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Beer & Pub News Round-Up
If you are into pub quizzes, or even the oddities of beer, then the Book of Beer Knowledge is for you. With answers to such questions as who said “You can't be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline”?? and which famous author of detective stories created the Guinness toucan character?? Jeff Evans, the writer of this little book, has dug up some real gems and brain teasers. Priced at only £9.99, it makes a good Christmas present. Available directly from CAMRA: 01727 867201 or www.camra.org.uk.
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After two successful years, CAMRA has recently announced its National Pubs Week will now be a national event. The objective of the week is to encourage more people to visit pubs after research has shown that around 20 pubs close every month. To date over 15,000 pubs have participated in the event. The 2005 Pubs Week will take place between 19th and 26th February.
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Scottish & Newcastle recently announced that it will shortly be introducing health warnings on all its beer bottles in an effort to help combat binge drinking. The message will be “Responsible drinkers don't exceed three to four units a day for men, two to three for women”. Labels will also state the number of units per bottle or can.
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While still on the subject of health, there has been plenty of research that says that moderate drinking is good for the health and more recent research implies that it doesn't much matter what type of alcohol it is - wine, beer or spirits. Moderate drinking has been found to reduce the risk of heart and circulatory diseases in comparison to non drinkers and heavy drinkers. But there is more good news for beer drinkers. Beer often has half the calories of the equivalent volume of ordinary soft drinks and provides the drinker with vitamins B1, B2, B3 and B4.
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Despite all the doom and gloom about beer sales, reports from 2003 indicate that beer still remains the most popular alcoholic drink in the UK, accounting for 48% of the market and the total volume of consumption remains fairly stable. However, the market is growing in value fuelled by a shift towards more premium lagers from “standard strength beers”. In 2003, Scottish & Newcastle was the market leader by value, followed by three foreign companies: Belgium's InBev (formally Interbrew), Coors from the USA and Danish Carlsberg. These four companies account for a staggering 80% of the UK beer market.
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If you can't wait until March and the London Drinker Beer & Cider Festival, then why not make a date and go to CAMRA's Battersea Beer Festival, which takes place in mid February. 2005 sees the 15th event, which takes place at the Battersea Arts Centre, about 10 minutes walk from Clapham Junction. See www.swlcamra.org.uk for further details.
Christine Cryne
Reproduced from the Full Pint, Issue 28.
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