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  1. #166
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    Shadow Shinobi IPA

    Everyone knows only hipster ninjas drink IPAs. Real Ninjas drink stout - stouts are black, better camouflage in the dark.

    Loowit Brewing coming out of Ninja’s Shadow
    Facing copyright dispute, local brewer rebrands flagship beer with comic book


    Jake Storgaard, left, takes a sip of the Shadow Shinobi IPA while Sky Cumlander reads the Shadow Shinobi comic book at Loowit Brewing Co. The brewery released the comic book to announce the rebranding of its most popular beer after a copyright dispute. (Ariane Kunze/The Columbian) Buy this photo


    The Shadow Shinobi IPA, formerly known as the Shadow Ninja IPA, at Loowit Brewing Co. The brewery changed the name after a brewery in Asheville, N.C., revealed it held the trademark on the word "ninja" as it pertained to beer. (Ariane Kunze/The Columbian) Buy this photo


    The Shadow Shinobi IPA, formerly known as the Shadow Ninja IPA, at Loowit Brewing Co. A copyright dispute led the brewery to commission a four-page comic book to announce the rebranding.

    By Troy Brynelson, Columbian staff writer
    Published: April 12, 2017, 4:23 PM

    After an email in late 2015, it appeared Loowit Brewing Company’s flagship beer, Shadow Ninja IPA, might vanish in a puff of smoke.

    The Vancouver brewery was told to rename the beer because a North Carolina brewery had trademarked the word “ninja” in relation to beer. U.S. Patent & Trademark Office records show it was trademarked in 2009 by Asheville Pizza and Brewery in Asheville, N.C.

    Loowit co-owners Devon Bray and Thomas Poffenroth consulted a copyright attorney who advised them to cut their losses, even if they are on opposite corners of the country.

    “We’re in it for the long haul, and we didn’t want that insecurity,” Bray said, adding that they didn’t hold it against the other brewery for protecting the trademark. “We don’t want to be investing in a brand that’s effectively dead at that point. The longer we sat with Shadow Ninja, the bigger hole we’re digging.”

    Bray and Poffenroth settled on a new name, Shadow Shinobi IPA, and decided they’d better get the word out to curb any confusion. Shadow Ninja IPA was Loowit’s most popular beer. They crafted it first as hobbyists and then it became the foundation for their brewery, which opened downtown in 2012.

    “We need to make sure people know that it’s the same beer. The beer hasn’t changed, it’s just the name change,” he said. “We didn’t want someone to ask for a Shadow Ninja IPA and the server says ‘We don’t have it, but we have Shadow Shinobi,’ and the customer doesn’t know what it is.”

    The result is a brief, four-page comic book transposing the legal rigmarole into a clash between two rival ninja clans. Shadow Ninja, hero of the nondescript metro city Couve City, clashes with the Eastern Ale Clan after its kingpin reveals it had exclusive rights to the word “ninja.” Vancouver artist Kyle Shold wrote and illustrated the comic.

    If it’s possible to spoil a four-page comic, here goes: Shadow Ninja shellacs everyone and changes his name.

    Bray said people have enjoyed the move and lauded its creativity.

    “We’ve had a lot of compliments from customers and people in the beer industry (who said) they really liked how we handled the name change,” he said.

    Another Loowit-made beer with the name “ninja” will have to change, and the brewery hasn’t ruled out commissioning more comic books. The medium’s style lends itself well to Loowit’s character-driven beer names, such as a stout called War Tortoise, Tiger Squadron Pale Ale or Moon Knight Porter.

    Maker’s marks
    Though Bray said they were “panicked” at first to learn of the trademark experience, he considered it part of the learning curve in the beer industry.

    “We never considered at the time that there could be a trademark conflict,” he said. “Unfortunately, these conflicts are becoming all the more common in the brewing industry as the number of breweries continues to grow and name-space gets more crowded.”

    According to the Brewers Association, craft brewers grew from 2,400 in the U.S. in 2012 to 5,200 in 2016. Julia Herz, program director with the organization, said trademark clashes are no more prevalent in beer than any other industry.

    “Trademark disputes in craft brewing are definitely not en masse, but amongst small-business owners, it does happen just like in other comparable industries,” she said.

    She added that it’s not uncommon for hobby brewers to go professional without doing all of their homework, and that can lead to some trademarked toes being stepped on.

    “Yes, many craft brewers should be more savvy in researching their business and name options, but the bottom line is they have to have a lot of business experience to do that,” she said. “And many small, craft brewers are small, entrepreneurial businesses still learning the ropes.”

    Troy Brynelson
    360-735-4547
    @TroyWB
    Gene Ching
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  2. #167
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    I probably posted this a long time ago up=thread but i'm too lazy to look...

    "George never did wake up. And, even all that talking didn't make death any easier...at least not for us. Maybe, in the end, all you can really hope for is that your last thought is a nice one...even if it's just about the taste of a nice cold beer."

    "If you find the right balance between desperation and fear you can make people believe anything"

    "Is enlightenment even possible? Or, did I drive by it like a missed exit?"

    It's simpler than you think.

    I could be completely wrong"

  3. #168
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    Jing-A brewery & Moonzen Brewery

    I'm not into sours, but I'd give it a try.

    Why China's craft breweries are tapping into ancient beer recipes
    By Kate Springer, CNN
    Updated 9:49 PM ET, Tue April 25, 2017


    Photos: Taste of the past
    Beer prep: The beer recipe also called for Job's tears, snake gourd root (pictured) and lily bulb.

    (CNN)China is home to one of the oldest civilizations, so it's only fitting that it's home to ancient beer as well.

    But no one knew how its ancient beer was made -- until in 2015 a team of archaeologists from Stanford University conducted studies on a primitive brewery discovered on a Neolithic site in China.
    The 5,000-year-old brewery is the earliest evidence of barley- and millet-based beer-making in the country.
    Inspired by the scientists' findings, two breweries -- Jing-A Brewing Co in Beijing and Moonzen Brewery in Hong Kong -- set out to give the modern world a taste of an ancient experience by recreating the original beer recipe.

    Tapping into history


    An ancient brewing pot, repaired with plaster.

    It all started in 2006. While excavating Mijiaya, an ancient site near Xi'an in central China, researchers from the Shaanxi Provincial Institute of Archaeology found subterranean pits dating back 5,000 years.
    Two of these pits contained sets of pottery vessels, including open-mouthed pots, funnels and small-mouthed jars.
    The instruments and setup seemed to resemble a primitive microbrewery, where the pottery vessels would have been used for mashing, filtration and fermentation.
    "People use the same equipment today for beer-making," says Li Liu, a professor in Chinese archaeology at Stanford University.
    Liu has studied residues of ancient alcohol on pottery since 2012, and found connections between funnels and alcohol making at other sites.
    "The funnel is functional and has been in the same shape for thousands of years."
    Upon learning about the Mijiaya site, Liu and her team began conducting analysis on the pottery, hoping to shed more light on their earlier research.

    A barley breakthrough

    Those pottery vessels had a layer of yellowish residue on the inside surface -- possibly a sign of beer ingredients, but scientists were unable to prove the theory without closer analysis under a microscope.
    The team narrowed it down to microscopic plant remains from barley, millet, yam, snake gourd root and Job's tears.
    Barley, while common today, was one of the most surprising ingredients to be identified.
    "This finding added a new dimension that was really unexpected to us, because we understood that barley was introduced to China about 4,000 years ago," says Liu.
    "When we found the barley, we realized why this exotic food was introduced to a new land and used for special purposes.
    "It wasn't just in the ordinary diet in the food and not for everyday consumption, as there are very few barley remains from the Neolithic times in central China."

    Developing new brews


    China's rural landscape.

    In March, the two brewers -- Jing-A brewery from Beijing and Moonzen Brewery from Hong Kong -- visited the ancient Mijiaya site to learn more about the beer-making process.
    "We were really fascinated by the idea of recreating the Mijiaya beer and seeing what people were drinking 5,000 years ago," says Alex Acker, co-founder of Jing-A Brewing Co.
    As it turns out, the actual fermentation process hasn't changed much. But modern beer uses a slightly different set of core ingredients -- malted barley, hops, yeast and water.
    In the Neolithic era, there were no hops, and people would have used a different set of cereals, grains and starches.
    The yeast was also quite different. Whereas today, yeast is controlled for consistency, back then beer would have seen as a more spontaneous fermentation process.
    "One of the most interesting things we did on this trip was go back to find an indigenous wild yeast that they're still using with hunjiu (hazy wine) today, which is also a millet-based beer," says Acker.
    Yeast plays a huge role in the flavor of the beer, so the brewers felt it was crucial to bring back samples of the yeast to use in their brews.
    "The reason why German wheat beer tastes very different from an American wheat beer is because of the yeast used. German beers can sometimes have banana-like flavors in them even if there's no banana in the beer -- it's the yeast that makes the difference."

    What does it taste like?


    The finished beer is light, fruity, and slightly sour.

    Acker describes the beer as "sour barnyard" ... but in a good way.
    "It's an un-hopped beer and a unique recipe that we wanted to stay true to," says Acker.
    "Without the hops in there and with these other unusual ingredients, you get a starchy, grainy flavor and aroma with a bit of sourness, almost like an ancient berliner weisse."
    He says it's light and fruity, slightly sour with a touch of honey and hawthorn berry -- both of which would have been available at the time.
    "In addition to local wild yeast, we used broomcorn millet, Job's tears, snake gourd root and lily bulb sourced during our trip -- just as Mijiaya brewers would have done 5,000 years ago."
    Jing-A has brewed 350 liters of the beer, which will be available at the brewery's various Beijing outlets by the end of April.
    Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, Moonzen is brewing 100 liters and distributing the beer at its brewery. Both brewers say proceeds will benefit the Shaanxi Institute's research.
    "I really love the aroma and flavor," says Acker.
    "There is definitely a cross over to the hunjiu that we brewed with the farmer. This is a beer that I'd enjoy drinking myself, and I think beer fans are really going to have fun tasting a bit of ancient history."
    Ancient social circles
    Discovering an ancient beer recipe is just one takeaway from Liu's research.
    The Neolithic period in China, about 4,000 to 6,000 years ago, is often associated with farming communities.
    Knowing that they brewed beer for pleasure and possibly celebrations, paints a more complete picture.
    "Some individuals in some households began to deviate from others and we also saw some social standings in our research. We need to study more to understand how alcohol played an important role in the development of a complex society," says Liu.
    It also speaks to the root of socio-economic evolution, where different strata experienced varying qualities of life.
    "We need to study how alcohol-making was linked with power development in ancient times," says Liu. "We want to see how feasting behavior helped individuals to get power and how alcohol was used."
    Gene Ching
    Publisher www.KungFuMagazine.com
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  4. #169
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    Whole lotta NOPE

    I'm all for recycling but this is so wrong. Beer & Urine is a one-way process.

    May 5, 2017, 11:31 AM
    Denmark brewer makes beer using human urine
    Last Updated May 5, 2017 11:33 AM EDT

    A brewery in Denmark is making beer using human urine. The specialty pilsner is called "Pisner," a name derived from wordplay on the type of beer and local slang.

    The brew is made with malting barley fertilized by the contents of urinals at the largest music festival in Northern Europe. The 50,000 liters of human waste liquid was used as an alternative to traditional animal manure or factory-made fertilizer products.

    "The reason why we make this 'Pisner' beer is because we are a craft brewery out of Copenhagen and about four years ago we converted into organic, so all our beers are organic today," Henrik Vang, chief executive of brewer Norrebro Bryghus, told the Reuters news agency.

    "We thought it would be a great idea also to go into recyclable beer. So we want to test our brewers and test our opportunities to make recyclable beer," he said.

    Denmark's agriculture and food council named the technique "beercycling," and said "Pisner" could become a trendy, sustainable brew.

    "I think it's a genius idea, since it's an investment in the future. We have a lack of phosphorus, so by doing something like this, the circle is complete," said taster Mikkel Pedersen.

    "It tastes really good," Birden Eldahl, another taster, told Reuters. "It's fresh and full at the same time and it's a good beer."

    But reactions have been mixed.

    "In the beginning, a lot of people thought that we had a filtration where the pee went directly into the beer, but that is of course not right," said managing director of Norrebro Bryghus, Henrik Vang.

    "In the beginning there was a lot of left and right sides, opinions about this project, but now when people understand what it's all about, I think that it's OK," he continued.

    The batch of urine collected from the initial festival is enough to produce 60,000 bottles of beer. After that, the brewers are going to have to decide if they want to keep putting the "p" in pilsner.
    Gene Ching
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  5. #170
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    idk, makes sense when you read the main article. they're just using the urine as a fertilizer...nitrates/nitrogen and phosphorous recovered from the human waste
    "George never did wake up. And, even all that talking didn't make death any easier...at least not for us. Maybe, in the end, all you can really hope for is that your last thought is a nice one...even if it's just about the taste of a nice cold beer."

    "If you find the right balance between desperation and fear you can make people believe anything"

    "Is enlightenment even possible? Or, did I drive by it like a missed exit?"

    It's simpler than you think.

    I could be completely wrong"

  6. #171
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    Confession: I drink only de-alcoholized beer now. It's low cal, tastes like a pilsner and I never really liked being drunk anyway.

    I'll sip a fine scotch on occasion, but only one and only slowly.

    Alcohol...can't say I miss it.
    Kung Fu is good for you.

  7. #172
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    Drunken Panda, Enter the Dank IPA, 5 Hops of Death & The 36th Chamber of IPA

    Beer & the 36 Chamber. Maybe we'll see the Return of the Drunken Style Championship soon?

    This Thursday, Lompoc Brewing Pairs Classic Kung Fu Movies with Kung Fu Inspired IPAs
    They're playing "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" and serving a new series of IPAs including "Enter the Dank" and "5 Hops of Death" at Lompoc Fifth Quadrant.


    Gordon Liu (The 36th Chamber of Shaolin)
    By Walker MacMurdo | May 22 at 12:07 PM

    Lompoc Brewing is known in Portland's beer scene for their frequent IPA series, which have been inspired by everything from baseball to science fiction and hip hop.

    This time, Lompoc head brewer Bryan Kielty is taking his inspiration for his current Kung Fu-inspired series of brews one step further: he's pairing them with Chia-Liang Liu's legendary Kung Fu classic The 36th Chamber of Shaolin.

    Portland beer blog New School Beer reported that on Thursday, May 25 at North Williams' Lompoc Fifth Quadrant, Lompoc will host Kung Fu IPA Night: Flights of Fury. From 4 pm until 11:30 pm, you will be able to order taster trays of six Kung Fu-inspired IPAs for $8. And at 7 pm, the bar will be screening the genre-defining classic in their Sidebar area.

    Produced by Hong Kong studio Shaw Brothers, The 36th Chamber of Shaolin follows the journey of San Te (Gordon Liu), a young student drawn into a rebellion against the evil Manchu government. When General Tien Ta (Lo Lieh) burns his village to the ground, San Te heads to the Shaolin Temple to learn Kung Fu and rally his people against Tien Ta.

    The "Flights of Fury" taster tray has tasters of beers including Drunken Panda IPA, a collaboration with EaT: An Oyster Bar, citrus-heavy Enter the Dank IPA, 5 Hops of Death, which is brewed with five varieties of hops and, of course, The 36th Chamber of IPA, brewed with 36 pounds of hops. Not bad for eight bones!

    GO: Kung Fu IPA Night: Flights of Fury begins 4 pm, Thursday, May 25 at Lompoc Fifth Quadrant, 3901 N Williams Ave. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin screens at 7 pm.
    Gene Ching
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  8. #173
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    Orwellian

    Busted at a beer fest. Strangely humiliating, but a fair cop.

    Talk about a mug shot! Facial recognition catches 25 wanted criminals at Chinese BEER festival
    Police in China used facial recognition to catch criminals at a beer festival
    One of the wanted men who was caught had been on the run for ten years
    Eighteen cameras identified each of the suspects in under one second
    Others with criminal records weren't allowed in after computers spotted them
    By Afp and Cecile Borkhataria For Dailymail.com
    PUBLISHED: 13:09 EDT, 4 September 2017 | UPDATED: 04:33 EDT, 5 September 2017

    Criminals looking for a quiet pint suddenly found themselves collared when cops used facial recognition technology to catch thirsty crooks at a Chinese beer festival.

    Twenty-five wanted individuals were arrested when they tipped up to sample the offerings at the annual bash in Qingdao—home to China's most famous brew.

    Those snared included one man who had been on the run for ten years, only to be undone by his hankering for a lager.


    Eighteen cameras installed at four entrances to a beer festival in China identified each of the suspects in under one second, Qingdao police said this week

    FACIAL RECOGNITION CATCHES CRIMINALS

    25 wanted criminals were arrested at a beer festival in Qingdao, China, after police used facial recognition technology to catch them.

    Eighteen cameras installed at four entrances to the festival identified each of the suspects in under one second, Qingdao police said this week.

    Dozens of other people with criminal records or a history of drug abuse were refused entrance after computers spotted them

    According to Qingdao authorities, the system has a 98.1 accuracy rate and sounds an alarm if a subject's face is found in the police database.

    Six officers were stationed at each entrance to verify the matches.

    Beer drinkers are just the latest targets of facial recognition in China, where the hardware has been installed at intersections in four cities to identify and shame jaywalkers.
    Eighteen cameras installed at four entrances to the festival identified each of the suspects in under one second, Qingdao police said this week.

    Dozens of other people with criminal records or a history of drug abuse were refused entrance after computers spotted them.

    According to Qingdao authorities, the system has a 98.1 accuracy rate and sounds an alarm if a subject's face is found in the police database.

    Six officers were stationed at each entrance to verify the matches.

    Beer drinkers are just the latest targets of facial recognition in China, where the hardware has been installed at intersections in four cities to identify and shame jaywalkers.

    Facial recognition is also being used by fast-food chain KFC to predict customers' orders, and at a public park in Beijing to foil toilet paper thieves.

    A similar system has been used by Motorola and artificial intelligence startup Neurala.

    The two companies partnered up to create smart cameras capable of independently searching for criminals and missing children.

    The companies are still developing a prototype, but hope the AI-driven cameras could soon help police find targets in 'suspicious' or 'chaotic' environments.

    'We see powerful potential for artificial intelligence to improve safety and efficiency for our customers, which in turn helps create safer communities,' said Paul Steinberg, chief technology officer at Motorola.

    'But applying AI in a public safety setting presents unique challenges.


    Police could one day use body cameras fitted with real-time facial recognition. Pictured is a demo of new technology. developed by Motorola and Neurala, being used to locate a missing child on a busy street

    HOW DO THE SMART CAMERAS WORK?

    Neurala has created patent-pending facial recognition software capable of working on very small computers, allowing it to be used on wearable devices.

    The cameras will use artificial intelligence to automatically scan hundreds of faces in a crowd, notifying authorities when they come across a known target.

    Neurala's founder, Massimiliano Versace, said the software works in a similar way to the mammalian brain, allowing it learn faster than traditional search technology.

    The technology is composed of a group of specialised processors which form different parts of a 'mini brain'.

    And the new technology is capable of machine learning, meaning the more faces that it encounters, the faster it comes at detection.

    'Neurala's 'edge learning' capabilities will help us explore solutions for a variety of public safety workflows such as finding a missing child or investigating an object of interest, such as a bicycle.'

    Neurala has created patent-pending facial recognition software capable of working on very small computers, allowing it to be incorporated into wearable devices.

    Motorola said today that the software will be combined with its devices, including its Si500 body-worn camera.

    The cameras will use artificial intelligence to automatically scan hundreds of faces in a crowd, notifying authorities when they come across a known target.

    And the new technology is capable of machine learning, meaning the more faces that it encounters, the faster it comes at detection.
    'Neurala's technology enables AI applications to learn at the edge after their deployment,' said Mr Steinberg.

    'This can unlock new applications for public safety users. In the case of a missing child, imagine if the parent showed the child's photo to a nearby police officer on patrol.

    'The officer's body-worn camera sees the photo, the AI engine 'learns' what the child looks like and deploys an engine to the body-worn cameras of nearby officers, quickly creating a team searching for the child.'


    Motorola said today that the software will be combined with its devices, including its Si500 body-worn camera

    Neurala's founder, Massimiliano Versace, said the software works in a similar way to the mammalian brain, allowing it learn faster than traditional search technology.

    Dr Versace described the structure of this software in a 2010 research paper.

    He reported that the technology is composed of a group of specialized processors which form different parts of a 'mini brain.'

    Dr Versace described the new king of processing as 'computation that can be divided up between hardware that processes like the body of a neuron and hardware that processes the way dendrites and axons [nerve cells] do.'


    Pictured is a demonstration of the new technology. An officer wears the camera while another follows the real-time activity of the smart camera as it searches for a missing child

    Using this technique allows AIs to learn using less code, meaning smaller computers with less processing power can be used.

    Mimicking the human brain also reduces the risk of 'catastrophic forgetting', which occurs when a neural network forgets its previous training.

    Dr Versace said: 'Neurala's L-DNN (Lifelong Deep Neural Network) technology eliminates the risk of 'catastrophic forgetting,' the number-one problem limiting the growth of deep learning neural networks for real-time use.

    'Neurala's technology solves the problem instantly at the device, accelerating the development of new AI applications that can learn at the edge after their deployment.'


    The smart camera has 'learnt' to look for the face of the child after viewing a photograph of him. The AI is able to locate the child as he walks along a busy high street
    Gene Ching
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  9. #174
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    Disco Ninja

    New from Revision Brewing & Shoe Tree Brewing.

    DISCO NINJA
    NE Hazy IPA (Collaboration with
    ShoeTree Brewing Co.)
    It’s a simple universal fact that ninjas are badass. You know what else is badass? Revision beer. Our buddies at Shoe Tree Brewing kicked around ideas with us to develop this tasty, tantalizing, karate chop in your freaking mouth. Kaleidoscopic nunchuck hits to the dome with Citra, Galaxy, Mosaic and Amarillo. Stealthily slaying your taste buds, one sip at a time.

    ABV: 7%
    IBUs: 40

    Gene Ching
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  10. #175
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    Pi Jiu vs. Bai Jiu

    Beer or baijiu? China’s drinkers become more quality conscious
    Experts say the domestic beer market has dropped significantly by volume. But higher-quality brands and sales of traditional Chinese clear liquor, or baijiu, are bubbling away nicely
    PUBLISHED : Friday, 13 October, 2017, 6:48pm
    UPDATED : Friday, 13 October, 2017, 6:58pm
    Laura He
    laura.he@scmp.com



    Asahi Group, Japan’s largest beer producer, is considering bailing out of its share in Tsingtao, one of China’s largest beer makers, in another clear sign that Chinese drinkers are moving upmarket.
    Experts say the domestic beer market has dropped significantly by volume, as buyers opting to cut back on cheaper products. But higher-quality beer brands and sales of traditional Chinese clear liquor, or baijiu, are bubbling away nicely.
    Total national beer production has seen three straight years of declines, before slightly rebounding 0.8 per cent in the first seven months of this year, according to recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
    As those overall sales fall, however, demand for quality lager (imported and local), and traditional liquor such as Moutai, have continued strong.


    A worker checks bottles of Tsingtao beer on the production line of Tsingtao plant in China's eastern port city of Qingdao, Shandong province. The company is shifting its emphasis towards selling premium versions of the product. Photo: Reuters

    Kweichow Moutai, the country’s biggest premium baijiu producer, toasted first-half gross profit margins of 90 per cent giving it a market value of nearly 700 billion yuan (US$106.4 billion).
    Asahi, Tsingtao’s second largest shareholder with a 19.99 stake, is considering the transfer of all or part of its 270 million H shares, the Chinese brewer said in an exchange filing Thursday night.
    Asahi’s holding was worth about US$1.2 billion by Friday’s market close. In 2009, the company spent US$667 million acquiring the stock.
    In a Bloomberg interview earlier this year, Asahi President Akiyoshi Koji noted Tsingtao’s “worsened” earnings result and said “ownership without control doesn’t make much sense”.
    The Post asked both parties for further comment on the reason for the sale, but neither offered anything more than what was in the filing, that Asahi was looking at its “own business arrangement consideration”.
    Tsingtao share price has fallen 4 per cent in the past six months – as the Hang Seng jumped 17 per cent in the same period – and has halved compared with the beginning of 2014.


    Workers pack bottles of baijiu in Kweichow Moutai Company in Maotai town, Guizhou province. Photo: EPA

    Shares in Kweichow Moutai, meanwhile, hit a new all-time high close of 556.49 yuan on Friday in Shanghai, pushing its yearly gains to 70 per cent, making it among the world’s most valuable liquor brands. The stock has increased more than fourfold in value compared since the beginning of 2014.
    “Beer demand is sluggish as China’s population continues ageing. Cheap lagers, which account for more than 70 per cent of total sales, are becoming less popular,” said Iris Zhang, an analyst for Guotai Junan Securities.
    Tsingtao reported 30 and 14 per cent declines in net profits, respectively in 2016 and 2015. For the first half of this year, however, net income grew 7 per cent as the company shifted to selling more premium products, inside and outside the country.
    Beer demand is sluggish as China’s population continues ageing. Cheap lagers, which account for more than 70 per cent of total sales, are becoming less popular
    IRIS ZHANG, AN ANALYST FOR GUOTAI JUNAN SECURITIES
    “Growth potential is limited for the beer market in future,” Zhang said. “Companies can no longer expand by offering just low prices.”
    At the same time the higher-margin liquor market is raking in the profits, growing those as a grouping by 9.2 per cent, according to the NBS.
    Kweichow Moutai’s interim net profit jumped 28 per cent to 11.3 billion yuan, with gross profit margin at 90 per cent.
    Earlier this year, Nielsen China’s Minnie Yu said in a report that “consumption upgrade” has become the major driving force for China’s liquor market.
    “As consumption becomes the main driver of the economy, competition among FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) brands is also intensifying, much like the liquor market.”
    Not a big Bai Jiu fan but I've had to cut back on my beer consumption because of the carbs.
    Gene Ching
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  11. #176
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    Qingdao International Beer Festival

    A Beer Festival in China Has German Roots, but No Lederhosen
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    Photographs and Text by BRYAN DENTON
    OCTOBER 30, 2017



    QINGDAO, China — Music. Tourists. Traditional food. Long tables crammed inside huge tents. And beer — lots and lots of beer.

    It’s not Oktoberfest. It’s the Qingdao International Beer Festival, China’s largest celebration of lager.

    If the festival looks like a certain German tradition, there’s a good reason. The city of Qingdao is home to the similarly pronounced Tsingtao Brewery, which was founded by German settlers in this corner of Shandong Province more than a century ago.



    Since the festival started in 1991, the crowds have steadily increased. This summer’s celebration, which ran for much of August, drew nearly 40,000 people on its busiest weekends.

    A small army of bartenders and servers kept steins full and glasses clean and at the ready.



    In addition to Tsingtao, foreign producers like Budweiser and Carlsberg set up their own tents. Inside, the scene was raucous: Performers lip-synced to patriotic Chinese songs, women in skimpy outfits auctioned off traditional Chinese calligraphy, and more than one man felt the need to remove his shirt.

    Locals come to enjoy the “re nao” atmosphere, a Mandarin term for “hustle and bustle” or “loud and chaotic.”



    Qingdao’s festival may be of fairly recent vintage, but its beer-making tradition goes back more than 100 years.

    At the turn of the last century, the city was a German naval outpost. The Germans brought beer and an architectural style that can still be seen in the buildings of the city’s Old Town.

    The British who arrived later were suspicious of the local water and turned to drinking beer instead. In 1903, British and German settlers created the Anglo-German Brewing Company and began producing Tsingtao.
    continued next post
    Gene Ching
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    continued from previous post



    Through two world wars, foreign occupations and civil war, the brewery changed hands several times.

    Tsingtao was nationalized in 1949, and despite the purges, starvation and displacement that accompanied the Cultural Revolution, it never stopped producing beer.



    “Without beer, we don’t have life in Qingdao,” said Zhao Chen, a local who brought his extended family to the festival. For an audience of young and old, electric floats circled the grounds at sunset.



    In addition to all that beer, there was plenty of food at the festival.

    Attendees had their fill of chicken’s feet, sausage, dumplings and grilled skewers of spiced meat and squid.



    At night, the scene became even louder and livelier, as patriotic anthems turned to techno and rock.

    Deafening music and the smell of stale beer and cigarette smoke did little to dampen spirits as festivalgoers toasted one another from giant glasses.



    Amid the never-ending toasts, I asked Mr. Chen whether he came to the festival every year.

    “Are you kidding? This is more important than Chinese New Year,” he said, before sending his brother off to order us all another round.



    Olivia Mitchell Ryan contributed research.

    Follow Bryan Denton on Twitter: @bdentonphoto.
    I hijacked the Qingdao revisited thread in the NPM forum (because Qingdao is a major Mantis city) and copied this to the Beer thread too.
    Gene Ching
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  13. #178
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    $200? For a Sam Adams?!?

    It's not 'illegal to sell'; it's illegal to label it as 'beer'. They could sell it as a 'malt liquor'.

    But if I'm going to drop $200, it's going to be for a fyne Irish Whiskey. Not that I'm going to do that. Martial arts publishers don't make that kind of coin.

    Samuel Adams Just Unleashed a $200 Beer That's Illegal in Some States
    By Chris Morris Updated: October 27, 2017 4:37 PM ET

    Every two years, the brewers at Samuel Adams like to create an event—and there’s no easier way to stir the passions of beer lovers than the release of Utopias.

    The biennial release, which carries a price tag of $199 and an ABV of a whopping 28%, is one of the beer world’s most highly anticipated events. Just 13,000 bottles of the beer will be distributed throughout the U.S., though not in 11 states, where it’s illegal to sell.

    Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Vermont all prohibit the sale of Samuel Adams Utopias due to that sky high alcohol content. The rest of the country can begin looking for it early next month.

    As for the taste? Utopias is unlike other beers – from Sam Adams or any other brewer. It’s not carbonated, since the alcohol levels chew up any CO2. And it’s not a beer meant to be consumed all at once. Instead, the brewer suggests just a one ounce taste.

    The taste is more like a fine liquor, with a sweetness like a port or cognac and a smooth, almost buttery, malt-filled finish.

    “My original idea for Utopias was to push the boundaries of craft beer by brewing an extreme beer that was unlike anything any brewer had conceived,” said Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Co., the parent firm of Samuel Adams, in a statement. ” I’m proud to present to drinkers this lunatic fringe of extreme beer worthy of the Utopias name.”

    Editor’s note: This story initially incorrectly identified Ohio and Washington as states that prohibited the sale of Utopias. It has been updated.
    Gene Ching
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  14. #179
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    Booze in China

    I've had many Chinese beers and found them to be pretty decent in China - surprisingly good considering that I'm no fan of Tsingtao.

    I've also had Chinese wine, which was horrid. My first trip to China was to compete in a tournament sponsored by a Chinese winemaker. They did traditional Chinese wine and this western red wine. That was before I developed a taste for Chinese liquor, and I'm Californian, so even though I'm not much of a wine drinker, we dubbed all those as godawful.

    Baijiu is a whole other story.

    China's drinking habits are changing, and that's a big opportunity for beverage makers
    Chinese consumers are drinking pricier, more elusive alcoholic beverages
    Craft beer is popular in well-developed, urban cities
    Kweichow Moutai, a high-end brand for a potent traditional liquor, surpassed Johnnie Walker-maker Diageo in value
    Huileng Tan | @huileng_tan
    Published 16 Hours Ago
    CNBC.com

    The market for Chinese alcohol sales is growing at a rapid pace with consumers acquiring a taste for premium and elusive products.

    Among the beneficiaries of the trend are wine and craft beers.

    "Chinese consumers preferred to drink less and chose premium products at business dinners or during formal social occasions for their high-grade quality and better taste," market research firm Euromonitor said in May 2017.

    According to Euromonitor, wine consumption grew 5.3 percent by volume in 2016 from 2015, even as that for alcoholic drinks fell 3 percent in the same period as consumers traded up.

    As a result of such upgrading, total beer sales also declined by 4 percent in 2016 from a year ago. Craft beer however, is witnessing growing interest in big cities.

    Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, is evidence of this trend as its strategy of focusing on the high-end of the market appears to be paying off: The company's revenue in China grew 4.6 percent in the third quarter.

    The brewer also cited strong numbers in the Chinese market as a driver for revenue growth in its Budweiser and Corona brands in the first half of this year. Corona and Stella Artois, classified as "super premium" brands by the company, have recorded double-digit growth since they were launched in 2014, CEO Carlos Brito told CNBC recently.

    Here's a sip of what Chinese drinkers are ordering:

    Craft Beer

    China's first brewery was founded in Harbin in 1900 and there are now more than 1,500 domestic beer brands in the country, according to Chinese state media.

    The wide selection is in part due to a nascent but growing industry in craft beers as a burgeoning middle class becomes more willing to pay for premium experiences.

    The popularity of craft beer may seem explosive in urban centers, but Euromonitor puts the trend into perspective.

    "Craft beer is still a new concept for many Chinese consumers. It is popular and distributed mainly in well-developed regions, such as some urban areas of the country where the middle-classes are better off and consumers are global-minded," said the research house in its industry report.


    Huileng Tan | CNBC
    Panda Brew Pub in Beijing is home to several house craft beers. The company recently started shipping its brews to the U.K. and are looking to other beer-drinking markets eager for a taste of China.

    "There is a huge rise in the number of those in the craft beer business and the brewing culture is spreading in China," said Feng Jun, marketing director for pub and brewer Panda Brew.

    The craft beer market is diverse, even though consumer groups are generally young, Feng told CNBC in an email.

    "There are extreme taste preferences: from those who prefer heavier tastes to fresh, fruity flavors," he added.

    With the explosion in selection, some craft beer brands like Panda Brew, have started exporting their drinks.

    In November this year, Panda Brew started sales in the U.K. It is also looking into entering other markets such as Canada, Japan and Australia, said Feng.

    Even bigger brands are getting into the craft beer business.

    Nomura in a December note highlighted that Hong Kong-listed China Resources Beer, the country's largest brewery, will be focusing on craft and imported beer segments while developing premium brands.

    Wine
    Wine is still gaining popularity in China.

    To cater to the collective thirst, Chinese investors have snapped up more than 100 vineyards in France, many of them in the producing region of Bordeaux. They've also acquired vineyards in Australia and Chile, among other countries.

    Earlier this year, for instance, Yantai Changyu Pioneer Wine, a leading wine-maker in China, bought three vineyards in Chile.

    China has also started producing its own wines: State-owned food giant COFCO's Great Wall Wine is a recognizable name in the country.

    Baijiu
    The potent grain-based baijiu — which means white liquor — is a staple at official and business banquets. Even amid a widespread crackdown on corruption, a frugality drive, and it being an acquired taste, baijiu has seen it's demand stay strong.


    VCG | Getty Images
    A customer looks Maotai liquor at a supermarket on February 9, 2015 in Zhongshan, Guangdong Province of China.

    Earlier this year, consultancy Brand Finance deemed baijiu to be the most valuable type of spirit in the world with a market share of 37.5 percent, overshadowing the 28 percent for whiskey. The world's top baijiu brands command a combined value of over $22 billion, the study said.

    Well-known Hong Kong-listed Kweichow Moutai has overtaken Johnnie Walker-maker Diageo to become the world's most valuable liquor company.

    —CNBC's Ming Cheang contributed to this story.
    Now I'm thinking there's got to be a cocktail name for slamming a shot of Moutai into a Panda beer - sort of a PRC Irish Car bomb. What would we call that?

    Thread: Baijiu
    Thread: Beer
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  15. #180
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    This is from last year...

    ...but it'll make an amusing start for this year.

    VAGINA FLAVORED BEER! MADE FROM MODEL’S VAGINAL YEAST!
    SEP 22, 2017 AT 2:04 PM / AUTHOR: DAN WICKMAN
    Would you drink this?
    Hi-Tech Vaginal Microbiology


    Photo via orderyoni

    Wojtek Mann, the founder of the company explains, “The secret of the beer lies in her vagina. Using hi-tech of microbiology, we isolate, examine and prepare lactic acid bacteria from vagina of an unique woman. The bacteria, lactobacillus, transfers woman’s features, allure, grace, glamour, and her instincts into beers and other products, turning them into a dance with lovely angel.”

    Vaginal Lactobacillus


    Photo via orderyoni

    Mann continues, “…vaginal lactobacillus also symbolize life and health….and brewing the beer is a tribute to this sacred process, to the timeless harmony between a human and the bacteria.” Weird!

    Is It Safe?


    Photo via orderyoni

    The site addresses the issue of safety with this statement, “The crucial part of the project is to ensure the safety of the product. All the material is examined on the presence of other bacteria and viruses. Secondly, the procedures of isolation and preparation prevent other bacteria and viruses from surviving, providing final product completely clean and healthy. In addition, we examine final product on presence of other viruses and bacteria once again, and the findings will be published here to make you completely sure it’s healthy.”
    orderyoni.com
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