The IRI Beer, Wine and Spirits Practice, an independent company which provides manufacturers, distributors and retailers with market information, announced its “Top 30 Beer Brand Performers in 2007″ and “Top 15 New Beer Brands in 2007.” The lists provide a look at the industry’s 30 fastest growing beer brands as well as emerging new brand entries.
For the Top 30 Beer Brand Performers ranking, IRI analyzed volume growth, share of segment trends, everyday base pricing, and incremental sales growth in 2007 versus 2006 to determine the brands with the strongest performance in the beer industry. (Or, if you’ve had a couple already today, that’d be a ranking of the brews which saw the biggest growth in 2007, not necessarily the brands that sold the most overall.)
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This (craft) beer’s for you as the nation’s largest brewer continues to expanded into the growing craft beer category with Blue Dawg Brewing’s Bold Blueberry Lager – Wild Blue.
I’m a big fan of blueberry wine, so I’m pretty curious about this one. I’m sure it’s not going to be for everyone and there’s no way I’m showing up at my fantasy baseball drafts with a case of blueberry beer. But this could be something good for a quiet evening on the deck once things warm up.
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AdWeek is reporting that Bud.TV’s future might be in limbo:
The future of Anheuser-Busch’s Bud.TV, which the brewer introduced with much fanfare early last year, remains in limbo, according to the company’s top media executive. Speaking at the Association of National Advertisers TV conference in New York yesterday, Tony Ponturo, president and CEO of the Busch Media Group, was less than enthusiastic about the service’s prospects. He described the online content offering as, “Not totally dead yet,” and insisted that the company wouldn’t kill the service altogether because, if nothing else, it provides, “a valuable link to the creative community.” And it’s creatives, after all, who produce ads.
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Anheuser-Busch will introducing a new unfiltered, 5.3 percent alcohol wheat beer to its line of spring seasonal beer: Sun Dog Amber.
“Wheat beers are one of my favorite styles to brew because of their versatility. From Bavarian to Belgian to American, each style has its own color, aroma and taste,” said Florian Kuplent, brewmaster, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. “Our take on the American amber wheat ale is a luminous deep amber color with a slight caramel sweetness and refreshing citrus note.”
Sun Dog’s ingredients include caramel malt, which gives it an amber hue and subtle sweetness, and a blend of wheat and pale barley malts. The Cascade and Willamette hops, from the Pacific Northwest, and imported Hallertau hops, from southern Germany, provide the beer’s hop aroma and citrus flavor.
The parrothead tailgating season is right around the corner, so the timing’s right for a national rollout of Anheuser-Busch / Jimmy Buffett’s Landshark Lager.
“Fin’s Up! The refreshing, drinkable island lager is now available not only in coastal resorts and Margaritaville Restaurants, but also at a local watering hole near you. Leveraging the true meaning of Margaritaville, Land Shark Lager instantly transforms you to an island lifestyle where good friends, good times, good food and great beer are a way of life. Put yourself in an island state of mind and visit www.landsharklager.com to find a retailer near you!”
Now, I love Buffett and forked over my $7.50 for a bottle at last year’s show at the Tweeter Center in Camden, but I was underwhelmed. If I’m looking for lime-infused beer, I’m still going to pony up for Corona and a freshly cut lime. But, if you’re looking for a quick fix and don’t feel like slicing and dicing up a few limes, this isn’t a bad second-tier option.
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