27-Aug-2009 By Robyn Lewis
Scottish & Newcastle has announced it is axing Bulmers Pear on draught after just under a year, preferring instead to concentrate on the bottled...
25-Aug-2009 By Ewan Turney
Henry Chevallier Guild is to become the chair of the National Association of Cider Makers (NACM) from 2 September.
The Licensees' Choice Awards 2009
17-Aug-2009
Welcome to the very first Licensees' Choice Awards! This new initiative is designed to celebrate the drinks brands in the UK pub market that...
17-Aug-2009 By Ewan Turney
Irish cider Magners has launched a search to find an official taste tester with a salary of £50,000. The search for the honorary position is...
New cider brand launched exclusively for on-trade
13-Aug-2009
A new cider brand has been launched exclusively for the on-trade. Symonds Founders Reserve is a 5.5 per cent ABV draught product that will be...
Comment: The great pear shortage
12-Aug-2009
There's evidence that pear cider has taken over where the success of conventional apple left off. Asking for 'a pint of cider' in three venues last...
Supply problems for Bulmers Pear finally resolved
10-Aug-2009
Stockists of Bulmers Pear are breathing a sigh of relief after Scottish and Newcastle (S&N) finally sorted out supply problems that have denied...
03-Aug-2009 By Ewan Turney
Magners is gearing up for a busy few weeks as sponsor of the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The cider brand will be sponsoring the Best of Irish...
Comment: Pub pours chances of repeat custom away with its ullage
23-Jul-2009
The Publican's Beer Matters initiative continues to celebrate the best drinks service. It's also important to draw attention to the worst. This is a...
Bulmers plans rustic summer sampling campaign
20-Jul-2009 By Sonya Hook
A marketing campaign for Bulmers cider will take the brand directly to the British public this summer. Scottish & Newcastle is introducing an...
Taking the front foot against alcohol advertising regulators
17-Jul-2009
Pernod Ricard (PRUK) has launched the latest in a long line of responsible drinking ad campaigns by the giants of the drinks trade. It comes as...
Comment: Look, we are responsible!
14-Jul-2009
It's been a bad few weeks for alcohol advertisers, and it's got me thinking about the appropriate way for the drinks industry to respond to...
Cider giants weigh into tax debate
10-Jun-2009
The giants of the cider industry used a meeting at the House of Commons last night (Tuesday, June 9) to weigh into the duty debate.At the annual...
Free pint promotion from Westons
09-Jun-2009
Cider drinkers will be given game cards that change colour to reveal whether they have won a prize in a new promotion from Westons.Customers ordering...
Tesco boss defends alcohol promotions
03-Jun-2009 By Matt Eley Matt
Ask licensees up and down the country what the biggest issues affecting them are, and you will be hit with a tirade. The beer tie, tax, the smoking...
New technology offers cost savings on line cleaning
02-Jun-2009
A cellar services company has launched a new system it says can save pubs thousands of pounds a year by reducing the volume of beer lost during line...
29-May-2009 By Robyn Lewis
The Gaymer Cider Company is declaring the relaunch of its Blackthorn brand to be a success. The cider was reformulated in March to make it less dry...
Comment: Blackthorn's long-term success is sad but true
27-May-2009
The Gaymer Cider Company's (GCC) fight back following damaging press coverage of its new-look and new-taste Blackthorn has begun in earnest (see...
S&N aims for core Strongbow fans
21-May-2009 By Robyn Lewis
New advertising for cider brand Strongbow, set to launch on Sunday (24 May), kicks off an attempt by owner Scottish & Newcastle to better engage with core Strongbow fans.
Comment: Little to lose and lots to gain through supplier initiatives
20-May-2009
The journalist stereotype of the cynical old hack doesn't apply to me.I'm generally upbeat about drinks companies' efforts to drive footfall through...
Spirits training: Cask Marque turns it hand to spirits training
18-May-2009
The obvious product you would associate with trade body Cask Marque is beer, so it's a surprise to find it set to launch a comprehensive staff...
Brothers hits festival circuit
13-May-2009
Cider company Brothers is continuing its long-standing associations with music festivals through a number of sponsorships this summer.It said the...
Magners cider sales slide by nearly a fifth
12-May-2009 By Hamish Champ
The UK consumer's love affair with Magners cider has continued to cool over the last year, with C&C Group, which owns and manufactures the brand,...
New dry draught cider answers Blackthorn critics
12-May-2009
Gaymer Cider Company is attempting to answer critics of the new taste it has given to Blackthorn by making Natch cider available on draught for the...
Tennis ace Rusedski to help Ember Inns' campaign
12-May-2009
Ember Inns has launched its annual Drink Pink campaign in a bid to raise £50,000 for charity Against Breast Cancer.The four week campaign will be...
07-May-2009 By Ewan Turney
Gwatkin's Yarlington Mill cider and Broadoak Perry have scooped gold medals at the National Cider and Perry Championships 2009.
07-May-2009 By Robyn Lewis
Two products from the Gaymer Cider Company are to be relaunched to further push their premium credentials. Gaymer's Orchard Reserve and Addlestones...
Summer special: How to sell drinks this summer
05-May-2009
One idea that works well in the summer would be to run a drinks festival. With the category booming, what better time to celebrate all things...
Addlestones relaunched
05-May-2009
Gaymer Cider Company is to relaunch two of its brands in order to capitalise on what it claims is growing demand for diversity within the cider...
Magners Draught hits 5,000 stockists
01-May-2009 By Andrew Pring
In just under a year since launch, Coors Brewers has reached a significant milestone seeing distribution of Magners Draught exceed 5,000 outlets - a...
A WKD sort of cider
30-Apr-2009
The latest entry to the cider market comes not from a West Country cider farm nor from the power-houses of Magners or Bulmers, but from WKD.That's...
Comment: Poorly prepared pubs still fail to cater for non-drinkers
29-Apr-2009
Finishing the London Marathon on Sunday put an end to months of temperance, and what a relief - pubs are no fun at all for someone off the booze.The...
WKD launches cider
24-Apr-2009
Ready-to-drink (RTD) brand WKD is to make a radical move into the cider market with the launch of WKD Core.The WKD brand extension, a 4.5 per cent...
Comment: Curtain up for theatre in selling drinks
24-Apr-2009
The Brands Report 2009, our annual look at the 200 best-selling drinks brands in the UK, will be hitting doormats around now.Among the dramatic rises...
Oz Clarke's cask conversion
16-Apr-2009
It's 10:30am and Oz Clarke is already onto his second or third pint of ale. It's entirely appropriate, for his presence in the Betjeman Arms, in...
'Tesco to announce weekly turnover now hitting £1 billion'
16-Apr-2009 By James Wilmore
Its domination of the British High Street has been absolute in recent years. And this week the Tesco behemouth is set to smash yet through symbolic...
06-Apr-2009 By Robyn Lewis
The Gaymer Cider company said it is "disappointed" by the backlash from Blackthorn drinkers in the brand's Bristol heartland who have slammed the...
Comment: Resigned Magners man heading for a cider farm near you?
02-Apr-2009
There's a certain irony that comes into play with the news of Magners UK managing director John Holberry resigning. His departure comes as a result...
Drinks giants launch new training scheme
02-Apr-2009
The giants of the drinks trade have partnered to launch a major new barstaff training scheme.Coordinated by Cask Marque, companies including Diageo,...
'Traders try to scupper Tesco alcohol plans'
02-Apr-2009
Traders and shoppers have launched a last-ditch attempt to scupper Tesco's plans to move in to Wanstead - by urging the council not to grant the...
25-Mar-2009 By Ewan Turney
Magners has extended its sponsorship of the Celtic rugby union league for a further two years. The agreement will see Magners continue as title...
Comment: Drinks that pubs really want
24-Mar-2009
There is a hefty gap between what many drinks producers claim pubs need and what pubs actually want.This was demonstrated by two things last week....
Gaymers turns up volume for music promotion
24-Mar-2009
Gaymer Cider Company has announced the line up for a second summer of marketing the brand around music festivals.It has also promised retail support...
20-Mar-2009 By Robyn Lewis
A pink cider designed for female drinkers is the latest concept from Thatchers Cider. Katy Rosé, which is crafted in Somerset from English Katy...
BII backs minimum pricing
19-Mar-2009 By John Harrington
The BII has given its backing to plans for a minimum pricing of alcohol. The issue remains on the radar after Gordon Brown said he wasn't keen on the...
18-Mar-2009 By Robyn Lewis
Magners UK boss says it will focus on the on-trade to boost the brand's market share.
Magners unveils plan to halt sales decline
17-Mar-2009
Magners has set out a battle plan for its newly-formed range that it hopes will see it arrest declining sales and become a "one-stop shop for...
Coors launches 'one stop shop' for online ordering
10-Mar-2009
Coors Brewers has launched a new website to provide a "one stop shop" for freetrade customers ordering from the company.Licensees will be able to...
Comment: We're dangerously obsessed with price
09-Mar-2009
The past week has emphasised how dangerously obsessed with price we are.The trade's submissions in the run-up to the Budget are of huge importance,...
Blackthorn cider relaunched
06-Mar-2009
Gaymer Cider Company is to relaunch its best-selling brand Blackthorn with a new liquid, new packaging and a £1.5m marketing campaign.The relaunch...
