinkers; (currently, the accepted recommendation in Australia is one standard drink per day for women and two for men, with at least two alcohol-free days per week.) Researchers at Oxford concluded that ‘when the risks of all chronic diseases are balanced against each other, the optimum consumption level is much lower than many people believe’. [From Adelaide Advertiser, Jun 1, 2012]

BEER & BREWING: Australia – general

New TV show Aussies will soon be treated to a TV show all about beer inventions. Called The Beer Factor and presented by Hahn, it appears to be based on the concept of the New Inventors – the recently axed ABC TV show. The details are scarce but a call has been issued for participants who have created a ‘beer invention’. Not to brew beer, but to make the experience of drinking beer better and/or more entertaining. {From The Shout, May 24, 2012]

Beer Academy launches in Sydney The UK’s premier beer education body, Beer Academy, an arm of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, launched its courses in Australia in Sydney on May 21 at the Lord Nelson Hotel. Founded to help drinkers develop a sophisticated understanding of the diversity of beer, Beer Academy has taught more than 10,000 people in the UK, as well as being a key part of beer festivals and food shows. The Academy has appointed local beer experts Brewtique to manage its courses in Australia. The courses range in depth, starting with a 90-minute tasting session that develops a basic understanding of different beer styles and how to taste them to continue through courses including Making Beer and Food Dance, How To Judge Beer, and multi-day courses like Advanced Beer Tasting. The Academy also offers the ultimate beer qualification: Beer Sommelier, which can only be achieved through extensive training, hands-on trade experience, and intensive one-on-one practical exams. Brewtique MD Mike Spencer said that with microbreweries and major brewers creating beer styles that haven’t been seen in Australia before, there is a thirst for knowledge about beer. Courses are planned for venues other that Sydney. [From The Shout, May 25, 2012]

BEER & BREWING: Australia – mainstream breweries

Coopers I was honoured to be guest at one of Coopers 150th birthday celebrations in Adelaide in late May and can confirm that the new beer – Thomas Cooper Selection Celebration Ale – is a winner. Its robust IPA style is enhanced by the use of Aus, NZ & US hops to give 35IBU and excellent hop aroma.

Coopers has revamped its packaging to tie in with the anniversary. The new packaging is currently being rolled out across Australia, with the hope that it will give the products greater visual impact in the marketplace. Chairman Glen Cooper said the aim of the new packaging was to colour coordinate cartons, six-packs and ale labels. So, Coopers Original Pale Ale – know by many as Coopers Green – will now be packaged in bright green cartons, rather than the previously silver dominated boxes. Sparkling Ale –Coopers Red – will be in red, Mild Ale in ochre, Extra Stout in yellow and Dark Ale in brown cartons. These new and brighter colours will extend to the six-packs. ‘While the packaging was new, customers can be assured that the beers remain unaltered,’ he said. [From Beer & Brewer, May 31, 2012]

CUB/Foster’s SABMiller reports the integration of Foster’s business as progressing well, despite the loss of licensing and import contracts. Releasing its annual results for the year ended March 31, SABMiller confirmed it had lost a combined annual volume base of about 915,000 hL since taking over Foster’s but said the loss of the international brands including Corona, Stella Artois & Asahi was a known risk at the time of the acquisition. EBITA for the Asia Pacific grew by 247%, mainly due to the addition of Foster’s. CUB full-year lager volumes in Australia were 4% below that of the prior year, largely due to subdued consumer sentiment. EBITA also declined on a pro forma basis as a result of the lower volumes and increased commercial investment. ‘But CUB continued to grow its presence in the mainstream beer segment with robust growth of Carlton Dry and the successful launch of the Great Northern Brewing Co brand. The traditional regular mainstream segment, which includes Victoria Bitter, declined at a higher rate than the market, however Carlton Draught managed to consolidate share.’ the company said. ‘Premium volumes performed more strongly, with encouraging results from expansion of the premium portfolio, including Crown Lager. Volume improvements in the rapidly expanding craft segment were driven by Matilda Bay’s Fat Yak Pale Ale.’ Products of Pacific Beverages, now integrated into CUB, also delivered strong growth. However, analysts are not optimistic about the possibility of SAB Miller achieving a quick revival of Foster’s as they consider that the world’s No. 2 brewer has a tough battle, with market share and beer volumes shrinking. [From Adelaide Advertiser & The Shout, May 25 & E-Malt.comFlash Jun 1, 2012]

Lion XXXX Gold is now Australia’s best-selling beer, overtaking Victoria Bitter after more than two decades of domination by the latter. The news comes just two months after Lion CEO Rob Murray predicted XXXX Gold would be number one within a year. In April 2011 VB held 13.7% volume share with XXXX Gold at 11.7% Now, just a year on, in April 2012, VB has dropped to 12.3 per cent, while XXXX Gold has the lead with 12.4% over VB’s 12.3% First brewed in Queensland in 1991, XXXX Gold pioneered the mid-strength beer market, quickly becoming that state’s number one beer brand. Lion attributes the brand’s success to Aussie drinkers’ demands for a full-flavoured beer better suited to the Australian climate and to the challenges of modern life than traditional full-strength beers. According to Nielsen data, XXXX Gold outsold VB nationally for each of the last three months (February, March and April 2012), as well as for the 12 months ending 30 April 2012. VB’s popularity has also not been helped by a recent reduction in its alcohol content, which turned off some traditional drinkers. A shift in its marketing campaigns has also failed to win back drinkers. [From The Shout, May 30 & E-Malt.comFlash, May 30, 2012]

BEER & BREWING: Australia – craft & smaller breweries

National: The Craft Brewers Industry Association (CBIA), with its newly elected board of representatives ranging from tiny pub breweries to large, foreign-owned players, has set aggressive growth targets for the category over the next five years. Currently, craft beer currently has a 2% share of the Australian beer market, and the association has set itself a goal of increasing this to 5% over the next five years. The sector is already growing at nearly 30% year on year and CBIA says it can continue to grow at that rate, providing there is demand … a demand that has to be led by an industry body. [From The Shout, May 22, 2012]

Educating consumers to drink less, but drink better beer, is an important platform of the CBIA, James Squire brewmaster Chuck Hahn said. Hahn, one CBIA’s new board members in the category of national craft brewery, said that he believes health authorities are supportive of growing craft beer ‘because it does preach moderation. We make some good quality national beers, they’re refreshing and they’re enjoyable,’ he said. ‘But people are drinking less of them now because they are drinking more of our real flavoursome beers. We’re trying to get people to really taste these craft beers, rather than drink volumes of them.’ Although now working for brewing giant Lion, Hahn said he could relate exactly to the concerns and priorities of the CBIA’s microbrewery members, having started out as a small player himself.‘ When I started the Hahn brewery back in 1988 I actually formed the first Small Brewers Association along with Willie Simpson and Blair Hayden,” he said. That association had lobbied without success to win tax breaks for microbreweries, so the recent announcement of excise reforms was fantastic news for the industry. [From The Shout, May 28, 2012]

USA brewers target Australian market USA now has more than 2,000 craft breweries that are successfully challenging the perception that American beer is confined to mass-produced lager. About 15 of them are now exporting in some degree to Australia, which they consider to be ‘a pretty mature and pretty well-educated market for beer compared to some of the other countries they are active in.’ The US Brewers Association reports that 65 of its members are part of its export program and it sees its efforts going hand-in-hand with the emergence of a craft brewing scene in Australia. [From The Shout, May 25, 2012]

Vic: 3 Ravens Brewing Co of Thornbury has put its brewing equipment up for auction, following a decision arising from unfortunate differences between the three owners. Complicating matters, the brewer’s shareholders are also part-owners in the freehold of the Thornbury office/warehouse that houses the brewery; the property is currently for sale separately with a $1.25 million asking price. 3 Ravens is seeking about $160,000 for the whole plant; it is understood the brewer would also be open to offers to buy the 3 Ravens brand, brewing equipment and freehold as a going concern. [From The Shout, May 23, 2012]

BEER & BREWING: International

Olympic prices The London Games organizing committee has announced that Heineken 330mL bottles will be sold for $6.70 (equivalent to over $11 per imperial pint), alarming Brits who generally pay much less for beer… shouldn’t alarm visiting Aussies too much though, who are pay similar prices for Heineken at home. [From Adelaide Advertiser, Jun 1 & Crafty Pint Jun 1, 2012]

BEVERAGES: General

Coca-Cola Amatil The new head of CCA’s Australian Beverages business from July 1 will be John Murphy, currently MD of Licensed/Alcohol for CCA. Murphy has been MD, Licensed/Alcohol since July 2010, before which he was CEO of Visy Australasia and previously spent 27 years with Foster’s, with his last role as MD for Foster’s Australia through until August 2006. [From The Shout, May 30, 2012]

Coles Liquor In its program of Repositioning for growth, Coles Liquor says that with ‘transformation behind, there is more to do, team restructured to accelerate change’. It will ‘address structural challenges and improve the customer experience’. Included are plans to revamp IT systems, refocus portfolios, co-locate more stores with supermarkets and present a more efficient supply chain and stronger private label range. [From Wesfarmers Strategy briefing, May 30, 2012]

CIDER, JUICES, RTDs & SOFT DRINKS

Trendy fruity blends The trend towards the so-called ‘fruit ciders’ continues, following the launch of Bulmer’s Blackcurrant last year (now available also in 330mL) and the more recent advent of Magner’s range (Natural Ginger, Orange & Honey, Berries & Peach). Whilst cider is often considered a summer drink, there are signs of a winter demand being met … Westons introduced a mulled cider last year and may do so again and Rekorderlig have a Winter Cider, apparently more popular here than in UK. [From National Liquor News, May 2012]

Traditional names aside, what do you call cider and perry that has been infused with other fruits such as strawberries and raspberries? Victorian maker Rebello Wines now has its Cheeky Rascal range of fruit ciders. Produced by traditional Italian agriculture and wine-making methods, Rebello is crafting new products outside of the established styles. Unlike many new ciders hitting the shelves, Cheeky Rascal products are made from 100% fresh fruit and this is evident by the higher alcohol levels, starting at 8% abv. The range includes Apple Cider, Pear Cider, Strawberry & Apple, Raspberry & Apple, Strawberry & Pear, Raspberry & Pear and Summerberry (a combination of Strawberry, Raspberry, Pear & Apple). [From Australian Brews News, May 30, 2012]

WINE & SPIRITS

Accolade acquisition SA-based Accolade Wines has bought Californian brands Geyser Peak, Atlas Peak and XYZin (a specialist zinfandel producer), plus stock from Ascentia Wine Estates. Accolade – the biggest Aussie wine maker by volume – is the world’s fifth largest producer. [From Adelaide Advertiser, Jun 4, 2012]

Assessment of wine colour Details of the best way to assess wine colour are suggested in a recent publication. The use of a standard ISO tasting glass, viewing the wine against a white background and tilting the glass, so that the wine forms a horse-shoe shape, to allow better assessment of intensity of colour and hue are recommended, as is development of suitable vocabulary to describe colour. Websites can give guides for wine terminology. Recent work in NZ indicates that wine colour has an effect on the perception of aroma by consumers …’if colour acts as an initial stimulus, then perhaps it’s not surprising that marketers are constantly pressuring winemakers to ensure the colour is ‘right’ !’ [From Chemistry in Australia, Jun 2012]

Australian Vintage (AVL) top winner AVL won seven gold medals across its brands McGuigan, Nepenthe & Yaldara, the highest number by an Australian wine producer, at the International Wine Festival. Australia was awarded 69 gold medals in total – Wolf Blass gained six and Hardy’s and Yalumba brands five each, while two went to Penfolds. [From Adelaide Advertiser, May 23, 2012]

Wine research bodies to merge? Consideration is currently being given to a merger of the Grape & Wine Research & Development Corporation (GWRDC) and Wine Australia Corporation (WAC). Collectively, the two bodies invest about $27 million annually in research, development and extension services – GWRDC contributing $22m and WAC $5m. A formal case for the merger will be made to the Federal Government by July 31. [From SA Business Journal, May 29, 2012]

Boar’s Rock rocky SA-based winemaker Boar’s Rock has put its three wineries on the market, together with long–term contracts; the wineries, at McLaren Vale and Waikerie SA and Margaret River WA, have a combined crush capacity of 60,000t. The company has been ‘tracking in the red’ since 2008 and a sale of assets has been likely for the past 12 months. [From Adelaide Advertiser, Jun 5, 2012]

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FROM PAST DIGESTS … 5 YEARS AGO

Foster’s brewery site sold Foster’s Group has sold its former Kent Brewery site in Sydney to Frasers Property for $208million. On the edge of the CBD, the 5.8ha site has approval for housing, retail, entertainment and dining use. Tooth & Co started a brewery on the site in 1835 and from the 1980s Carlton & United Breweries operated the brewery until its closure in 2005. [From Adelaide Advertiser June 13, 2007]

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May was History Month in SA … so, a chance to air a bit of Aussie brewing history.

Nathan Brewing Systems in Australia

The Nathan System (NS) of brewing was the brainchild of Dr Leopold Nathan, a Swiss engineer, who registered a number of patents from 1894 to 1930s; those relevant to his unique brewing vessels, fabricated from aluminium, were granted in 1908 and 1927. However, the NS was more than just special vessels (in which both fermentation and maturation or conditioning of the beer took place), as it also included specialized equipment which introduced new concepts for yeast handling and for the collection, purification and re-use of CO2.

In the late 1920s, four Australian breweries installed NS brewing plants: Bulimba (Brisbane), Cascade (Hobart), Richmond (Melbourne) and Walkerville (Adelaide). One of these included ‘NS’ in its corporate name viz. Richmond NS Brewing Co Pty Ltd.

There are few references to the system in the general brewing literature of the time but more recently Hornsey 1 made the following comment:

‘Closed fermenters were used before WWI … the earliest patent for an enclosed vessel was by L Nathan in 1908; he followed this with modified patented designs in 1927. The original vertical, cylindrical vessels were constructed of aluminium and had conical bottoms i.e. they were the first cylindroconical vessels.’

A feature of the system was that each vessel could be used for both fermentation and maturation, the settled lager (bottom) yeast being removed from the bottom of the cone of the vessel before maturation commenced. Maturation (or conditioning) was hastened by ‘washing’ the newly-fermented or ‘green’ beer with pure CO2, collected from the fermentation stage and purified. A pre-requisite for NS brewing was a brewhouse capable of producing suitable lager wort, preferably by means of the classical decoction method.

Advantages claimed for Nathan tanks (as they were generally known) included the

elimination of airborne infection and reductions in fermentation time and beer losses. Automatic cleaning of the vessels, which could be used for maturation/conditioning as well as fermentation, was possible and their height to width ratio gave more effective use of floor space. While the tanks became relatively popular in continental Europe and some other countries, they did not find favour in the UK, where only one brewery (in Manchester) installed two vessels in the 1930s. 2

Some notes on use of Nathan Systems in Australia:

Bulimba (Queensland Brewery Co Ltd) I know little of the use of the system at this location but it is likely that it was not employed when Carlton & United Breweries Ltd (CUB) took over the brewery in 1961.

Cascade Brewery Co Ltd: Soon after installation, at least some of the vessels were modified for successful use with a top (ale) yeast. NS was generally in routine use for part of the production until the brewery was significantly damaged by bushfire in 1967.

Richmond NS Brewing Co Pty Ltd: Proprietor Grant Hay had prolonged contact with the Nathan Institute 3 when planning the new brewery and it is recorded that Mr H W Haenggi from the Institute in Zurich came out to Melbourne to install the plant in August 1927 and stayed as brewery manager until December 1930. 4 The vessels were used routinely as designed until the brewery closed in 1962, after it was taken-over by CUB.

Walkerville Cooperative Brewing Co Ltd The original NS plant, designed to produce 815hogsheads = 2,000hL per month, consisted of four aluminium vessels (for combined fermentation and maturation) plus ancillary equipment for yeast and CO2 handling and extra refrigeration. The first NS plant installed in Australia, it produced its initial lager in November 1927 … comments at the time included ‘many of long experience said the beverage was the nearest approach to German lager they had tasted. The beer is a beautiful colour and wonderfully bright. It has a nice nose and is most palatable.’ However, the new system required expensive modification of the existing brew house to facilitate the production of decoction wort suitable for lager brewing. Ralph Weidlich, a NS brewing expert, came from Europe to SA to commission the plant and remained under contract at Walkerville until difficult trade conditions necessitated his resignation in late 1929. 5

[Alfred Ballenger resigned as head brewer at Walkerville early in 1928 to become head brewer of the Emu brewery in Perth, when it was taken over by Swan Brewery Co Ltd and Weidlich was also later employed by Swan. He was still working part-time there when I met him in 1958 .… possibly Ballenger had enticed Weidlich to follow him west?]

Additional NS vessels, commissioned in 1929, were used for a period for brewing top-yeast, cold filtered ales (Nathan Bitter and WB Bitter). In 1938 the brewery was taken over by SA Brewing Co Ltd to become its Nathan Brewery Branch and only bottom yeast was then employed. After World War II, four more vessels were added to complete the 18-vessel installation originally planned. When I joined SABCo in 1946, the NS was in use for a significant proportion of the site’s output but NS beer was normally used only for bulk (draught), as its physical stability was inferior to beer produced in the brewery’s conventional and separate fermentation and maturation vessels. The NS vessels continued to be used for combined fermentation/maturation purposes at what was later known as Southwark brewery until the late 1950s, when they were removed in the course of a major redevelopment of the brewery.

In 1953, at the inaugural convention of the Australian Section of the Institute of Brewing (now Institute of Brewing & Distilling) in Adelaide, brewers from all four NS plants listed above (notably Axel Steenberg from Bulimba, Bill St Hill from Cascade, Jack Matthews from Richmond and Andrew Crooke from SABCo) were able to informally compare their NS experiences and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the system. Unfortunately, their discussions were not recorded but the printed proceedings of the convention include one snippet: at Cascade a novel method of yeast washing, using caustic soda rather than an acid, had been introduced in the NS; Bill St Hill said that the procedure was approved by the Nathan Institute.6

In summary in Australia, in spite of any perceived shortcomings, the four Nathan systems in particular helped the respective breweries meet the country’s demand for beer in the trying times of World War II and the decade thereafter. The systems had the advantage of enabling quicker brewing times when the demand for beer exceeded supply and there were also some indications that the NS was better equipped to cope with significant variations in wort composition, brought about by the use of a wide range of carbohydrate sources and thus malt:sugar ratios, necessitated by recurrent shortages of brewing raw materials.

It is generally recognized that the design of the early NS vessels was the basis for that of the now ubiquitous cylindro-conical multi-purpose tanks, sometimes called ‘combi-tanks’, featured in many breweries, large and small, throughout the world.

John Harvey

References:

1. Brewing; Ian S Hornsey, The Royal Society of Chemistry, London, 1999

2. Brewers and Distillers by Profession. A history of the Institute of Brewing & Distilling, Raymond G Anderson, IBD, London, 2012

3. The Breweries of Australia – A History; Keith M Deutscher, Lothian Books, Melbourne, 1999

4. Richmond N.S Brewing Co. Pty Ltd., 654 Church Street, East Richmond VIC

[source: Richmond and Burnley Historical Society]

5. Beer Barons or Bankrupts? Early Brewers in South Australia; Alison Painter, in the press.

6. Proceedings of Inaugural Convention, The Institute of Brewing (Australian Section), Adelaide, 1953

October 2011: revised May 2012.