Remember December of 2011? Sure you do – it was the month of celebrity beer and wine, and we were especially fascinated by the announcement by none other than 1990s bubblegum brother band Hanson that they were planning to release their own brand India Pale Ale early the following year. But when 2012 came and went so fast (oh yeah, it was gone soooo fast) and nothing materialized, we figured a Hanson beer was just a pipe dream and we’d better not get our hopes up.

But boy were we wrong, and we love it: the Hanson beer is here, dear readers, and it’s called Mmmhops because of course it is.

Not only is it here, but it’s apparently already made its debut on the big screen with a cameo scene in Hangover 3. What's more, bottles of the brew were served at the premiere of the movie. Need proof? Here’s a snapshot courtesy of Taylor Hanson’s own Instagram account with a cameo of its own by Ed Helms:

Mmmhops Pale Ale (“from the guys that invented mmmbop” because of course) has already hit the ground running over social media, deploying both a Twitter account and a Facebook page. Not that either of them are too heavily populated with content yet, but it’s a start.

Still, with such a bare bones website, we have so many unanswered questions. Unless the Hanson brothers are master home brewers, we’re guessing that they were able to partner with a bigger brewery on this endeavor – or at least a distribution company. So who’s the lucky brewing company? When will they make it available to the public? Most importantly, what does it taste like?

We’ll let you know the details as we learn them. But for now, just know that Mmmhops is here, and it’s a glorious thing indeed.

[SOURCE: Mashable]

Located among small towns with names like Fyvie, Inverurie, Newmachar and Pitmedden, Oldmeldrum is a quintessential Scottish market town: old stone buildings, a town square, a serious public transport system, and a distillery dating all the way back to 1797 (one of Scotland’s oldest) that was able to put to good use all the barley farmed in the fields that surround the town.

The distillery style is honeyed and floral with some of the best single casks I’ve tasted, having a delicious Parma Violet quality to them.  If you’re not familiar with Parma Violets, perhaps you’ve encountered lavender hard candies from France or even a lavender-scented pillow (although they are notoriously more difficult to chew!).  The lavender is not to everyone’s taste so it doesn’t feature prominently, if at all, in the standard releases: a 1797 Founder’s Reserve bottling; a 12 Year Old; and a series of small batch releases.

Recently Glen Garioch distillery launched a “Rare Finds” competition, whereby they are offering one winner a two-day all-expenses-paid trip to Oldmeldrum, staying at Meldrum House, a four star hotel situated in the Aberdeenshire countryside. 

On a VIP tour of the distillery, the winner will discover the time-honored skills at work and hear from the master craftsmen involved.  The fortunate fan will then attend a private tasting conducted by Master Blender Rachel Barrie, who was born and raised in Oldmeldrum, about which she says:

“I always remember the wonderful feeling after tea-time of running into barley fields followed by the adventures of cycling to and then climbing to the top of Bennachie, where as a young adult on Midsummer’s eve, I would enjoy a dram or two of Glen Garioch at the ‘Mither Tap’, surrounded by the summer scent of ripening barley and heather on the hillside.”

On the second day of the trip, the competition winner will venture out into the countryside under the guidance of local experts for a spot of salmon fishing and gold prospecting at a couple of secret locations.

Even if you don’t win the trip itself, runners-up will receive a special, limited edition, small batch release of Glen Garioch.

The competition is open for entries until June 3.  All you have to do is head over to Glen Garioch’s Facebook page, locate the competition link, and spend five seconds entering.  It really is that easy (I just entered while writing this column!).

Good luck!  And know that if you win you’ll only be an hour-long bus trip from the heart of the Granite City, Aberdeen, if you choose to leave all that Aberdeenshire countryside behind!

• San Diego City Council pays service to the city’s status as a Beer Capital of the World, considering a plan to allow breweries to have larger tasting rooms and restaurants. ~ KPBS

• Were the special “Crazy for Good” Coca-Cola cans that appeared in Zimbabwe last week propaganda or an innocent mistake? Not everyone sees eye to eye on the answer.  ~ All Africa

• Speaking of Coca-Cola, you JUST missed out on maybe being able to buy the original recipe for the soda on eBay. But at a starting bid of $5 million, would it have been worth the risk? ~ Time

• Sick of the cicada swarm? The United Nations recommends eating them, as is the norm in dozens of non-Western cultures. ~ Jezebel

• How do you solve a problem like having your brand name intrinsically linked to both a hero and a horrific abduction story? That’s what McDonald’s is figuring out. ~ Christian Science Monitor

• Treme executive producer David Simon weighs in on the spat between Anthony Bourdain and Bravo VP Andy Cohen over Top Chef filming in New Orleans. ~ Eater

• RIP E. Robert Kinney, former General Mills CEO and creator of Gorton’s Fish Sticks, who has sailed on to Fisherman’s Valhalla. ~ Grub Street

Nope, that’s a negative. According to the New York Times, this morning the United States Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of Monsanto, upholding the original ruling as well as the appeal. Justice Elena Kagan delivered the statement, which aimed to contain the implications of the ruling by holding it to a narrow scope:

"Our holding today is limited — addressing the situation before us, rather than every one involving a self-replicating product," she wrote. "We recognize that such inventions are becoming ever more prevalent, complex, and diverse. In another case, the article’s self-replication might occur outside the purchaser’s control. Or it might be a necessary but incidental step in using the item for another purpose.”

It seems that, unfortunately for Bowman, choosing to save seeds that were clearly of Monsanto’s Roundup Ready breed – despite having signed contracts forbidding him from doing so with his other crops – made it easy enough for the Supreme Court judges to look at this case not as a be-all end-all political statement about Monsanto, but as a cut and dry case of violating contracts and current patent laws. 

Now that the court case has received the final possible verdict, Bowman should be on the hook for the $84,000 in royalties he was originally ordered to pay by the Indiana federal judge who first heard the case back in 2007. It remains to be seen how the precedent set by Bowman v. Monsanto will play out in future cases down the road.

[SOURCE: New York Times]

• Pepsi is hoping to harness the power of social media and HTML5 to reach consumers and drive interest in its Pepsi Next product. ~ Mobile Marketer

• This week was the 2013 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards – check out the list of winners. ~ Eater

• The Fast Food Forward movement comes to Detroit as protesters walked off the job to strike  in a fight for higher wages and unions on Friday. ~ Huffington Post

• Free (for a little while at least) of the mental burdens of constant competition with Hostess, McKee Foods’ Little Debbie mascot is looking a little fresher. ~ Yahoo Finance

• Ever heard of the animated movie FoodFight!, a tale of food mascots come to life? We hadn’t before this week, and we almost wish we still hadn’t. We’re a little scarred by the trailer alone. ~ Forces of Geek

• Las Vegas gets some bad publicity as 200 patrons of popular off-the-Strip tapas restaurant Firefly fall ill with food poisoning. ~ Associated Press

• Can new Tim Hortons CEO Marc Caira save the business from dropping profits and help it forge on ahead in the United States? ~ Macleans

• On a hot streak, Taco Bell appears to be testing out a Waffle Taco for its breakfast menu. Could it do for breakfast what the Doritos Locos did for every other meal of the day? ~ Foodbeast

For the past five years, the Natural Resources Defense Council has sought out leaders throughout the food industry that are thinking differently and changing the face of the industry for the better. At the 2013 Growing Green Awards, the NRDC highlighted four individuals who are making a difference along every segment of the supply chain, from distribution and retail to the very soil where the crops are grown.

FOOD PRODUCER

Russ Kremer | Heritage Acres

When the contraction of an antibiotic-resistant superbug from one of his hogs turned a routine farm accident into a two month near-death experience nightmare, fifth generation pig farmer Russ Kremer dedicated his career to raising his livestock naturally and drug-free. But once he found his calling, there was still the matter of putting it into action – for that Kremer had to look to foreign markets like England and Italy, outside the conventions of the local market where oppressive pork market prices were making it difficult for independent farmers to make a living.

“I’d traveled in Europe in 1999 to study the new trends in marketing food products that were happening over there,” says Kremer. “What I learned was that there was this movement for consumers to build relationships with the farmer, knowing how things were produced and where they were produced, and treating farmers like they were rock stars. I also learned that they were willing to pay a premium for the product that was safe, sustainably raised, and free of chemicals and antibiotics.”

In particular, it was a German cooperative run by a retired veterinarian-turned-homeopathic healer that inspired Kremer to come home and found the Ozark Mountain Pork Cooperative, a collective that is now 52 farms strong – all of them dedicated to raising all-natural heritage pork. Under brands like Heritage Acres and Fork in the Road, Kremer’s cooperative has formed supplier partnerships with major names from Costco to Whole Foods to Chipotle.

“We had raised quite a bit of money and hired marketing and sales people, and that part actually failed – and I came to the realization that what the customers wanted was to know the farmers and know our authentic story,” says Kremer. “So I started knocking on the doors myself. After about three attempts, finally [Chipotle Steve Ells] called and said he wanted to come out and visit, so he actually came out to our farm and was sold on the fact that we truly had this great story and are passionate about raising pigs the right way.”

Kremer sees the NRDC award recognition as a nod to not just him or his cooperative, but as a window to changing the industry for the better. “I was totally flattered and surprised, and of course honored,” says Kremer. “I don’t seek out awards like this. I have dedicated my life to this, especially since I had this near death experience and realized I had to be part of the solution to the safety of food and developing a model for farmers in the food system. I accept this award on behalf of a lot of the other sustainable farmers who work with me or have followed me into the system, because you’ve got to be courageous to go outside your comfort zone and really do what’s right. So I feel a sense of obligation, by winning this award, to continue this work and to continue to prove to the world that the sustainable way of producing food and developing a model and a system for this food is available and acceptable to the masses.”

BUSINESS LEADER

Larry Jacobs | Jacobs Farm/Del Cabo/Farm Fuel Inc.

Larry Jacobs is an entrepreneur who wears several hats, but it all stems from the same source. “I had a really bad experience with pesticides when I was young,” he relates. “In the 1980s the wisdom for growing foods was that you had to use the pesticides, and I just had a strong urge to show that you could do it without all these chemicals – it was hard to find food that wasn’t grown with chemicals, and so there was an impetus to do it ourselves.”

That determination has led Jacobs to the vanguard of the organic agriculture movement on several fronts, from his organic culinary herb production farm Jacobs Farms to his work building the Del Cabo co-operative to support small farming communities in Baja California. Now Jacobs and his team are turning their attentions to another facet of the agriculture industry.

“We started [Farm Fuel Inc.] to help develop tools for farmers to help address some of the big problems we have growing food that up to now require some pretty heavy duty chemicals,” says Jacobs. The problem in particular that Farm Fuel is targeting is the use of methyl bromide, a soil fumigant with an ugly history of ozone depletion and toxicity that is nonetheless a crucial part of conventional farming. “Methyl bromide has become more limited in use, and the amounts licensed and permitted in this country has been increasingly restricted, yet there has been very strong pressure from the ag community and manufacturers to continue using it because they don’t have anything better – so we focused on trying to develop strategies for dealing with that.”

The answer appears to reside in the humble mustard seed – or rather the isothiocyanates that give mustard its heat and its herbicidal properties – and short carbon chain substances like molasses and rice meal that can quickly render soil to anaerobic conditions. Between EPA registration and rigorous testing in real life situations through established farms like Driscoll’s and Nature Ripe, Jacobs is confident that these organic techniques have bright futures ahead.

“We’re that finding yields are better and it’s working comparable to very strong soil fumigants like methyl bromide, and we’re very confident we have a replacement product that’s as good and is going to cost less,” says Jacobs. “When you put that combination in place, you obviate the need to regulate out the use: you don’t need to legislate that farmers can’t use methyl bromide any longer, because now they’ve got something just as good that costs less. Farmers are smart – they’re going to choose that because they’re going to get a better yield, save themselves money, and they don’t have to use this chemical that has setbacks and registration and all this regulatory stuff.”

The NRDC Growing Green Award can only help in getting Farm Fuel’s new ideas the recognition they need to take off. “It was a huge surprise and an enormous honor to be singled out for this award,” says Jacobs. “Those of us growing food work really hard, and the public recognition goes a long way to making us all feel encouraged about all that we do. We’re all putting food in our mouths and our bodies every day – it’s our nourishment, it’s a great source of enjoyment, it’s as basic a human need as you can get. So NRDC recognizing and acknowledging those of us in the food growing world that are pushing the envelope and pushing our industry to grow and create food in a more sustainable way that’s healthy for all the participants – from the workers on the farm to the farmers involved with growing the food – is really important.”

FOOD JUSTICE LEADER

Tezozomoc / South Central Farmers Health and Education Fund

“The way that employment is these days, where it’s hard to even have full time employment even if you want to be employed, and we’ve entered a new form of work – it’s kind of nomadic employment, with a constant unknown, and it’s not guaranteed that you’re going to have employment even if you want to,” says Los Angeles local leader Tezozomoc. “So having those kinds of policies and concepts that allow people to feed themselves, it’s a new form of adaptation to not only living in the city but also creating meaningful subsistence living through agriculture.”

This is the philosophy behind the South Central Farmers Health and Education Fund, a nonprofit project grown out of a 14-acre community farm in L.A.’s South Central district. Though the farm was closed and destroyed in 2006, its spirit lives on through numerous SCFHEF projects, the largest of which is a new 85-acre community farm in Buttonwillow. But that is only the tip of the iceberg.

“We are looking into resources, land, water, capital for equipment, and operating capital to do another farm – that’s our next goal,” says Tezozomoc. “Additionally we’re providing distribution services and marketing services for our existing coops and any future ones, and we’ve started a commercial kitchen that does co-packing and co-processing. We’re working with the cooperative to create a different way to get food to people, trying to create healthy organic and ethnic product lines. These are real things that are happening now – our future is looking at how do we create more of these equity programs where the participants are co-owners in their work? So like the worker-owned cooperatives, distribution as a service rather than an independent vendor – these are the kinds of real things we’re working on, and hopefully with the NRDC Going Green award we can highlight some of these and get some of that support to happen our way.”

Support for the SCFHEF translates directly into support for the farmers and workers that participate in the project – and the opportunity that the community farm provides is a powerful thing. “We believe that agriculture is one of few things that allows you to scale up a way to make a living,” says Tezozomoc. “That’s what we’ve been trying to show. Even if you have people who are marginalized, people can still feed themselves whether within the infrastructure of cities or outside of them.”

YOUNG FOOD LEADER

Brianna Almaguer Sandoval | Healthy Corner Store Initiative

Known for being stocked with heavily processed nonperishable snacks and junk food, a prevailing school of thought paints corner stores as a villain in the fight for access to fresh and healthy food in low-income food deserts. But Philadelphia’s Food Trust nonprofit asked the question: what if corner stores could be converted into willing allies?

That’s the idea behind the Healthy Corner Store Initiative, a movement led by Food Trust employee and NRDC Young Food Leader award winner Brianna Almaguer Sandoval. 

“We did a lot of research and found that 53 percent of kids were shopping at corner stores at least once a day,” says Sandoval. “We thought: if they’re already going to the corner stores, why don’t we just work with them to bring healthier snack options to kids – and why aren’t they offering healthier options? Through that sort of question and answer and trial and error, we developed this model for change in stores where we are providing them with training and technical support around selling healthy perishable products, improving overall store operations, and then also providing them with equipment and other resources they need assistance with in order to get started with selling healthy.”

Sandoval identified three key points that tend to keep healthier offerings out of corner stores – skills, space, and sourcing – and from there the Healthy Corner Store Initiative has set out to help stores overcome those points through employee training and equipment upgrades. Most importantly, the Initiative helps connect stores with quality suppliers who can offer healthy and fresh products at competitive prices. “The idea is really to provide them with that initial support to begin implementing these new healthy options, and then let them continue that through their normal business operations,” says Sandoval.

While the project is already seeing success, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. “We are continuing to develop new ideas and strategies around not only getting healthier products into stores but getting customers to buy them,” says Sandoval. “The next phase that we’re working on is the Healthy Corner Store Certification Program – we’re doing that in partnership with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health and their Get Healthy Philly initiative. We’re actually certifying a store as being healthy, and we look at a number of different food categories like dairy, fruits and vegetables, whole grains, snacks and beverages. For each of those categories we have a certain amount of products that the store must carry, and nutrition standards with that. We’re also requiring stores to implement a promotional requirement. Instead of just stocking those items, put them at eye level in a high traffic location.”

Sandoval notes that it’s all part of the plan to keep moving corner stores – and the city of Philadelphia in general – toward better health and respect for the food system. “Over time we’ve been getting them to do a little more, and this is the next step. So again we’re still trying to push stores to try a little harder and add a little more.” 

Mitigating and eliminating risk is a crucial goal for any business leader. When your business involves automated processing or packaging, one major area of concern is making sure that your product stays consistent. A producer of weighing and measuring instruments for a number of applications, Mettler Toledo understands the importance of accurate weighing systems.

“If you fill too high, then you’re giving product away; if you hit too low then you’re actually taking something away from the customer and in some cases you can be penalized either by loss of image or by the regulators,” says Jeff Holcomb, Market Manager of Automation at Mettler Toledo. “So what you do is to check the weight to make sure you’re hitting the exact targets.” One way that customers achieve this in automated production lines is to fill their product, by volume or weight, and then to  control the weight downstream from the filling or slicing machine with a checkweigher which provides feedback for real-time adjustment of the filling machine to ensure complete compliance.

Mettler Toledo has developed a global weighing standard to help the food industry ensure that their automated measuring processes stay accurate over time. We checked in with Holcomb at Mettler Toledo’s Switzerland headquarters to find out what food production businesses should be thinking about when they think about weighing and measuring systems for their facilities.

1. Make Sure Your System is Compliant with Local Standards

“Anything that gets sold to the public usually gets a weights and measures approval, and what the regulations are really depends on where you are,” says Holcomb. “In the United States the NIST/NTEP/H44 regulations that are different than the OIML recommendations R60, R76, R51…used in Europe, Asia and other global markets, and then there’s local interpretation/enforcement of OIML-based regulations depending on the country, the county, and in some cases even the city that the equipment is placed into service. So I think the first thing to look at is: is that product approved for where you’re doing business? An international company will be doing business everywhere, so they’ll have to look at the regulations where the manufacturing is actually occurring to make sure they comply with the local manufacturing and reselling.” Mettler Toledo products are approved to most international standards.

2. Pick the Right Scale For Your Operations

You’re only as accurate as the scale you use to measure your product, so picking the right one for your needs is essential. “We say it this way: you can’t weigh a peanut on an elephant’s back, right?” says Holcomb. "So what we recommend to our customers is to pick the right scale to the right resolution that they’re looking for and make sure that the accuracy supports the resolution. If it’s a small item, the, pick a small scale; if it’s a large item, pick a large scale. Then they select the accuracy that fits to that product and the tolerances customers wish to maintain. For example, you might use a higher tolerance for potatoes because of high product variability and a finer tolerance with meat or fish which are more expensive.  Many customers use our GWP methodology and its practical recommendations to select the right scale and a quality system that supports repetitive good package weights.” It is important to note the GWP works with any manufacturer's scale, new or existing.

3. Be Aware of Environmental Elements That Could Affect Scale operation

“If you go into a supermarket and go to the checkout, you never really recalculate if the cash register is correctly calculating your change – people implicitly trust scales, that they will always work and will always work correctly,” says Holcomb. “But there are external factors like temperature that can adversely affect calibration and extreme factors such as mechanical obstructions, unnoticed damage done by workers, fork lifts, and product accumulation. In the food processing industry, a lot of our customers clean their scales two to three times a day, the harsh chemicals, and dramatic temperature changes can affect measurements, especially if they are not using one of our harsh environment products. So many of our customers, depending on the importance of the weight in the process, routinely verify the calibration of their scales to insure great quality reduce the risk of under or overfilling.”

4. Stay Ahead of Inspectors and Regularly Check for System Calibration

Once you’ve found the right scale system for your operation, maintenance is paramount. “In a weights and measures environment, regulators only come around once a year to make the control of the actual weighing device,” says Holcomb, noting that your own testing and maintenance should go above and beyond mandated inspections. “What we recommend is that the customer checks the scales more regularly to make sure that they’re still giving them good results. By having a weight-based quality program that verifies that the weight is correct, [businesses] can guarantee internally that what they ship externally is going to be good and relevant to their customers. . Holcomb notes that, while staying ahead of regulations is an important reason for staying on top of calibration, it also ultimately benefits your operations and your bottom line, save cost and stream-line your process.

“Scales weighing products which have a huge impact on the taste, color and consistency of your product should be verified pretty regularly to make sure that they’re meeting accuracy requirements– if there’s a big variability in the spice that’s used in a product, the food will actually taste different from batch to batch to batch, so we would consider that something that the customer should look at more regularly, Weight based quality control can actually reduce rework and bad batches" he adds. Another consideration is the risk to come into problems with the local enforcement officials; the other is to not give away too much product.

 “If you ship hundreds and hundreds of packages and there’s just a little bit extra in there – it’s not just the value of the material, it’s the value of the extra production time that your machines are running and your incremental labor cost,” says Holcomb. “You pay to produce extra product that you’re just kind of giving away. And that’s why people mostly automate their systems in the first place, is to save money and improve quality.”

The English Whisky Company produced its first run of spirit in December 2006.  The first new distillery to be built in England in over a hundred years benefited greatly from having Iain Henderson (who had recently retired from Laphroaig) at the helm.  The current distillery manager, David Fitt, spent four months training under Mr. Henderson back during the very early days of production and this shows in the high quality of the peated and unpeated matured stock.

With a farming background that dates back to the 14th century, James Nelstrop and his son Andrew founded a Norfolk distillery that not only sits within a pastoral setting but which draws entirely from local barley, local yeast, and, naturally, local water.  They are very proud of using malted barley from Crisps of Fakenham, yeast from AB Mouri in Hull, and water from Breckland aquifer.

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A small distillery by most Scottish standards, the English Whisky Company uses three stainless steel washbacks, one 2800 liter (740 gal.) capacity wash still, and one 1800 liter (475 gal.) capacity spirit still.  The warehouse currently holds approximately 2000 casks.  While the bulk consists of ex-bourbon casks we’re beginning to see some sherry and rum matured stock released by the distillery.

Despite being in production since late 2006 and trying to gain access to the US market since 2011, The English Whisky Company finally launched in the US on April 15.  Managing Director Andrew Nelstrop visited four American cities over six days, pouring the company’s award-winning whisky.  Not surprisingly, the whisky was very well received and the distillery is quickly making a name for itself on this side of the Atlantic.

At the San Francisco World Spirits Competition, their Classic Single Malt Whisky (US release) won a silver medal while their Peated Single Malt Whisky (US release) won Double Gold and was named Best Whisky in the “Other Whisky Category.”  Quite an achievement given that these were the first two whiskies submitted to US competitions.

All of which goes to show that if you build a whisky company on an ethos of quality first that builds upon local knowledge and local ingredients while calling in the occasional whisky legend there’s room for more whiskies in this world than just Scotches.   I’m pleased to see the English on the world whisky map and wish them the very best of luck.  If the first six and a half years are a testament to what the future holds for The English Whisky Company then they will remain a distillery worth following and tasting at every opportunity.

“Oh, yes, there is such a thing.  And it’s very good!”

Read the May 2013 edition of Food Digital in full here

Local Businesses may be smaller, but they make the industry go round and this month we’re taking a look at some of the many ways that business leaders are able to interact with local institutions and get involved in their communities.

This month we had the privilege of speaking with, not just one, but all four winners of the 2013 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Going Green Awards. All are leaders who are being honored for their dedication to improving the state of the food industry on a local or global level, with each of their programs and projects having started as a way to help lift up their communities.

NRDC Honors Food Leaders at the 2013 Growing Green Awards

We also have the story of Whole Foods market and Alchemy, highlighting the mutual benefits that can occur when a national brand teams up with a local favorite.

Whole Foods Market: Foraging for Local Partnerships

But that’s not all: this month we’re also exploring the technical side of the food production industry, delving into such topics as the biggest names in food manufacturing and the importance of weights and measures in the automation process.

Weights and Measures: What Your Business Should Be Asking

It’s quite an informative month, so read on and enjoy!

The Wall Street Journal notes the strong positive influence that Walsh has had on Diageo as a business during his time as CEO of the brand. Taking an aggressive approach to acquisitions overseas and ultimately taking on a controlling stake in India’s United Spirits, Walsh was responsible for turning Diageo around and molding it into a tight ship of business:  

Mr. Walsh, 58, is credited with transforming Diageo from a conglomerate with food interests ranging from the Burger King BKW +2.52% restaurant chain to making dough, into a tightly-focused alcoholic drinks company. Its share price has tripled under his tenure.

It’s assumed that Ivan Menenzes will be tasked with continuing this march of acquisition and growth during his own tenure as CEO at Diageo. But he won’t be coming in without a lack of experience: as WSJ points out, Menenzes has worked his way up the executive ladder with positions at Whirlpool, Booz Allen & Hamilton, and Nestlé SA before landing at Diageo in 1997 and rising through the ranks – first as North America president before taking on operational responsibilities across Diageo’s varied regions.

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• Diageo Acquires Controlling Stake in United Spirits
• BrewDog Cheated Out of Beer Industry Award by Diageo
• CHECK OUT THE NEW ISSUE OF FOOD DIGITAL

What’s more, Menenzes won’t be alone during this transition. The New York Times reports that, while Menenzes will take over for Walsh in July, Walsh will continue on with the company for another year to help Diageo as a whole make a smooth transition as Menenzes adjusts and gets comfortable in this new role. Paul Walsh will fully take his leave in June of 2014. Where Menenzes will guide the great ship Diageo from there is anyone’s guess.

[SOURCE: WSJ; New York Times]

• Tyler, the Creator speaks out about his controversial Mountain Dew ads: “I just actually can't believe that somebody sat there and pointed out that it was all black people, instead of being confused that it was a freaking goat talking. That's mind-blowing.” ~ Spin

• Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target and other retailers are hit with a lawsuit by California’s attorney general over candies containing trace amounts of lead. ~ Huffington Post

• The meat industry reacts to a new Consumer Reports study on antibiotic resistant bacteria found in turkey meat. ~ Food Safety News

• Michael Pollan on the GMO debate: “Personal responsibility should rule. But personal responsibility depends on information. ~ Yahoo Finance

• From food prices to noise levels, servers in the restaurant industry explain five pet diner peeves that are simply beyond their control. ~ Eatocracy

• The Pew Commission provides a five year follow-up on its investigation of the industrial farm animal production industry. ~ Civil Eats

• Bloomberg gets down with sriracha and David Tran, the founder of Huy Fong Foods who made the srirach craze possible. ~ Bloomberg
• Restaurant critic Ryan Sutton lays out the DOs and DON’Ts of what a restaurant’s social media feed should offer its followers. ~ The Bad Deal

According to reports out of China, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has been following the meat production industry since January 25. Within that time, police recorded nearly 400 cases of meat-related fraud and tampering. To give the public a rather unsavory taste of what exactly was going down, the MPS published several prime examples of the targeted criminal activity. As can be expected, none of them will do much to whet anyone’s appetite:

In Wuxi, in east China's Jiangsu Province, suspects made fake mutton from fox, mink and rat by adding chemicals. The products were sold to markets and the suspects made more than 10 million yuan (1.62 million U.S. dollars) from the illegal activities.

In southwest China's Guizhou Province, police in March busted two meat processing and selling dens and arrested six suspects.

According to an initial investigation, the suspects had been using hydrogen peroxide solution to process chicken claws since July 2011. With an output of 300 kg per day, suspects made more than 4 million yuan in profits.

Most of us know the old idiom “mutton dressed as lamb,” but rat dressed as mutton and sold as lamb is something else altogether. Meanwhile, hydrogen peroxide isn’t unheard of in the food production industry – but, considering that it’s mentioned as part of this sting operation, it’s probably safe to say that the suspects in question weren’t exactly adhering to good and safe manufacturing processes.

Now that the sting is over, the MPS tells the press that it’s moving on to an in-depth investigation of the dairy industry. If it’s anything like the meat industry, they should turn up some interesting finds.

[SOURCE: Xinhua Net via Gawker]

Beverage Daily reports that Stella Artois Cidre has done well in the UK, building a brand worth £62 million in only a short two years and raking in an impressive six percent of the country’s market share.

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Considering that the UK is currently the world’s largest cider market, that’s one tough nut to crack. But Stella was able to get the job done, and AB InBev is confident that its cider will have the same effect on the other side of the Atlantic:

Many analysts see cider as an ‘escape route’ for large U.S. brewers faced with flat volumes in mature markets – one that could start from a premium position in the States but also offer affordability and scalability – alongside new craft beer brands or launching beer-based RTDs.

Stella Artois Cidre is primed to enter the U.S. market “within the next few weeks,” making its debut alongside Anheuser-Busch’s new limited edition Budweisers with the bow tie cans. From there, we shall see if the United States is ready for a mainstream brewery take on cider.

[SOURCE: Beverage Daily]

As of today, Fred Laing and his daughter, Cara, will maintain control of Douglas Laing & Co which includes, among others, Provenance, Clan Denny Grain, Big Peat, and Double Barrel while Stewart Laing and his two sons, Andrew and Scott, have launched Hunter Laing & Co which will take control of Old Malt Cask, Old & Rare, Douglas Blend, John Player Special, Sovereign, and a bottling plant south of Glasgow.  Andrew and Scott Laing will also fold their independent bottling company, Edition Spirits, into Hunter Laing & Co.

In discussing the appointment of his daughter as Head of Brands Marketing, Fred Laing said: 

“This is the start of a fresh new chapter at Douglas Laing with our third generation and I’m delighted to have Cara join the company my father established over 60 years ago…  She has a great head for business and an energetic, creative take on what’s needed in the industry; a trait that’s particularly important given our determination to strengthen Douglas Laing’s niche as a progressive, innovative company.  We look forward to developing our current whiskies as well as our new brands, which are already in the pipeline.”

Cara Laing, who joins the company from Morrison Bowmore, added: 

“Douglas Laing has a long and interesting history; one that I’m delighted to officially be part of now. The company’s reputation has been built on being individual, never following the crowd and always insisting upon the best quality. Dad has been a massive inspiration to me as the driving force behind Douglas Laing, so I’m looking forward to working with him, strengthening the characteristics and brands that he introduced and emphasizing our progressive, original spirit through clever marketing and strategic development.”

Meanwhile, commenting on the formation of his new company, Stewart Laing said:

“My father provided a sound basis for me to have a very enjoyable 40 years in the whisky business so far and with Hunter Laing & Co we’ll see the family tradition maintained for the next generation of the Laing name.  With the industry fast developing, it is important for small players to be flexible, innovate and use their relationships to maximum effect.  The structure of Hunter Laing & Co will allow us to do exactly that as we build momentum with our portfolio of much-loved brands.”

Adding to his father’s comments, Andrew Laing, Export Director, said:

“The whisky industry is in buoyant mood and the future outlook is promising. Being able to join my father in business and glean from him the insight and knowledge that has served him so well will be invaluable as we build Hunter Laing & Co into a major independent blender and bottler.”

It’s interesting to note that two companies, so firmly committed to innovation and stock investment with the wherewithal to see a continuing bright future for Scotch whisky, couldn’t exist as a successful single entity even with a history stretching back six decades. It will be just as interesting to observe the application of these singular visions over the next several years, let alone decades.

Butterball teamed up with Mariner Marketing Communications for the endeavor, which goes under the name Turkey Time and provides a wealth of turkey-related information including recipes, polls, and health information. While the recipes and menu inspirations veer somewhat into a more consumer-driven direction (we’d presume that restaurant owners and foodservice operators have their own recipes and points of inspiration reference to work with), the front page offers industry data from Technomic while the trends section serves up plenty of information on what consumers are looking for in their turkey.

Within the press release, both Mariner and Butterball expressed their excitement for the launch of the new strategy:

“Developing custom content for specific target audiences in a relevant way is a significant opportunity for all areas of food marketing,” said Tighe Merkert, President of Marriner Marketing Communications, Butterball Foodservice's agency of record since 2011. “With an industry-leading partner like Butterball, leveraging their turkey expertise and our clarity-driven insights created a fresh approach in this area.”

Richie Jenkins, Butterball Foodservice's Director of Marketing, added, “Marriner provided the strategic guidance to develop a robust content solution that will generate the appropriate awareness for Turkey Time. The initiative showcases our category leadership in turkey and provides a unique resource for chefs and restaurateurs who are looking for new ideas and information. We are committed to supporting culinary professionals and enhancing our brand awareness throughout the industry.”

Of course it’s not pure altruistic industry information – it’s a marketing strategy. That much should be clear by the fact that a marketing team is involved in the project’s creation. But it’s smart marketing. Butterball is simply putting the facts out there and betting that, if they can get the foodservice industry thinking about turkey as a profitable and desirable menu item and more than just a lean burger substitute, the industry will in turn reach back to Butterball to supply them with the goods to build up their menus. 

UK news source The Guardian reports that fifteen nations in the European Union – Belgium, Bulgaria, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, France, Cyprus, Germany, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, and Sweden – voted to enact the pesticide ban. While fifteen isn’t quite enough votes for a full majority, it was enough to kick the decision over to the European Commission, who it’s said will most likely pass the ban into law. Both commissioners within the European Commission and activists in favor of the ban have expressed their approval at the outcome of the vote:

Tonio Borg, health and consumer commissioner, said: "Our proposal is based on a number of risks to bee health identified by the EFSA, [so] the European commission will go ahead with its plan in coming weeks. I pledge to do my utmost to ensure that our bees, which are so vital to our ecosystem and contribute over €22bn annually to European agriculture, are protected."

"This decision is a significant victory for common sense and our beleaguered bee populations," said Friends of the Earth's head of campaigns, Andrew Pendleton. "Restricting the use of these pesticides could be an historic milestone on the road to recovery for these crucial pollinators."

But that outcome does not sit well with the UK, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Austria, and Portugal – the eight countries whose representatives opposed  the ban on the grounds that banning the pesticides will hinder food production and slow down agriculture and the economy (representatives from Ireland, Lithuania, Finland, and Greece abstained from voting altogether). Chemical companies like Syngenta and Paterson, who manufacture the neonicotinoid pesticides under fire, have also been lobbying hard against the ban and are brushing off the idea behind the ban as pseudoscience:

A spokesman for Syngenta, which makes one of the three neonicotinoids that have been suspended, said: "The proposal is based on poor science and ignores a wealth of evidence from the field that these pesticides do not damage the health of bees. The EC should [instead] address the real reasons for bee health decline: disease, viruses and loss of habitat."

But, as natural pollen carriers, bees have been a critical part of the agriculture world since long before pesticides ever made their debut on the global stage. It can’t be denied that the problem with bees is a major issue that must be addressed. Right now, with such a vocal opposing faction, the European Commission’s decision to enact the ban is risky. But if the neonicotinoid pesticide ban works toward restoring bee populations, the EC’s decision will be remembered as historic.

[SOURCE: The Guardian]

• AB InBev’s Grupo Modelo deal is finally fully approved and ready to go. ~ Bloomberg

• Could Frito-Lay switch teams, breaking off with PepsiCo and merging with Mondelez International? Speculators say it’s possible, but it would be tough. ~ Forbes

• According to a new report, the instance of meat in the United States containing antibiotic-resistant bacteria is on the rise. ~ The Environmental Magazine

• Epicurious’s social media department fails hard in trying to tie Boston bombing references into its tweets. ~ Copyranter

• Get excited, McMuffin fans: McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson hints that the franchise could start offering breakfast items all day in the near future. ~ NBC

• Meanwhile in Israel, McDonald’s courts controversy with an advertisement featuring a President Obama look-a-like who says “God bless Israel… and the Big America [burger]!” ~ Business Insider

• Nestlé loses its UK legal battle to keep Nescafé capsule-making competitors off the market on the grounds of copyright infringement. ~ Bloomberg

• Speaking of which, here is Nestlé CEO Peter Brabeck on the organic movement versus GMOs and whether water should be made public or completely privatized. ~ FDL

Buzzfeed reports that the hackers, who so far remain anonymous, managed to obtain and compile from the website a list of names, home addresses, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and exactly how much foie gras they purchased and when. Claiming to have targeted Hudson Valley Foie Gras in honor of Earth Day, the hackers sent their detailed list to animal activism sites Negotiation is Over! and the North American Animal Liberation Press Office, both of which published the lists on their sites.

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Naturally Hudson Valley Foie Gras has expressed frustration with the situation and how it has affected the brand’s customers:

“Mostly the response from our customers has been indignation directed at the hackers and on the balance I think that it makes the bad guys look like bad guys," said Hudson Valley Foie Gras director of operations Marcus Henley. He added that he thought the hacking was "amateurish" and that they didn't do as much damage as they could have. "Our farm has been broken into numerous times over the years, equipment damaged, and there are the lawsuits that are filed against us, so this is an ongoing thing. We've never had our website hacked, but it's all part of the same set of attacks against our farming practices. And hey if the AP can get hacked, I'm sorry but it's just something that happens."

But those on the other side of the debate may be wondering: did the tactics work? The Buzzfeed report suggests that results are mixed, with some chefs relating that serving foie gras just isn’t worth the hassle of harassment:

"Last night I was cooking and I got numerous phone calls on my cell phone from blocked numbers," said Laguna Beach, California chef Amar Santana, who said he purchased foie gras about a month ago because a customer specifically requested it, even though selling foie in California is illegal. "One lady called and said, 'Are you the foie gras motherfucker?' And just hung up on me."

Santana said that now that his name, address, cell phone, and email have been published, he's going to stop selling foie. "Those people care about animals more than people sand they're getting the support of the government to get away with what they want," he said. "I'm not serving it anymore because this is getting out of hand."

But for others, the attack has only strengthened their resolve to make sure that the controversial luxury food remains on their menus:

"I'll still be buying and eating foie gras," hacked Hudson Valley Foie Gras customer Catherine Brunel wrote in an email to BuzzFeed. "Actually those kind of actions have the reversed effect on me, I refuse to give in to intimidation."

[SOURCE: Buzzfeed]

Why Vietnam? Probably because of how swiftly beer sales are growing in the region – Reuters notes that experts expect beer sales in Vietnam to increase at a steady clip of 10 percent per year between 2010 and 2020. What’s more: Carlsberg, Heineken, and SAB Miller – AKA Anheuser-Busch InBev’s biggest competitors – all have something going on in Vietnam already. With their success already in neighboring China, AB InBev is feeling confident and ready to sweep in and claim a piece of Vietnam’s market share pie:

"We think our global brands have a big appeal, especially Budweiser... so we think it's a natural place to go after our position in China," AB InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito told reporters after the company's annual shareholder meeting.

"It's a brewery that we'll build in Vietnam. We already have the land licence," he added.

According to the report, AB InBev CEO Carlos Brito also understandably expressed a lot of excitement about the potential of the Corona brand that AB InBev will very soon own outright, expecting it to do as well as Budweiser in foreign markets. Could Corona be the next hottest brand to hit Vietnam? It certainly sounds like an option. 

[SOURCE: Reuters]

In February, a team of judges gathered at the National Brewery Centre in Britain’s Burton-Upon-Trent to judge nearly a thousand beers all hoping to earn a medal at the 2013 International Brewing Awards. Dozens of awards were handed out to top breweries across a number of classes, from lagers and ales to dark beers and ciders, but the time has finally come to crown the best of the best. Today at London’s Guildhall, nine beers and one cider were awarded trophies and named Champions of the International Brewing Awards 2013.  

“The International Brewing Awards are about recognising excellence in brewing and cider making and it gives us great pleasure to present this year’s Champions with their trophy,” said Bill Taylor, Chair of Judges at the International Brewing Awards. “Close to 1,000 beers and ciders were sent into the competition in Burton-upon-Trent earlier this year, so to be selected as one of just 10 Champions is a great accolade and one that today’s winners will surely be able to use to advantage in raising the profile of their beers and ciders.”

And just who are those honored ten? Here they are, the 2013 International Brewing Awards Champions:

CHAMPION SMALLPACK LAGER
Bryggmästarens Premium Gold
AB Åbro Bryggeri, Sweden

CHAMPION SMALLPACK ALE
Mirror Pond Pale Ale
 Deschutes Brewery, USA

CHAMPION KEG ALE
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

CHAMPION KEG LAGER
Hells Lager
Camden Town Brewery, UK

CHAMPION NON AND LOW ALCOHOL BEER
Northern Light
Daniel Thwaites, UK

CHAMPION DARK BEER
Obsidian Stout
Deschutes Brewery, USA

CHAMPION STRONG BEER
Narwhal Imperial Stout
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company, USA

CHAMPION SPECIALITY BEER
Samuel Adams Black & Brew
The Boston Beer Company, USA

CHAMPION CASK ALE
Green Devil IPA
Oakham Ales, UK

CHAMPION CIDER
 Thatchers Vintage Cider
Thatchers Cider Ltd, UK

With as many medals as they racked up at the primary awards, we aren’t surprised to see Deschutes Brewery and the Boston Beer Company make an appearance among the winner’s circle. Deschutes in particular demands special accolades for claiming not one but two championship trophies, a victory matched this year only by Sierra Nevada Brewing Company. Meanwhile, Thatchers Cider out of Somerset in the UK has the distinct honor of being the first brewery ever to walk away with a Champion Cider trophy at the International Brewing Awards.

Ruth Evans, director of competition organisers Brewing Technology Services, said: “We are delighted with the response to The International Brewing Awards 2013. The competition attracted more entries than in 2011, from 50 countries and from a broad spectrum of producers from regional micro-brewers to multi-national companies. This diversity is important to our Awards and key to their appeal to the international brewing community. We evolved the Awards this year, by reintroducing a cider category.  We will be building on this, as well as reviewing our existing beer categories, for the 2015 Awards.”

Entries for the next installment of the International Brewing Awards begin on August 1, 2014 – so get to work and start brewing now.