Brands like Blue Moon and Goose Island boom as Britons drink less but drink better After years of derision and association with loutish behaviour, lager is mounting a fightback. Sales of a drink once associated with continental sophistication have dropped by 11% since 2004, with lager ceding market share to real ale last year for the first time in living memory. But now the lager industry is gearing up for a fight, as American “craft” brews are revealed as the UK’s fastest growing beer trend. Data from Information Resources Inc, a research company, shows that sales of premium lagers imported from the US have increased by 150% over the past year as they are rolled out in the UK’s pubs and clubs. Tesco is launching four of the most popular – Blue Moon, Goose Island, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Brooklyn – at 750 stores across the UK. “American craft beers have become the UK’s fastest growing beer trend and are now starting to muscle in on territory dominated by Belgian and German specialist brews,” said Tesco’s buyer, Chiara Nesbitt. “UK tastes have been changing for a while now, and more and more drinkers are moving towards flavoursome brews.” Craft lagers trade on their artisanal, independent image. But many are owned by the major brewing chains which are desperate to diversify at a time when lager’s mass appeal is on the wane. Blue Moon is made by Coors, and Anheuser Busch, which makes Budweiser, bought a 58% stake of Chicago-based brewery Goose Island in March. The strategy mirrors that of one of the UK’s leading lagers, Stella Artois, which has repositioned itself as a sophisticated European brand through a series of chic 60s-style French cinema adverts and expanding into other drinks like cider. “The big brewers will have done their big trends research, looking at 10, 15 years out,” said Pearse McCabe, strategy and planning director with the branding agency Rufus Leonard. “They will have anticipated the growth of the more affluent consumer and made the appropriate moves to buy up these craft brands. It’s cynical but it’s the way business works.” McCabe said the supermarkets’ decision to push craft beers was a sign they were now set to go mainstream. “Craft beers have been around in the US for 25 years. But now they are becoming big over here. In some ways, the brewers have learned from the wine market. “Craft beers are an attempt to graft a sense of place and history on to a brand. There’s a story behind it, like wine. When you read a label on a bottle of wine, you learn about the château where it’s come from, the family behind it. Craft beers stress integrity and authenticity, just like wine.” The brands owe their success to the prohibition era in 1920s America that saw many breweries go out of business. When prohibition was lifted, the brewing industry was quickly taken over by large corporations that created light lager-like beers for a mass market. Many beer connoisseurs were unhappy with the product and started brewing their own drinks. This in turn led to the development of the microbrewery industry and subsequently the craft beer market, which today boasts some 1,800 breweries in the US. “The popularity of American craft lagers is very much down to how they offer similar traits associated with the British brewing scene of older years,” said Ian Lowe, of the real ale campaigner Camra. “They are more heavily hopped and are higher alcohol content brews.” The new lagers usually cost anything between 20p and 30p more than their established rivals. Lowe said he believed their increasing popularity indicated a shift in drinking patterns. “While the American craft lagers are definitely pricier than the lagers and bitters that dominate the UK, even by London standards, I think the public feel that they would rather drink less but drink better,” Lowe said. “They are moving away from the tasteless pint that the smooth-flows and lagers from bigger traditional brands offer. They are tired of old offerings of the standard of Carling and
Continue reading …Christine O’Donnell Accuses Piers Morgan of ‘Borderline Sexual Harassment’
August 20, 2011 No Comment
Click here to view this media Failed Republican Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell Friday defended walking out of an interview with Piers Morgan by attacking the CNN host. “It was not about the questions of gay marriages, as the producer very dishonestly tried to portray it,” O’Donnell told NBC’s Savannah Guthrie. “It was, like I said, the very inappropriate, creepy line of questioning leading up to that.” “Wait a minute,” Guthrie interrupted. “Let me ask you about that a just little bit though because you walked out of an interview actually at the moment he asked you about gay marriage.” “When they’re sitting there pressing you on personal intimate questions and you’re saying, ‘I don’t want to go there.’ He could have said, ‘What’s your mother’s name?’ And I would have been like, ‘Come on, let’s stop.’ I wanted to stop that borderline sexual harassment that was going on,” O’Donnell explained.
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WASHINGTON — Liberals argue that he caved on the debt ceiling. Unions are upset over his handling of unemployment and labor issues. Hispanics brought the immigration debate directly to his campaign doorstep. President Barack Obama’s summer of discontent has been marked by rumblings within his Democratic political base over his willingness to fight congressional Republicans and his approach to fixing the economy. Liberals disappointed with Obama for compromising with the GOP during the debt-ceiling showdown now are calling on him to hold firm against Republicans this fall. They want him to push a bold jobs agenda while drawing a strong line on taxes and protecting Medicare and Social Security. In recent weeks, the gripes have become so loud that the president himself acknowledged them during his Midwest bus tour this week. “I’ve got a whole bunch of responsibilities, which means I have to make choices sometimes that are unattractive and I know will be bad for me politically and I know will get supporters of mine disappointed,” Obama said in Iowa. He claimed progress on the economy, health care and two wars. And, offering his backers a bit of tough love, he added: “Sometimes you’ve got to make choices in order to do what’s best for the country at that particular moment, and that’s what I’ve tried to do.” The complaints – founded or not – are narrowing the tightrope Obama must walk over the next year to keep his base energized while recapturing the independent voters who helped power his win over John McCain in 2008. Still, for all the complaining, the ultimate impact on Obama’s re-election chances is open to question. The president faces no serious primary opponent, and polls show him faring fairly well within his party. Few liberals are likely to support a Republican for president next year. But angry liberals could refuse to volunteer to knock on doors or make phone calls, a pivotal grass-roots role for a candidate’s base of supporters. Disaffected Democrats could keep their wallets closed, hampering small-dollar fundraising over the Internet. Or they could just stay away from the polls on Election Day. “They want to love him, but he’s given them little evidence and his rhetoric is running out of steam,” said Princeton professor Cornel West, who campaigned for Obama in 2008 but has become a fierce critic. “We find ourselves between a rock and a hard place. He’s going to need high levels of enthusiasm among his base, and it’s going to be hard to do that with speeches and no real serious actions or policies.” The liberal angst has surfaced repeatedly over the past year as Obama has faced the reality of divided government in the aftermath of the 2010 congressional elections in which Republicans won the House. Liberals howled last December when he struck a deal with the GOP to extend Bush-era tax cuts. That reinforced earlier bad feelings from when he dropped the proposed “public option” for a government plan to compete with private insurance as part of the health care overhaul. Lately, the left has complained that Obama gave up too much in spending cuts during the debt-ceiling fight and failed to extract higher taxes on the wealthy in return. Now labor is arguing that a jobs agenda Obama will outline next month is long overdue, and unions are cringing when he talks about trade deals and patent reform. Last week, about a dozen trade unions said they would boycott next year’s Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., over frustration on the economy and because the event will be held in a right-to-work state. Blacks, who are expected to turn out in huge numbers next year to help re-elect that nation’s first black president, also are complaining about high joblessness. “Our people are hurting. The unemployment level is unconscionable,” Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., said recently at a Congressional Black Caucus meeting in Detroit. And on Tuesday, Latino activists delivered 35,000 petitions to Obama’s Chicago campaign headquarters to protest the record number of deportations on Obama’s watch. They oppose a policy allowing police to submit the fingerprints of criminal suspects to the Department of Homeland Security so they can be cross-checked with deportation orders. “President Obama is doing a smashing job of discouraging, unmotivating and inducing fear among Latino voters,” said Roberto Lovato, co-founder of Presente.org. On the other hand, in a move welcomed by immigration advocates, the Obama administration said Thursday that many illegal immigrants facing deportation despite having no criminal records will be allowed to stay in the country and apply for work permits. And Obama has won plaudits from gays and lesbians for ending the ban on gays serving openly in the armed services and for ordering his administration to stop defending the constitutionality of the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition to married gay couples. Obama campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt dismisses questions about liberal enthusiasm for the president, calling them “nothing more than Washington chatter that is not backed up by the facts on the ground.” And most polls do show Obama faring strongly with Democrats. The president’s overall approval rating has trended slowly downward this summer in Gallup’s daily tracking polls, hitting new lows for his presidency – about 39 percent – last week. But on average he has barely lost ground among his strongest supporters, averaging 83 percent approval among liberal Democrats compared with 86 percent earlier this year. Among moderate Democrats, 74 percent approve, down from the high 70s in the winter and spring. A Fox News poll conducted last week found about eight in 10 Democratic voters said they would probably vote to re-elect the president. “He will have a base problem until the time when an opponent emerges, and then 90 percent of the problem will disappear,” said Democratic pollster Paul Maslin. “People will consider the opponent and then he’ll look awfully good.” ___ Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report. ___ Ken Thomas can be reached at http://twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas
Continue reading …Jan Brewer: Facebook ‘Censored’ Post Critical of Obama Immigration Policy
August 20, 2011 No Comment
Arizona governor Jan Brewer says she was “censored” by Facebook after a posting she made on the social network was removed by the site's staff. In her post, Brewer had criticized the Obama administration's recent decision to halt prosecutions of many illegal immigrants. “Facebook censored the post and removed it because the photo apparently violated their 'Facebook Community Standards.' Before it was removed, it had received over 10,000 likes and comments,” Brewer said in a subsequent post. According to Brewer, the initial post was taken down because was because a comedic drawing of her face superimposed onto the famous “Rosie the Riveter” character from World War II was included in it. The picture has been used by Brewer for previous Facebook posts and exists in multiple locations on her official profile . In a statement apologizing for the removal, Facebook did not state why the drawing triggered the censorship, however it is likely that this is yet another case of ever-so-tolerant liberals abusing web alert mechanisms to censor those with differing political opinions. This is a phenomenon, called “flag spam,” is one that
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We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again — you deserve a projector . Watch those tiny LCDs and plasmas if you want, but it’s time to go big or go home and Optoma is delivering three new beamers to help that happen. The new HD33 model (pictured above) makes its claim to fame as the first 1080p 3D projector available for less than $1,500, while the HD3300 and HD8300 make their bones in slighly more upmarket segments, priced at $1,999 and $4,499, respectively. All three make 3D happen in conjunction with the company’s new RF-synced active shutter glasses, while featuring PureMotion3D and PureDepth for frame interpolation and brightness control. Those extra bucks spent on the HD8300 has ISF certified controls, lens shift for extra placement flexibility, PureMotion4D motion interpolation and a lamp rated at 1,500 lumens. The HD33 is available now, while the other two are expected to start shipping later this month, however with CEDIA 2011 just around the corner we’d probably hold off on pressing the buy button before everyone shows off their latest home theater wares. Continue reading Optoma delivers three new projectors, one does 3D for just $1,499 Optoma delivers three new projectors, one does 3D for just $1,499 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 20 Aug 2011 20:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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The show must go on, even in the face of tragedy. Bravo has not yet determined if they’ll deviate from the originally-scheduled September 5th premiere date of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, but for now, the show’s producers are back in the cutting room. Bravo president Frances Berwick says they’ve begun to re-edit the show
Continue reading …Rock ‘n’ roll veterans AC/DC have a new way to shake fans all night long—with their own line of wines, reports CNN . Working in conjunction with the Warburn Estate winery, the band will offer four wines named after some of their most famous songs: Back in Black Shiraz, Highway…
Continue reading …Families ‘will be priced out of social housing by plans for higher rents’
August 20, 2011 No Comment
Proposed rent rises will be unaffordable across much of urban England, not just London, study warns Larger families claiming benefits, many with members in work, will be unable to afford increased rents on social housing across swaths of urban England, according to research. Rents will rise to as much as 80% of those in the private sector. The government wants the cash to be used to build affordable homes, to make up for a significant reduction in grants. But with private sector rents in England having risen to 58% of the gross weekly wage of the lowest paid, and to 72% in the case of London, there are fears many on benefits will be unable to afford the impending increases. It has been feared that the move would hit families with three or more children living in London. But the research, by Cambridge University academics, indicates that the new market-pegged social rents will be unaffordable for families with three or more children in many parts of the country. The investigations, by the Cambridge Centre for Housing and Planning Research, suggests a couple with three or more children would breach the maximum £26,000 benefit cap in four out of the five local authority areas it examined. The four authorities were: Brighton and Hove, East Sussex; Bromley, Greater London; Hertsmere, Hertfordshire; and Mid Sussex, all areas that are home to large numbers of families in affordable housing. A couple with three children in Hertsmere would face a shortfall of £56 a week if 80% market rents were charged, while in Brighton and Hove the shortfall would be £34. The only place in the study where 80% rents could be sustained by a larger family dependent on benefits, without incurring additional hardship, was Plymouth. “We don’t believe that increasing rents to 80% of market levels across the board is appropriate,” said Keith Exford, chief executive of Affinity Sutton, one of the country’s largest social housing providers, which commissioned the research. “It could cause acute financial and affordability problems for new residents and this research demonstrates it will not work for larger families.” Housing providers could charge less than the 80% rate – and several have indicated they will do so for larger families. But it is estimated that, even if families only pay the expected 60% to 65% of the local market rate, those who depend on benefits will struggle. “Most people living in our accommodation in inner London are working, often in part-time or insecure jobs.” Exford said. “They can’t afford to commute to the jobs and public transport is not available at 4am in the morning when they are coming in to clean offices. Do we want whole sections of our cities to be like Paris, only for the rich?” Christine Whitehead, who led the research, said the findings suggested there was a dilemma ahead for those providing social housing. “The big question now is, who is to be housed under the new regime? The low-income employed or those who will need housing benefit to pay the increased rents?” Alex Fenton, who carried out the modelling for the study, warned: “We should treat this scheme with caution. There are still big questions about whether more houses will get built as a result.” • The coalition’s plans to reform benefits could see one in five Liberal Democrat voters deserting the party. A poll for the National Housing Federation found that 20% of those who voted Lib Dem in 2010 would be less likely to do so at the next election. The proposals have caused much concern among the party’s backbenchers. In February, the government had to drop its proposal to cut housing benefit for those who have been unemployed for more than a year. Housing Housing benefit Communities Jamie Doward guardian.co.uk
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Northern Irish man says waiter who confessed to murder of two women was a ‘gold-digger’ A 15-year-old girl whose mother was stabbed to death while on holiday in Turkey was being comforted on Saturday night by her father. The girl’s Turkish boyfriend has confessed to killing Marion Graham and her friend, Kathy Dinsmore. Before flying out from Northern Ireland, the girl’s father, Raymond McGuinness, recalled his unease over his daughter Shannon’s relationship with Recep Cetin, a 17-year-old waiter, which began last summer. McGuinness described Cetin as “controlling” and a “gold-digger” and claimed that he had been keen on acquiring the property the McGuinness family owned on the Turkish Aegean. Graham, McGuinness’s former wife, and her friend, had been killed after being lured to a forest near the city of Izmir. Their bodies were discovered by police 20 yards apart from each other in
Continue reading …Kate Bosworth Stars in Vanessa Bruno’s Fall Campaign, Watch the Creepy Short Film
August 20, 2011 No Comment
The always gorgeous Kate Bosworth follows French actress Lou Doillon as the latest face of French label Vanessa Bruno . The fall/winter campaign was Nordic-inspired–making Kate Bosworth, with her impossibly pale skin and blonde hair, a perfect choice. However, we couldn’t help but think of her ex, Eric Northman Alexander Skarsgård when we watched this short film. It’s called LØV and in it, Kate plays… Broadcasting platform : Vimeo Source : Fashionista Discovery Date : 19/08/2011 19:00 Number of articles : 2
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