Boston Beer Takes a Big Hit

America’s drinkers are putting down their Sam Adams. Its brewer, Boston Beer Co., which has gotten a bit of press recently for putting in a trademark request for Boston Strong 26.2 Brew in the wake of the bombings at the Boston Marathon, announced its quarterly earnings Wednesday and they were not good. The company earned 51 cents per share in this year’s first quarter, “down almost 9 percent from a year earlier and well below the 62 cents a share expected by analysts,” CNN reports.

That news sent shares of the country’s top craft brewer down almost 11 percent Thursday. Their spot at the top of the heap is hurting them, the company said, as consumers are turning their tongues to other smaller craft brews that are on their way up.Continue reading...

Apple dodges $9 billion in US taxes with bond deal.

Google named Advertiser of the Year. 

Volkswagen makes $10 million donation to the National Mall.

Adidas sales drop on weakening Reebok brand.

Barnes & Noble begins support of Google apps on Nook.

Beam sales rise because of "formula run" on Maker's Mark.

Diet Coke slims down its vending machines.

Ford adds jobs and raises capacity to make pick-up trucks.

Geritol seeks new life with younger consumers.

Huffington Post brings rapid-response "native" ads to its home page.Continue reading...

Budweiser may want its consumers to turn to their brethren and say, “This Bud’s for you,” but there is a growing number of its flock that is increasingly upset with the brand.

Several new class-action suits against Anheuser-Busch filed in California, Pennsylvania and New Jersey claim that the brewer has been watering down 10 of its products, including Budweiser, Michelob and Hurricane High Gravity Lager in order to boost its own profits, NBC News reports. The word is that a few former employees have shared with others that the company waters down some of its brands “just before bottling and cuts the stated alcohol content by 3 percent to 8 percent.” Similar suits are planned for Colorado and Ohio. Continue reading...

Maker's Mark hopes it has managed to avoid a New Coke-style disaster by reversing its widely-scorned decision (which was revealed in a Bloomberg Businessweek article) to dilute its iconic bourbon with water. Just days after his initial decision to cut the proof of Maker's Mark from 90 to 84, CEO Bill Samuels Jr. realized the error of his ways, turned tail and just hoped that the brand hadn't sustained any permanent damage.

On Sunday, Feb. 17th, the company announced on Facebook that it had surrendered to the collective will of thousands of bourbon drinkers expressed over the last several days after Maker's Mark tried to extend tightening supplies of its flagship spirit by adding extra water that, it said, didn't affect the taste. Fans, however, rose up on social media and argued that the move diluted the brand, too.

"They've told us that they would rather deal with the occasional supply shortage than have us change their whiskey," Samuels Jr., son of the founder of Maker's Mark, told USA Today.

Effective Monday, supported with a new cover image on its Facebook page (with the tagline "You spoke. We listened. Here's proof"), every bottle coming out of the Loretto, Ky.-based brand owned by Beam Inc. is reverting to its historic 45-percent-alcohol content.Continue reading...

Reader's Digest files for bankruptcy for second time.

Starbucks bets on Asia-Pacific growth.

Maker's Mark restores alcohol content after public uproar.

BMW recalls 30,000 SUVs for brakes.

Biggby Coffee has big plans to expand regional coffeehouse chain into national brand.

CBS buys into cable TV.

Coca-Cola says reached Twitter-imposed ceiling as reason for stopping tweeting during Super Bowl.

Danone may be targeted by activist investor who prodded Heinz.Continue reading...

American Airlines and US Airways finalize merger details.

Comcast buys balance of GE's stake in NBCUniversal for $16.7 billion.

Yahoo CEO Mayer looks to focus mobile, expresses disappointment in Microsoft search deal.

Adidas will reveal Boost running innovation at New York event.

Apple CEO Cook feels brand's stores are too small; a Google payday might help.

Barclays CEO pressured to get moving on revamp.

BBC Worldwide appoints global editorial director.

Blockbuster UK closes 164 more stores.

Dior sees former designer John Galliano re-offend Jewish community.

Facebook eyes books, movies and TV content as Zuckerberg's full philanthropy revealed.

Ford assures dealers on Lincoln MKZ supplies.Continue reading...

Diageo already produces a veritable Amazon of alcoholic brands – Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker, Bailey's, and Guinness to name a few — but the drinks giant is still not satisfied.

Reuters reports that the world’s largest spirits maker was in talks to purchase the world’s best-selling tequila maker, Jose Cuervo, but those talks have concluded without an agreement. Don’t think Diageo is done, though. The pullout “fuelled speculation that” Diageo will now go after buying up Beam Inc., which produces the world’s second-best-selling tequila, Sauza, and of course its iconic Jim Beam brand in addition to Maker's Mark and Knob Creek bourbons.Continue reading...

If politics has a version of the well-worn Vegas act that inexplicably refuses to be closed down despite both a lack of resonance and a tired reception, it is the "Let's Bicker Show!" comprised of James Carville and Mary Matalin.

Now, as the Republican National Convention grinds on in Florida, it seems somebody at Mitsubishi thought it was a good idea to revive a schtick that hasn't been fun since the Clinton administration. Continue reading...