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Pastimes : BEER -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: AugustWest who wrote (1214)	6/14/1999 1:42:00 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 3689

Beer sales slump to lowest for 30 years as Brits get a taste for wine BEER sales have slumped to a 30-year low as drinkers turn to wine. Britons are downing less bitter and lager than at any stage since 1970. Pubs, supermarkets and off- licences sold 35.95 million barrels of beer last year, say industry publishers NTC. That compares with a high of 41.7 million in 1979. And although celebrated ale lovers like TV star Ulrika Jonsson (above) can still knock back a pint of lager in 20 seconds, there's been a revolution in the nation's drinking habits. Women are more likely to order wine or "mixer" drinks in pubs than beer. Wine accounts for 29.5 per cent of off-licence trade compared with 29.3 per cent for ale. Many now spend their evenings playing sport or going to the cinema rather than popping along to the local. The fad for high-alcohol premium lagers has also hit sales because people drink less of them than standard-strength beer. Better choice in supermarkets and off-licences and the closure of thousands of pubs which depended on factory workers have also contributed to the decline in beer drinking. Mike Bennett, of the industry's newspaper the Licensee and Morning Advertiser said: "It's not that it is going out of fashion, more that the way we drink beer has changed. "The big-standard beers men used to drink in sessions, downing pint after pint, are not popular any more. "People have more leisure choices so going down to the pub is no longer the first choice." For health reasons, more pub customers are sticking to soft drinks or limiting their alcohol intake. Since the 1979 peak, beer sales have gradually declined, with the occasional hot summer causing a blip in the figures. Even last year's football World Cup failed to cheer the industry. England crashed out early and pub sales fell by a third on the previous summer. After a slight increase this year because of millennium celebrations, beer sales are expected to fall further to 35.87 by 2003. The survey does not show why beer drinking was down in 1970. But NTC editor Mark Gately believes sales may never again reach the high of the late 1970s. "The general trend is downwards because consumer tastes have become more sophisticated," he said. "More visitors to pubs are women and they are more likely to drink wine than beer, or perhaps trendy mixer-type drinks. "The decline of manufacturing also means the end of the 'beer after work' culture. "Within the sector, premium lagers have increased in proportion to stouts and ales." The Whitbread Beer Company, which markets Britain's best-selling brand Stella Artois, insisted the nation still has a taste for beer. Marketing and sales director Stewart Gilliland said: "Consumers in the UK are increasingly adopting European habits and tastes. "We are finding that more and more British drinkers are demanding a more continental, premium lager rather than the traditional British ales." News \| Sport \| Contacts \| Home The Wright Stuff \| Justin Toper \| Voice Of The Mirror Miriam Stoppard \| Victor Lewis-Smith Features \| Screen \| Mega © MGN, Ltd, 1997, (0171-293-3000) One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London, E14 5AP ic24.net:80/mgn/THE_MIRROR/NEWS/P21S1.html

To: AugustWest who wrote (1214)	6/16/1999 1:43:00 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 3689

AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY OPPOSE BLACK MARKET ALCOHOL SHIPMENTS WASHINGTON, Jun 16, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Eighty-one percent (81%) of Americans agree that the unregulated sale of alcohol over the Internet or through the mail should not be allowed because it would give minors easier access to alcohol and could result in more abuse, according to a Wirthlin Worldwide survey just released by Americans for Responsible Alcohol Access (ARAA). "The American people know a bad idea when they see it, and enabling teenagers to order alcohol online by toll-free phones and have it shipped to their homes or college dorms is a non-starter," said Barry McCahill, Executive Director of ARAA. Other key findings of the survey include: * Awareness of the availability of alcohol via the Internet or mail order has grown to 35 percent, as opposed to 19 percent when the poll was first taken in 1997. * Awareness is highest among college-age men and women, with 43 percent aware of direct sales of alcohol. Opposition to direct alcohol shipments is highest among homemakers, at 90 percent. * 75 percent of Americans oppose unregulated direct shipping because it permits alcohol to be sold in a way that cannot be controlled nor tracked by state government authorities. The same percentage worry that alcohol sold by these means cannot be monitored or checked for quality control. * 62 percent don't trust delivery truck drivers to check identification to be sure that the recipient at home is of legal drinking age. "Today, anyone with a credit or a debit card can get on the Internet or call a toll-free phone number and order wine, beer, and liquor shipped to their door illegally, no questions asked," McCahill said. "These producers and retailers are breaking state laws with impunity, and Attorneys General are asking Congress for help in stopping this new black market in alcohol." The 21st Amendment gives states the right to regulate the distribution of alcohol within their borders. Legislation currently before the U.S. House of Representatives would give states access to federal courts to prosecute out of state alcohol shippers who break the laws. Previously, similar legislation passed the U.S. Senate by a vote of 80-17. In a letter to the House leadership and other Attorneys General around the country, Virginia Attorney General Mark L. Earley urged Congress to pass H.R. 2031, the 21st Amendment Enforcement Act. H.R. 2031, explained Earley in his letter, "gives state attorneys general access to federal courts to seek injunctive relief against those who are violating our state laws and shipping alcohol directly to minors." The bill would not restrict legitimate, legal interstate commerce in alcohol or any other product, whether via the Internet, toll-free phones, or any other means. This legislation "is not an attempt to change or revise any alcohol law, " wrote Earley. "Rather it would simply give attorneys general the ability to enforce their state laws, whatever those laws may be. If an individual or entity can flout our states' alcohol laws without consequence, it erodes the very integrity of our states' legislative authority." McCahill praised Attorney General Earley as "a national leader on preventing underage access and abuse who led a statewide task force committed to reducing binge drinking on college campuses. I hope the House gives Attorney General Earley and his colleagues around the country the enforcement ability they need to stop these illegal shipments." The Wirthlin Worldwide survey shows that opposition to direct shipments of alcohol crosses all demographic and regional subgroups. The telephone poll of 458 adults was conducted June 4-7, 1999. It has a margin of error of +/-4.4 percent. SOURCE Americans for Responsible Alcohol Access (C) 1999 PR Newswire. All rights reserved. prnewswire.com -0- CONTACT: Lisa Parsons, 888-660-ARAA or 202-216-9300, for Americans for Responsible Alcohol Access GEOGRAPHY: District of Columbia INDUSTRY CODE: FOD SUBJECT CODE: LEG * end of story *

To: AugustWest who wrote (1214)	6/18/1999 2:14:00 AM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Respond to of 3689

Give SI's spell checker two points. It knows Budweiser is a word. Believe it or not Netscape's spell checker doesn't think so.

To: AugustWest who wrote (1214)	6/18/1999 12:28:00 PM
From: SIer formerly known as Joe B.	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 3689

What a relief: Belgian Beer Is Dioxin-Free, Scientist Says Friday June 18 10:48 AM ET dailynews.yahoo.com BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Belgian beer is safe to drink despite the country's recent scare over dioxin in food, according to a scientific paper commissioned by the industry after export curbs threatened beer supplies to key markets. ''Never were dioxins found in Belgian beer by the Food Inspection of the Ministry of Health,'' Professor Jacques Janssens of the European Cancer Prevention Organization said in a paper on beer and health. ''We have reacted to importers' fears,'' said Jan De Brabanter of the Confederation of Belgian Brewers (CBB), which commissioned the paper. ''It was mainly the Asian countries who threatened to shut their borders even to Belgian beer,'' he told Reuters. The country's food exporters face a range of international bans on Belgian exports since the potentially cancer-causing chemical dioxin was found in some produce from Belgian farms. Hot on the heels of the dioxin scare, Coca-Cola made its biggest ever product withdrawal after hundreds of people in France and Belgium fell ill after drinking the company's drinks. Janssens said beer, like all alcoholic drinks, had been associated with increased breast and liver cancer, but said such risks were relatively small and linked to sustained high levels of consumption. ''Moderate daily consumption of beer has no health consequences for the general public. Beer does not contain dioxins,'' Janssens concluded. Belgian brewing industry data show exports are the main growth area for brewers in a country where beer consumption fell by more than two percent in 1998. Exports grew by over nine percent.