There’s certainly an influx of beer-and-chocolate news ’round here over the last few days, but that’s certainly nothing to complain about. Headlining the latest choco-news is the announcment that Samual Adams Chocolate Bock will once again be on store shelves this November. The Chocolate Bock is my personal favorite Sam Adams beer and is described as,

After using a centuries old brewing process, called Krausening, we slowly aged the beer on a bed of rare dark cocoa nibs from Felchlin®, a renowned Swiss chocolatier. Known for their quality, these wild cocoa nibs are harvested from the jungles of Northern Bolivia where they grow in their original forests. They impart complex aromas and flavors of chocolate, honey and vanilla in the beer. The resulting beer, Samuel Adams Chocolate Bock, has a big, malty character that is combined with the subtle sweetness of chocolate, giving this brew a complex full-body taste with a velvety finish.

You can expect the Sam Adams Chocolate Bock in stores — only in its destinctive and gorgeous 750ml bottle — during the first week of November and just in time for Thanksgiving feasts. Be sure and pick up a bottle (or two) while you can!

In other Sam Adams news: a winner has been chosen in this year’s Samuel Adams Beer Lover’s Choice program. Apparently the Blackberry Witbier beat out the Coffee Stout and will be the next new beer brewed by the folks at the Boston Beer Co. The brewers,

brewed this traditional witbier with orange peel and coriander, and then added a hint of blackberry. The flavor is very complex with malt and cereal notes, intense spice and citrus flavors and a smooth, sweet/tart finish.

Look for the Blackberry Witbier in January in its own 6-pack and in the Samuel Adams® Brewmaster’s Collection Variety 6 & 12-packs.

The Internet has been abuzz today of news that failed singer actress reality tv star entrepreneur pop star Jessica Simpson has teamed up with Dallas’ Stampede Brewing Company to become the new face of Stampede Light Plus.

Although terms of the deal were not disclosed, Simpson is reportedly taking on a 15 percent stake in the company in return for her endorsement. No point in saying much more, I’ll just show you the (utterly ridiculous) ad, which speaks for itself:

[image via eonline.com]

An update on the InBev/A-B take over is expected to be released tomorrow, as the company will release a statement claiming that second-quarter profits fell (causing Anheuser-Busch to sell itself off) because of rising costs for barley and packaging materials, according to Bloomberg.com.

For more info on the take-over (for those readers who don’t like to read), check out the YouTube clip from ReutersVideo below,

It’s official: Anheuser-Busch agreed on Sunday night to sell itself to the Belgian brewer InBev — The makers of brands such as of Stella Artois, Bass and Brahma — for $70/share, or about $52 billion; putting control of the nation’s largest beer maker and a fixture of American culture into the hands (and wallets) of a European rival.

The New York Times reports that,

The combined company is expected to be named Anheuser-Busch InBev, fulfilling a promise by the Belgian company to include the Anheuser name in the new brewer’s title, people briefed on the matter said. Anheuser will be given two seats on the board, including one for August A. Busch IV, the company’s chief executive and a scion of its controlling family.

But what is in store for “InBusch”? Job cuts are expected and they’ll happen hard and fast. According to a story in the Saint Louis Post-Dispatch,

In a conference call this morning, victorious executives from InBev laid out their plans to expand cost-cutting already underway at Anheuser-Busch Cos., and to build the world’s dominant brewer around its new flagship brand: Budweiser.

That cost-cutting plan — known as “Blue Ocean” — entails budget cuts totaling upwards of $1 billion in expenses over two years, which will be expanded to a $1.5 billion effort over three.

The most interesting tidbit, in my opinion, stemming from the whole buy-out was pointed out earlier by Jay Brooks,

Once the merger of the two companies is finalized, Anheuser-Busch InBev, will be a Belgian company. [Second largest American brewery] MillerCoors consists of MolsonCoors, managed from Canada, and [third largest American brewery] SABMiller, which is either a South African or London-based company, depending on your point of view. That leaves Pabst, the fourth largest beermaker by volume, but they do not own a brewery, instead contracting to have all their beer made at Miller’s breweries. So in terms of actual brewers (that is companies that own and operate a brewery) and who are U.S. owned, the biggest one remaining will be Boston Beer, making Samuel Adams as the undisputed biggest American brewer. Way to go, Jim. It also means Yuengling, America’s oldest brewery, becomes number two and Sierra Nevada comes in third. Amazing, simply amazing!

While it’s tough to see such an American icon crumble (even if you’re not a fan of their beers), the situation is made much sweeter knowing that Jim Kock is the new King of American Beers. Cheers, Jim!

We all know that the prices of everything — from gasoline, to groceries, to the grains & hops needed to make beer — are on the daily rise; nothing unique there. With the price of beer rising for the breweries, so it rises for the distributors and so on down the line to the bars and eventually you and I.

The bars can only charge their patrons so much for a pint before they start to leave in droves. So instead, a number of bars and restaurants around the U.S. have begun to cheat. Rather than up the price of their pints too much, they’re just giving customers less than a pint of beer and simply not telling them. Some restaurants and bars have reportedly replaced normal 16 ounce pint glasses with 14 ouncers — a type of glassware commonly called a “falsie.”

According to the Wall Street Journal,

Two of the world’s biggest glassware makers, Libbey and Cardinal International, say orders of smaller beer glasses have risen over the past year. Restaurateurs “want more of a perceived value,” says Mike Schuster, Libbey’s marketing manager for glassware in the U.S. Glasses with a thicker bottom or a thicker shaft help create the perception. “You can increase the thickness of the bottom part but still retain the overall profile,” he says.

Even if they’re lucky enough to get a full pint glass, customers around the country are complaining that bartenders are increasingly putting less than 16 ounces of beer in a pint glass, filling up the extra space with foam. The Journal notes,

Evidence of short-pouring is hard to nail down, but there are signs the practice is common. Romano’s Macaroni Grill, a national chain, uses the thick-bottomed 14 ouncers in at least some of its locations; a Romano’s bartender in Portland, Ore., volunteered the nickname “falsies.” (A corporate spokesman for Romano’s declined to comment.)

But is two ounces really that big a difference? Archie Gleason, director of marketing for Hooters — which has been noted as serving draft beer in 14-ounce glasses at franchised locations in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee — claims “We can get 20 more beers out of a keg that way”. With the prices of kegs of beer going up at a nauseating pace, 20 extra beers per keg must go a long way.

Many beer advocates are discussing developing stickers to adhere to the windows of bars and restaurants where pints live up to the name. And Oregon legislator Brian Clem is going so far as to take up the issue for the state’s 2009 budget, hoping to fund monitoring of beer portions by the state’s agriculture department.

So, what can you do if you feel you’ve been shortchanged on your pint? The Journal article concludes you,

Can ask for a “top-off” after the foam on the profit pour settles. That’s what George Collentine did when he was served a beer with almost two inches of foam at an Italian restaurant this month. “I just waited,” says the 38-year-old chemical-company manager from Danbury, Conn. The bartender gave it to him.

Have you been privy to any pint falsifying? Please let the readers know who to be aware of by leaving a comment!

source: “A Pint-Size Problem” [The Wall Street Journal]