Once in a Blue Moon
Blue Moon, a Molson Coors ale, will be launch in Canada next month as Belgian Moon.
The next ‘blue moon’ will occur on July 31: a lunar event which is significant because it will be the second full moon to occur in the same month. The last blue moon was in 2012 and the next will be in 2018 (the colour of the moon does not change during this event).
Belgian Moon will be launched on draught at select restaurants and bars in Canada two weeks later, on August 15. It will reach stores on January 15 next year.
Belgian Moon is a 5.4% ABV Belgian-style wheat ale with Valencia orange peel, coriander and oats for ‘a subtle sweetness and creamy, inviting finish.’ It is the top selling wheat beer in the US, according to Euromonitor data.
Recall of ‘potentially intoxicating’ tea
Roots in Nature is recalling all 500ml bottles of Buchi Kombucha as the refrigerated fermented tea ‘due to it containing alcohol at levels that may be potentially intoxicating.’
The recall affects products sold in the Australian states of New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
The recalled batches are Buchi Mama (original) Kombucha, Buchi Ginger & Tumeric Kombucha, Buchi Hibiscus, Galangal & Lime Kombucha, and Buchi Deep Greens Kombucha.
Heineken and Diageo each go at it alone
Heineken and Diageo are dissolving their joint ventures in South Africa and Namibia, it was announced on Tuesday.
The companies have partnered for 11 years. Each company will now follow their own strategies in the countries instead.
Dutch brewer Heineken will focus on beer with Namibia Breweries Ltd, and Diageo on spirits and RTD beverages.
Jean-François van Boxmeer, CEO, Heineken, said the changes would allow Heineken to focus fully on the beer sector.
Ivan Menezes, CEO, Diageo, said his company has established market leadership in spirits and now has the necessary scale for growth.
Ball to shut down Bristol plant
Ball Corporation will end production at its US beverage can end-making plant in Bristol, Virginia.
The plant will close during the second quarter of 2016, with 230 employees affected.
The Bristol plant is one of Ball’s oldest North American beverage packaging plants, having opened in 1971.
Daniel W. Fisher, president, North American metal beverage packaging, said the plant’s closure will better align Ball’s manufacturing footprint according to the needs from its clients, and help the company manage its overall cost structure.
Bacardi promotion
Fabio Di Giammarco has been appointed as global vice president for Bacardi rum, effective immediately.
Based at Bacardi’s global headquarters in Hamilton, Bermuda, Di Giammarco’s role will include responsibility for rum brand marketing across the globe.
Di Giammarco has previously held positions with SAB Miller (working on its marketing strategy for beer and soft drinks in Latin America) and Danone. He joined Bacardi in 2012 as managing director of Brazil, and most recently held the position of vice president, marketing and commercial, Bacardi Latin America & Caribbean.
An Italian citizen, Di Giammarco is fluent in English, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese.
No coffee queues
Google wants to solve the problem of encountering queues at coffee shops with its technology.
When doing a Google search for a particular coffee shop online, the search engine will be able to show peak times at the location.
It will obtain the information by logging the position of Google users. The technology will also be used for other public places such as gyms and supermarkets.
“For example, just search for ‘Blue Bottle Williamsburg,’ tap on the title, and see how busy it gets throughout the day. Enjoy your extra time!” says Google.
If Carlsberg did cases…
Passengers landing at London City Airport were surprised to see crates of beer appear on the baggage reclaim carousel, instead of their luggage, in a stunt pulled by Carlsberg UK to celebrate the return of its ‘If Carlsberg did…’ campaign (which you can watch below).
Secret cameras filmed passengers at the carousel on Sunday July 19, as they reacted to the appearance of the cases which read ‘Take Me, I’m Yours.’
The ‘If Carlsberg did…’ series has included a beer dispensing poster and drone delivery service.
Also in the news this week: PepsiCo, Coca-Cola and Dr Pepper Snapple reveal how they are tackling diet declines; Tesco says it will stop stocking added sugar Capri Sun and Ribena alongside all sugary children's drinks; the US soda industry is suing San Francisco over its new sugary drink warning legislation; and Diageo faces US probe on sales figures.