The World of Brewing.....4/15/2011

• BUD: $61.54
• SAM: $90.86
• TAP: $47.86

Well, its that time again, time for the weekly dose of everything that is the brewing industry. This weeks first topic on the table is about the pain being felt by the CEO of Molson Coors. Molson's CEO Peter Swinburn recently saw his compensation package drop by 13 percent from 2010's falling beer sales. His total compensation was only valued at about $7.1 million which is down from about $8.1 million from the year before. Most of the decline was accounted for by shrinking stock awards, which fell 34 percent to $2.3 million. Swinburn wasn't the only one at Molson Coors who has been feeling this pain as the company has struggled with falling beer sales for some time now and increasing costs for ingredients. Certainly the makings for a lethal combination for all those employed with the company. Numbers-wise the company earned $707.7 million for the fiscal year which is down from $720.4 million the year before.

The next story this week comes to us courtesy of Molson Coors again, this article is from April 13th on Yahoo! Finance and states that "Molson Goes Light with Sublime". The article talks about how Molson Coors Brewing Company is now producing and marketing Molson Canadian 67 Sublime, which is a premium beer with citrus flavor but contains not more than 67 calories per 341ml bottle and has 3 percent alcohol by volume. This beer is now hitting the shelves at select retailers and establishments across Western Canada and Ontario and it will be available in the national markets starting around June 2011. This should certainly be a great addition to the innovative low-calorie beer category. Management at Molson Coors claims that the new brand is offering "health and wellness" along with innovative flavors to make it interesting and enjoyable for all crowds. This launch of the Molson Canadian 67 Sublime is part of a revamping program taken up by Molson Coors to hold back the decrease in volume in the premium and value categories. Sublime will be one of several new products created under the Molson label to cater to the shifting consumer tastes in Canada and also in the U.S. where drinkers are ordering more specialty beers or wine in recent years. The company is especially concerned with the Canadian market where they currently have a roughly 40 percent market share.

This weeks next article comes from a press release posted at Brewbound.com stating "Samuel Adams to Provide New Opportunities for NYC Small Businesses". According to the article, Samuel Adams, aka Boston Beer Company, announced that they will be expanding their philanthropy initiative, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, to New York City. Focused on the food, beverage and hospitality sectors, the program is geared at supporting lower income small businesses by providing accessible financing as well as business and financial literacy tools and assistance.This program was launched in 2008 in a partnership with ACCION USA, on of the country's top not-for-profit microlenders, and the initiative has already loaned about $540,000 to 60 businesses, largely in the New England area, with the goal of reaching $1,000,000 by the end of 2011. Food, beverage, and hospitality small business owners can apply for loans ranging from $500 to $25,000 to be used for a variety of business purposes including expansion, equipment, and marketing, with all loan payments recycled back into the fund. Their primary goal here is to help fill the current small business lending void in the city's neighborhoods and be responsive to the business and financial management education needs of these business owners through one-on-one coaching. Personally, I think this is a very respectful and helpful initiative the company has taken to help combat the nation's current financial crisis many of these small business owners are feeling, and certainly it will give Boston Beer some always helpful positive PR.

This weeks last topic for discussion comes from an article posted just a few minutes ago on Yahoo! Finance from PR Newswire titled "Concha Y Toro and Brown Forman Complete the Sale of Fetzer Vineyards". Apparently, Vina Concha Y Toro announced today the final acquisition of Fetzer Vineyards and related assets that Brown-Forman Corporation owner in California. This process was completed successfully, which means the transfer of ownership is fully assumed by Concha Y Toro. This acquisition contemplates a portfolio of brands with an attractive positioning in the American market. The brands acquired represent a volume of 3.1 million cases and sales of $156 million in 2010. This acquisition also includes the almost 1,100 acres of owned and leased vineyards in Mendocino County, California, warehouses and production capacity for 36 million liters in Hopland, California, and 6 million liters in Paso Robles, California, and a bottling plant. The principle installations are the the Hopland, California where they employ about 260 people. The CEO of Concha Y Toro was quoted saying, "For Concha Y Toro, the future development of the brands at Fetzer Vineyards is an important challenge, something to which Concha Y Toro commits all its effort and energy to continue with the history of quality which it has already deservedly earned. I am sure that the joint work teams of Concha Y Toro and Fetzer Vineyards will be capable of continuing toward a new stage of development and the integration of this operation will enable us to incorporate the culture of excellence and commitment of Fetzer's team , also continuing to strengthen links with its surroundings and community in this beautiful zone of Mendocino." Well, in my opinion it sounds like a financially smart investment on the part of those at Concha Y Toro and it seems they have a great deal of plans in place to minimize the chance for failure here.

Well that's it for this week so until next week.........."Stay thirsty my friends!"