BEER NEWS - November 2007

Tesco Awards - new beers

Tesco has announced the winners of its 2008 Drinks Awards, with all of the category winners guaranteed listings in Tesco stores. The following beers have won national listings with Tesco and should begin to appear in stores soon: Bitter & Ales: Spring Zing Lemongrass Beer; Fruit Beer: Kriek Max; Lager: Bernard Dark Pivovar; Porters & Stouts: Black Well, Williams Bros Brewing Co; Wheat Beer: Svyturys Wheat, Lithuanian Beer; Cider: Goldfinch, RJ Sheppy & Son; Lower and No Alcohol: Harvester Ale, Hall & Woodhouse

Ale and Arty? London brewer Fuller Smith & Turner P.L.C. has linked up with Tate Britain to offer a great two for one deal on tickets for the gallery�s Millais show. Millais was one of the founding members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and this stunning exhibition is the first time since 1898 that the entirety of his career has been shown in one place. Around 35 Fuller�s pubs will be offering the ticket deal, in return for the purchase of two pints or bottles of Organic Honey Dew - "a refreshing, chilled, organic beer with sweet notes from the honey and a zesty taste." The tickets will get two visitors into the exhibition for just £11, where they can view works including Ophelia, Mariana and Bubbles. The Millais exhibition opened on September 26 and runs until January 13, 2008. It has already received critical acclaim in the national media.

Perfect Pint of Guiness

Guinness has a unique place in brewing history. It's a beer with a long and colourful past that maintains a passionate following among beer lovers around the world. Indeed, two billion pints are poured around the world each year. Guinness is also a remarkable family of brewers and entrepreneurs whose story is an integral part of Irish history. In this new book, published in November 2007 by Wiley at £13.99 (though available from Amazon UK for £7.99) San Francisco-based beer writer Bill Yenne traces the 250-year history of the family and the brewery. He follows the family from Arthur Guinness, the entrepreneur patriarch, who became a brewer at age 30 and four years later leased a Dublin brewery for 9,000 years to his son and namesake, who penned the recipe for the legendary black stout. And then there was the third generation Benjamin Lee Guinness, who became the richest man in Ireland selling stout, and who built the family business into the largest brewery in the world. Yenne carries the story through the centuries, up to the present.

What's on telly?

Moorhouse's of Burnley will become the smallest British brewer ever to launch a TV advertising campaign with a major pre-Christmas promotion in the north of England. The brewer's award-winning cask beers -- including Pendle Witches Brew -- will feature in advertisements on Granada and Yorkshire Television. The promotion coincides with a report that the company will break all records this year. Its annual figures record a 16% growth over the previous 12 months, with sales up 30% during the pre-Hallowe'en and pre-Christmas periods. The increase has been boosted as a result of a deal with the national pub group JD Wetherspoon. The TV campaign will be seen by 3.9 million people from 7 December. Managing director David Grant said: "We are one of the biggest dedicated cask ale brewers in the north-west and advertising on TV is a

Innis & Gunn sent packing

Innis & Gunn continue to innovate in the beer sector, with news of a new rum-finished beer available in Sainsbury's. meanwhile, a 12-bottle gift pack, comprising four bottles each of Innis & Gunn Original Oak Aged Beer, Innis & Gunn Cask Strength and Innis & Gunn Blonde is now available at Majestic Wines priced £15.00. Comments Dougal Sharp, Innis & Gunn MD, "This is our

Waitrose gets the beer in

Beer lovers will be able to discover some real national treasures as Waitrose extends its range of local and regional beers. Although all 185 branches currently stock some local beers, an additional 50 local beers have been added over the autumn. With sales of local and regional