Month: November 2012

  • 6 degrees of separation…..

          Over the years many parts of the beer business have changed, but one area that didn’t even exist when I first started in this industry is the area of category management, which has been created partly due to the changing retail landscape. Other drivers in the creation of category management have been […]

  • Reinheitsgebot……

        One of the great advantages of working for a German brewery is that the quality of the beer is never, ever questioned. As most of you know, all beer brewed in Germany comes under the basic law of 1516 called the “German Purity Law,” or the “Reinheitsgebot.” The beer does not have any […]

  • I know nothing, except the fact of my ignorance!

    I know nothing, except the fact of my ignorance!

        In the summer of 1973, a good friend of mine and I decided to apply for a brewery job at AB and Schlitz. By this time I had worked as a helper at Coors during college summer breaks, then as a route salesman for Falstaff in Austin. AB wasn’t hiring at the time […]

  • Lies, More Lies, and Damn Lies

          At the end of WWII and the fall of Germany, the allies, looking for beer, allowed only one brewery to reopen during that time.  The brewery was Becks. While the original intention was to have beer for the soldiers, it turned out to be a great marketing tool for the brand. When […]