LONDON (AP) – SABMiller PLC, the world’s second-largest brewer, on Thursday reported a 32 percent drop in net profit as revenues were hit hard by unfavorable currency movements and lager volumes declined.

For the six months ending Sept. 30, the brewer of Grolsch, Pilsner Urquell and Peroni Nastro Azzurro lagers said net profit was $973 million, compared with $1.42 billion a year earlier.

Comparisons were skewed by exceptional gains of $404 million last year as the company booked a profit from its role in establishing joint venture MillerCoors, while in the current period the company reported exceptional charges of $211 million.

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If you are interested in getting your RIS on, a keg of Surly Darkness will be tapped at a party tomorrow at Monk’s House of Ale Repute, 420 East 8th Street, in Sioux Falls. Only one full and one quarter keg of Darkness were distributed to South Dakota.

If you show up, you will get the chance to meet Surly owner Omar Ansari who will be in attendance at the tapping to talk about his Russian imperial stout and his company’s other beers.

Be advised that the tapping and party will start at 6 pm, NOT at 7 as reported on Surly’s website.

-Tim Hynds

COPENHAGEN (AP) – Danish brewer Carlsberg A/S posted Wednesday a 25 percent hike in third-quarter profit, citing successful cost-cutting strategies and strong returns in Eastern European and Asian markets.

The beer producer said net profit rose to 1.5 billion kroner ($297 million) in the July through September period from 1.2 billion kroner in 2008.

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DENVER (AP) – MillerCoors, a U.S. joint venture between Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC, said Wednesday that its third-quarter profit climbed on cost-control efforts as well as the strength of beer brands like MGD 64.

The maker of Blue Moon and Miller Genuine Draft said its earnings rose 37 percent to $229.7 million compared with a pro-forma profit of $168.2 million a year ago.

Excluding pension related charges and other items, profit increased to $244.4 million from $190.8 million.

Revenue grew 3 percent to $2.01 billion from $1.95 billion, partly on MGD 64’s strength, while sales of mainstay Miller Lite continued to soften.

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PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – Call it a culture clash, trans-Atlantic style.

The Brits think the Americans are puritanical and somewhat batty. The Americans find the Brits morally lax and too willing to bend the rules.

It all started at a high school in Maine when a student consumed half a bottle of Fentimans Victorian Lemonade, then looked at the label and discovered it contained small amounts of alcohol, listed as less than 0.5 percent. By contrast, a typical American beer usually contains about 5 percent alcohol.

Not wanting to get in trouble, he showed it to school administrators, who called police. Police referred the matter to state officials to determine whether the zesty beverage could be sold to minors. Anti-alcohol groups got involved, sending out warnings about the potential perils of the highbrow brew.

On Thursday, the Maine attorney general’s office said it has determined that, in Maine, at least, people have to be 21 to buy the product.

“Fentimans Lemonade cannot be sold to minors,” said spokeswoman Kate Simmons.

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See related story:

A look at new lower-calorie beers from big brewers Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors and how they compare with others:

MILLERCOORS:

Miller Genuine Draft 64: 64 calories, 2.8 percent alcohol

Miller Lite: 96 calories, 4.2 percent

Miller Genuine Draft: 143 calories, 4.7 percent

ANHEUSER-BUSCH:

Select 55: 55 calories, 2.4 percent alcohol

Budweiser Select: 99 calories, 4.3 percent

Bud Light: 110 calories, 4.2 percent

Budweiser: 145 calories, 5 percent

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A former Anheuser-Busch executive who was the company’s top-ranking woman has sued the brewer claiming it encourages a “frat party” atmosphere and pays women less in salary and bonuses than men.

Francine Katz, former vice president of communications and consumer affairs for the maker of Budweiser, Bud Light and other beers, filed the lawsuit Monday in state court in St. Louis.

In a statement, the brewer’s current vice president of communications, Terri Vogt, said the company believes Katz was compensated fairly and the lawsuit is unjustified.

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MILWAUKEE (AP) – How low can beer makers go? Having conquered the beer-belly set, some of the nation’s biggest brewers are trying to win over the six-pack-ab crowd with ultra-low-calorie suds.

The question is: Are drinkers willing to sacrifice flavor and a bit of the buzz? And: How long before beer gets turned back into water?

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BEIJING (AP) – Tibet’s Lhasa Beer is ramping up exports to the United States amid strong demand.

Monthly shipments will expand ten-fold from less than 100 tons to 1,000 tons by the second half of next year, Norbu Tsering, the company’s deputy general manager, told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday from the Tibetan capital.

“The distributor in the U.S said our beer sold quite well and they want us to increase our supply. We have to increase the production to meet the demand of both U.S and domestic market, as people here also have a strong demand for our beer,” Norbu Tsering said.

The company exported its first two batches to the U.S. this year, with the latest shipped to the ports in Houston, Seattle, Southern California, Northern California and North Carolina, he said.

U.S. distributor Dzambuling Imports LLC, based in El Cerrito, California, launched sales of Lhasa Beer in Texas on Aug. 3. Packaging and labels of the exported product features traditional Tibetan-style colors and images, in contrast to the more sedate look of the domestic version.

The beer’s makers market its mellow flavor produced from traditional Himalayan high mountain barley and imported hops.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) – The fight between Monster and Vermonster has been settled.

A small Vermont brewery that makes a beer called Vermonster and the Nasdaq-traded maker of Monster energy drinks settled a trademark dispute that prompted some stores to pull the larger company’s beverages in protest.

The energy drinks-maker, Hansen Beverage Co., sent a cease-and-desist letter last month to Rock Art, telling it to stop using the name and to pay for its attorneys’ fees.

On Tuesday, the two sides reached a settlement that allows Rock Art to continue to market the brew, an American barley wine, anywhere in the country. In return, Rock Art agreed not to sell energy drinks, which it never intended to do, said Douglas Riley, a Rock Art lawyer.

Neither Corona, Calif.-based Hansen nor its lawyer would comment on the settlement, the terms of which were confidential.

“It’s phenomenal,” said Matt Nadeau, who owns the Morrisville brewery with his wife. “It happened so fast. That’s what’s just amazing about this new power of traditional media, combined with social media, what tools that we have as Americans to fight against big power.”

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