District St. Paul - Minneapolis
April 2011 - News

Beverage Industry (March 2011)- Another year of trading places in beer. In 2010 brewers decreased the price gap between below-premium beer and premium beer. By reseting the pricing, consumers were allowed to once again select their premium choices. Overall the beer industry saw about a 2% price increase in 2010. Sales topped $24.6 billion across all categories. The SymphonyRIR's list of Top 10 overall beer brands shows that Bud Light, Coors Light, Natural Light and Busch Light were slightly higher in dollar performance than in 2009. Corona Extra and Heineken reported declines in dollar sales. Coors Light is the only brand that reported an increase in case sales. Large brewers are having to rise to the craft beer market. Craft beer category reported 14.6% increase in dollar sales and 13.1% increase in case sales. Sierra Nevada Pale Ale occupies the top spot among craft beer sales.

Scientific American (March 2011) – The Dawn of Beer remains elusive in archaeological record. So who did brew and enjoy the first beer? It is unknown, even though the individual responsible for the beloved beer was alive a very long time ago. Documented evidence of beer-making goes back thousand's of years, but it isn't precise. In Mesopotamia there are cuneiform tablets that record the trade of beer about 4000 BC. The ode to Ninkasi, the goddess of beer was written about 1800 BC. Ancient Egypt even has a record of beer production that includes ingredients and the process that inspired Newcastle and Kirin. Neolithic Chinese villagers were making "a mixed fermented beverage of rice, honey and fruit" about 9000 years ago. Dogfish Head brewery tried to replicate this fermented beverage – Chateau Jiahu. Some evidence suggests that beer making may be as old as 250,000 years old, Who knows for sure.

Yahoo News (March 2011) – Anheuser-Busch Purchases Chicago-Based Goose Island Beer Co. for $38.8 Million. On March 28th Anheuser-Busch purchased the beloved Chicago based microbrewery Goose Island. This was to tap into the craft beer market that is slowly moving the base beers out. Goose Island has been around since 1988 and was owned by Fulton Street Brewery and the Craft Brewers Alliance, Inc. In Chicago, Goose Island is a "symbol of great, local beer that rises above in a market where cheap, mass-produced beer seems to dominate." Some in Chicago are not keen to the idea of the beer giant purchasing their local brewery. Even though the brewery was sold, the sale did not include the two Goose Island brewpubs located in Chicago.