GM beer to hit the shelves
- 02/02/2004 - A brewer in Sweden is facing the GM debate head on. The company claims to have launched the first food product to use genetic modification as a marketing tool.
When April arrives the European Union will enforce tight new rules on the labelling of genetically modified ingredients. A new GM beer on the Swedish market is using the changes to the maximum by emphasising to the consumer the benefits the product has gained from genetic modification. The beer, brewed in the southern Swedish town of Ystad, is made from corn – supplied by US biotech giant Monsanto - genetically modified to resist attacks from pests.
"It is truly exciting to imagine that our small brewery is the very first company in Sweden to launch a new genetically modified raw material for the food industry," said the brewer Kenth Persson, reports the Swedish food network, Oresund Food Excellence, adding that the modifications protect the corn from insects and gives the beer a piquant taste.
According to the report, development costs are covered by Monsanto, with additional financial support from the agro chemical titans.
"The intention is to bring a GMO labelled product to the market in order to give the consumers an option to choose. The retailers say the consumers do not want these products, but they have not investigated what the consumers really think," said Mattias Zetterstrand at Monsanto. Critics would say that a raft of surveys conducted across the EU15 have thoroughly examined what the 'consumer thinks' and have clearly demonstrated that the European consumer is GM shy.
Indeed, the new rules on GMO labelling instigated by EU Commissioner David Byrne find their source in consumer concerns over the role biotechnology can play in our food. The thinking behind the rules is that because any GM ingredient will be clearly labelled on the food product, the consumer has the choice.
With the launch of their GM beer, the Swedish brewer has taken the bull by the horns. Stakeholders and industry players will be watching sales of GM beer with interest. ________________________________________________________________________________ from The Utica Observer-Dispatch, Utica, NY, USA.
Beer Man: Old Engine Oil brew takes the long route to Scotland Tue, Jan 27, 2004 You know how those hilarious mainstream beer drinkers look at the beer in your hand and say something like, "Drinking engine oil?"
Well, with this beer you can laugh at the tired, old joke, and then reply, "Why, yes. Old Engine Oil, as a matter of fact." The label claims Old Engine Oil is "derived from a traditional Celtic recipe."
But what exactly is it?
It's not a stout or porter (though I have heard tales of it being mislabeled a stout at retail outlets.
It's too hoppy to be a traditionally malty Scottish or old ale, and it's not potent enough for a barley wine.
The name refers to the opaque nature, rather than the viscosity, of this delicious Scottish beer from the Harviestoun Brewery, which was founded in 1985 by Ken Brooker, a former Ford employee turned brewer.
This 6 percent ale dark ale has a creamy tawny head. It is rich with coffee, dark chocolate and smoky flavors imparted by roasted barley.
The velvety smoothness may be attributed to the oatmeal in the mix.
Brooker uses Galena hops from Washington state, along with the more traditional British Fuggles and Kent Goldings hops for Old Engine Oil
-- a great combination that gives a nice hop presence riding just above the maltiness in the finish.
Brooker took the beer one step further for the 2003 release by maturing it for six months in single malt whisky casks. That became available in September, but I have yet to find it.
Harviestoun is one of the smallest breweries in Great Britain, yet it is continually cited for its beers in national competitions.
Harviestoun's Bitter & Twisted Ale has been named champion beer of Scotland several times and last year was named best beer in Britain at the Great British Beer Festival.
Old Engine oil has won its share of awards as well, and deservedly so. It's a deliciously complex beer that will certainly have your mainstream beer-drinking friends saying, "Ooh, ick! Engine oil!" Little do they know. Jim Lundstrom. ________________________________________________________________________________ from Barley Wine Proves A Winter Warmer By Matthew Cooper, PA News A heart-warming barley wine named after a retired Royal Navy submariner was today honoured as Britain's Champion Winter Beer.
Judges at the Campaign for Real Ale's National Winter Ales Festival in Burton-on-Trent, Staffordshire, deemed Old Freddy Walker to be the perfect antidote to the current cold snap gripping the country.
The 7.3% ABV tipple is brewed by the Moor Beer Company, which was set up in 1996 by farmer Arthur Frampton and his wife Annette on their dairy farm in Ashcott, near Bridgwater, Somerset.
Mr Frampton, whose daughter and father also lend a helping hand at the family-run brewhouse, described Mr Walker, who is in his, as one of his most loyal customers.
"He wanted a beer named after him before he died," the brewer said. "I suppose now the beer has won the award he has got more than he bargained for."
Mr Frampton added: "I am overjoyed. It's a great result and a reward for all the hard work we have put in at the brewery."
Old Freddy Walker is described in this year's Good Beer Guide as a "rich, dark strong ale with a fruity complex taste, leaving a fruitcake finish".
Gale's Festival Mild (4.8% ABV), brewed in Horndean, Hampshire, won the Winter Beer silver award while Kent brewer Shepherd Neame landed bronze with its Original Porter.
Mike Benner, Head of Campaigns, congratulated the Moor Beer Company on their victory.
"It's an incredible achievement for everyone at Moor," he told reporters.
"There are many hundreds of old ales, barley wines, stouts, porters and other winter beer styles so the competition is always stiff.
"I am sure there will be plenty of beer drinkers at the National Winter Ales Festival eager to give this fantastic tipple a try over the next few days" ________________________________________________________________________________