-By Sherry Hoffman

We're getting a hop on the holidays with news on tap for you. From special seasonal brews to new imports from traditional channels, your customers will find a great new way to toast the holidays!


Chanukah Celebrations
Any business named The Shmaltz Brewing Company deserves to be noticed, along with its He'Brew line of fruit-infused brews. Its limited-edition Rejewvenator ferments nearly 500 gallons of fig juice into a half doppleboch, half Belgian-inspired dubbel hybrid lager/ale and is only available until the beginning of November. Rising to 7.8 percent alcohol, Rejewvenator is nationally available in 22-oz. bottles and a limited amount in draft. The company has expanded its 2008 lineup with Rejewvenator, Messiah on Rye, Messiah Bold, and the fifth edition of its extreme Chanukah seasonal, Jewbelation 12 (12 malts, 12 hops, 12 percent alcohol). MSRP: $5.99/22-oz. bottle. For more information, visit www.shmaltz.com.
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO. 451


An American Brew
Budweiser American Ale, a brew that's been in development since early 2007, is new for fall and winter. The new brew is all-malt, top-fermented, brewed with barley and dry hopped with Cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest. Experts advise the beer should be served in a bulbed pint glass to showcase the color and channel the aromas to the nose.
It has 5.3 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and is available in 12-oz. six-packs and 22-oz. singles. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com or call 800-DIAL-BUD.


Blended Brews
Budweiser & Clamato Chelada and Bud Light & Clamato Chelada blend beer with the spicy Clamato tomato cocktail. According to IRI InfoScan, the savory beer outsold Miller Chill while in its test market stage despite limited distribution; and has since grown to crack the top five new beer brands, according to industry measures. In addition, Chelada was recently named a winner of the international SIAL D'Or Award (Salon International de L'Alimentation) in the alcohol beverage category. Average MSRP: $2.49/24-oz. can. For more information, visit www.anheuser-busch.com or call 800-DIAL-BUD.


Breakfast Beer
Founders Brewing Company releases Kentucky Breakfast Stout (KBS) every year on the Ides of March. According to the Beer Advocate, KBS is the seventh-highest rated beer in the world. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-company describes the stout as "brewed with a hint of coffee, oats and spices, and then aged in bourbon barrels for an entire year 80 feet underground. Our process ensures that strong bourbon undertones come through in the finish in every batch we brew." MSRP: $19.99/four 12-oz. bottles. For more information, visit www.foundersbrewing.com.
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO. 460


Christmas Collection
This is the second year Jolly Pumpkin Brewing Company has released its annual holiday beer, Noel de Calabaza. The brew is aged in oak barrels with wild yeast and souring bacteria. It's unfiltered, unpasteurized and refermented in the bottle, similar to the champagne process. It's described by Ron Jeffries, its creator, as having the "flavors of roasted plums, toasted raisins, exotic spices and smokey brown sugar. Gently tart and drying finish." MSRP: $11.99/750 ml. In January, the Michigan-based company will release Madrugada Obscura "Dark Dawn," a dark Belgian-inspired stout of roasted malts and bitter hops. For more information, visit www.jollypumpkin.com.
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO. 463

News & Brews
Beer's lead over wine and spirits has returned to double-digits for the first time since 2002, according to Gallup's Consumption Habits Poll, particularly among adults between the ages of 30 and 49 who tried wine for a few years then shifted back to beer. The recently released survey shows drinking preferences among adults ages 21-29 have remained stable in recent years, with the majority showing a wide preference for beer.

Amstel Light announced a new Thanksgiving program called "Your Holiday, Your Twist" that offers both consumers and retailers relevant solutions and opportunities around the festive holiday. The customized program offers consumers simple and convenient options to facilitate their Thanksgiving planning, and provides retailers with the opportunity to bolster sales of Amstel Light and other holiday-related items including turkey and fresh flowers. The company is offering a tiered Mail-in Rebate (MIR) (where legal) to consumers at grocery, drug and retail outlets during the month of November as consumers are stocking up for their Thanksgiving feast. Consumers will be offered an MIR with the purchase of flowers and/or turkey and 12 packs of Amstel Light. MIR tear pads will be available on in-section and out-of-section displays, and will include complete mail-in instructions along with unique recipes including fried turkey, couscous stuffing and praline pumpkin pie to help consumers put a personal twist on the standard holiday fare. Amstel Light flower wrap bags will also be available to help consumers dress up their floral gifts.

Environmental inroads are being forged by Anheuser-Busch that will result in approximately one in seven beers being brewed using renewable fuel by the end of 2009. In addition, plants in Houston, Texas, and Fairfield, Calif., are installing alternative energy technology that will allow the company's U.S. breweries to run on more than 15 percent renewable fuel. The Houston brewery will use biogas from a nearby landfill as part of an alternative fuel plan that, when combined with the facility's bio-energy recovery system (BERS), is anticipated to provide more than 70 percent of the brewery's fuel needs.

In international markets, alcoholic ciders and vodkas showed growth of 14 percent and 11 percent, respectively, in 2007, making them the highest-growth alcoholic beverage categories around the world, according to The Nielsen Company, which released its first-ever study of retail and on-premise sales trends of alcoholic beverage products: What's Hot Around the Globe - Insights on Alcoholic Beverage Categories. Global consumption of alcoholic beverage categories measured in the report grew by 6 percent from 2006 to 2007. For the full study, visit http://acnielsen.com/reports/index_global.shtml.

McDonald's is taking one step closer to the fridge by going through with its plans to compete with convenience stores, and testing the sale of packaged beverages in approximately 150 locations, Advertising Age reported. Depending on location, colas, teas, energy drinks and waters -- including Red Bull and Coca-Cola's Vitaminwater -- are being tested, along with some beverages from PepsiCo.

Skinny Nutritional Corp., the exclusive worldwide marketer and distributor of Skinny Water®, announced the company has entered an agreement with Anheuser-Busch distributor Harrison Beverage for the Philadelphia tri-state area and southern New Jersey region. This is the first Anheuser-Busch agreement since launching the product in May. Skinny Water (blended with Super CitriMax, ChromeMate and EGCG) is now available to nearly six million consumers with more than 7,000 distribution points throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. For more information, visit www.skinnywater.com.

Tom First, one of the two co-founders of Nantucket Nectars, and the founder of Owater, a bottled water company, has joined Sweet Leaf Tea's board of directors. Over the course of his 12-year tenure as co-CEO of Nantucket Nectars, First created one of the most widely recognized ready-to-drink brands in the country. Nantucket Nectars was sold to Cadbury-Schweppes in 2002.

Back to the Faucet
• At the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Miami, a majority of about 250 mayors voted to phase out the regular use of bottled water for its employees and functions, and instead, promote the importance of municipal water.
• An American Water Works Association survey showed that, based on averages, it costs a little more than 0.001 cent for a day's worth of tap water or about 51 cents per year.
• According to Beverage Digest, U.S. consumers spent $16.8 billion on bottled water in 2007, a 12 percent increase over the previous year.
• Marriott International Inc. gave away free refillable water bottles to its 3,500 corporate employees in Bethesda, Md.
• Chez Panisse in Berkeley, Calif., stopped using bottled still water in the restaurant in 2006 and started carbonating its own water in 2007.
• In January, Chicago instituted a 5-cent tax on plastic water bottles.
• San Francisco eliminated water jug deliveries for offices, and installed water filters and no-bottle dispensers instead. City employees are no longer permitted to purchase single-serving bottles with municipal funds.

In the Aisles
Azul, maker of the premier ready-to-drink agave wine margarita, recently announced the launch of Azul Especial, an ultra-premium ready-to-drink margarita that, in Azul tradition, is made with all-natural flavors and 100 percent blue agave wine. Similar to Azul Original, Especial has a higher alcohol content of 11 percent and the color of a classic margarita. Azul Especial is made with wine specially fermented in Mexico from pure blue agave, the same plants used to make Mexico's premium tequilas. MSRP: $7.99/1 liter (33.8 oz.). For more information, visit www.drinkazul.com.
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO. 452

Organic Mango Green Tea has joined the lineup at Sweet Leaf Tea. It's ready-to-drink and made with premium organic green tea, organic mango juice and pure, organic cane sugar. Sweet Leaf's Mango Green Tea is available in 16-oz. glass bottles (MSRP: $1.39–$1.59) and 20-oz. recyclable PET bottles (MSRP: $1.59–$1.79). For more information, visit www.sweetleaftea.com.
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The Simple Kitchen has introduced a sparkling water, infused with a splash of organic juices with a touch of organic honey. The flavors include pink grapefruit, white grape, and lemon and mint. They are USDA organic, kosher-certified, pasteurized and shelf-stable for up to one year. Each 12-oz. bottle contains 60 calories and has no preservatives, additives or acids. The formula was developed with Cornell University's Food Venture Center. MSRP: $1.99 per bottle. For more information, visit www.simplekitchenco.com.
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Ayala's Herbal Water has recently been certified organic (previously all-natural). The product is a hot-filled water beverage infused with natural culinary herbs originally used for medicinal purposes. The contents contain purified water derived through reverse osmosis and each flavor has a different set of herbal ingredients. Flavors include Lemongrass Mint Vanilla, Cloves Cardamom Cinnamon and Ginger Lemon Peel. MSRP: $24 for 12 16-oz. bottles. For more information, visit www.herbalwater.com.
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Sambazon has launched a new organic energy drink, Amazon Energy, made with the acai berry and other antioxidant-rich Amazon Rainforest superfruits and botanicals. Sambazon sustainably harvests the acai from palm trees in the Amazon River basin. The energy drink has 80 calories per serving and 20 grams of carbohydrates. MSRP: $1.99/12-oz. can. For more information, visit www.sambazon.com.
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Real fruit juice with two ounces of sparkling water is the recipe for 4U2U Brands' Fruit 66, a new sparkling fruit drink that is being introduced in health-conscious school systems. The beverage is now available in select schools and is entering the retail market. It contains 100 percent RDA of vitamin C, 10 percent each of calcium, vitamin A and folic acid. It doesn't have any high-fructose corn syrup, added sugars, artificial flavors or colors, and no caffeine or preservatives. It's available in Apple Berry, Fruit Punch, Orange Tangerine and Strawberry Kiwi. A portion of the proceeds from each can goes to the School Nutrition Foundation. MSRP: $1.19/8-oz. can. For more information, visit www.Fruit-66.com.
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Fall is here; winter weather is around the corner; and Sarabeth's Kitchen has a product that's put a chunky spin on a winter favorite. Hot Chocolate Parisienne is 16 ounces of pure Dutch cocoa, semi-sweet Belgian chocolate bits and finely granulated sugar. No preservatives, additives, fillers or flavorings. Sarabeth says after many attempts she has recreated a beverage that is served not far from the Louvre. It's been served in her restaurants for over 20 years and is now available to retailers. MSRP: $16/16-oz. tin. For more information, visit www.sarabeth.com.
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Fall may be here but what's wrong with pretending it's summer with Get Beached, the newest product from the Blue Crab Bay Co.? It's an all-natural blend of lemon and Chesapeake Bay spices to drink au naturel or to use as a mixer for margaritas. Each 25-fl.-oz. bottle is topped with a fishnet-imprinted band and is available with or without weathered fishnet topping. MSRP: without fishnet, $7.99; with fishnet, $8.99. For more information, visit www.baybeyond.net.
CLICK VENDOR LINK NO. 462

Comments? shoffman@gourmetretailer.com