Blackcurrant
The blackcurrant or black currant is a woody shrub in the family Grossulariaceae grown for its berries. It is native to temperate parts of central and northern Europe and northern Asia where it prefers damp fertile soils and is cultivated both commercially and domestically, it is winterhardy, but cold weather at flowering time during the spring reduces the size of the crop. Bunches of small, glossy black fruit develop along the stems in the summer and can be harvested by hand or by machine; the raw fruit is rich in vitamin C and polyphenol phytochemicals. Blackcurrants can be eaten raw but are cooked in a variety of sweet or savoury dishes, they are used to make jams and syrups and are grown commercially for the juice market. The fruit is used in the preparation of alcoholic beverages and both fruit and foliage have uses in traditional medicine and the preparation of dyes; as a crop, the blackcurrant suffers from several pests and diseases. The most serious disease is reversion, caused by a virus transmitted by the blackcurrant gall mite.
Another is white pine blister rust which alternates between two unrelated hosts, one in the genus Ribes and the other a white pine. This fungus caused damage to forests when the fruit was first introduced into North America, where the native white pines have no genetic resistance to the disease; as a result, the blackcurrant has for most of the 20th century been subject to restrictions in parts of the United States as a disease vector. The effectiveness of these restrictions is questionable, since other Ribes species host the disease and are native to North America. Breeding is being undertaken in Scotland, Lithuania and New Zealand to produce fruit with better eating qualities and bushes with greater hardiness and disease resistance. Ribes nigrum, the blackcurrant, is a medium-sized shrub, growing to 1.5 by 1.5 metres. The leaves are alternate, simple, 3 to 5 cm broad and long with five palmate lobes and a serrated margin. All parts of the plant are aromatic; the flowers are produced in racemes known as "strigs" up to 8 cm long containing ten to twenty flowers, each about 8 mm in diameter.
Each flower has a hairy calyx with yellow glands, the five lobes of which are longer than the inconspicuous petals. There are five stamens surrounding the stigma and style and two fused carpels; the flowers open in succession from the base of the strig and are insect pollinated, but some pollen is distributed by the wind. A pollen grain landing on a stigma will germinate and send a slender pollen tube down the style to the ovule. In warm weather this takes about 48 hours but in cold weather it may take a week, by that time, the ovule may have passed the stage where it is receptive. If fewer than about 35 ovules are fertilised, the fruit may not be able to develop and will fall prematurely. Frost can damage both unopened and open flowers when the temperature falls below −1.9 °C. The flowers at the base of the strig are more protected by the foliage and are less to be damaged. In midsummer the strigs of green fruit ripen to edible berries dark purple in colour black, with glossy skins and persistent calyxes at the apex, each containing many seeds.
An established bush can produce about 4.5 kilograms of fruit each year. Plants from Northern Asia are sometimes distinguished as a separate variety, Ribes nigrum var. sibiricum, of which Ribes cyathiforme is considered a synonym. Blackcurrants can grow well on sandy or heavy loams, or forest soils, as long as their nutrient requirements are met, they prefer damp, fertile but not waterlogged ground and are intolerant of drought. Although the bushes are winter hardy, frosts during the flowering period may adversely affect the yield and cold winds may restrict the number of flying insects visiting and pollinating the flowers. A pH of about 6 is ideal for blackcurrants and the ground can be limed if the soil is too acidic. Planting is done in the autumn or winter to allow the plants to become established before growth starts in the spring, but container-grown stock can be planted at any time of year. Two-year-old bushes are planted but strong one-year-old stock can be used. Planting certified stock avoids the risk of introducing viruses.
On a garden scale the plants can be set at intervals of 1.5 to 1.8 metres or they can be set in rows with planting intervals of 1.2 metres and row separations of 2.5 metres or more. In the UK, young bushes are planted deeper than their initial growing level to encourage new stems to grow from the base; the blackcurrant requires a number of essential nutrients to be present to enable it to thrive. An annual spring mulch of well rotted manure is ideal and poultry manure can be used but needs prior composting with straw or other waste vegetable material. Spent mushroom compost can be used but care should be taken as it contains lime and blackcurrants prefer acidic soils; the blackcurrant is a gross feeder and benefits from additional nitrogen, phosphatic and potash fertilisers should be applied annually. A balanced artificial fertilizer can be used and a 10-10-10 granular product can be spread around the bushes at the rate of 100 to 240 g per pla
Żywiec Brewery
Żywiec Brewery is a brewery founded in 1856, in Żywiec, Poland part of Austria-Hungary. It was nationalised after the Second World War. Grupa Żywiec S. A. consists of five main breweries: Żywiec Brewery, Elbrewery, Leżajsk, Warka Brewery and Cieszyn Brewery. The Dutch Heineken Group, with a 61% shareholding, has control over major operations; the brewery has the capacity of producing 5 million hls a year, making it the largest brewery in Grupa Żywiec. The brewery started operating in 1856, it was owned by the Habsburgs until it was confiscated by the post-WWII Communist government of Poland. At the beginning of the 1990s a court case was started by the descendants of the original owners, who sued the Polish government demanding $77 million compensation for the nationalisation and the use of the Habsburg family name and coat of arms for marketing purposes; the case was settled out of court on undisclosed terms in December 2005.Żywiec Brewery began distribution to other towns of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1913.
In the 1990s, the brewery was modernized by Heineken International. The brewery produces several brands of beer pale lagers ranging from 5.6% to 9.5% abv, including Żywiec Jasne Pełne or Żywiec Beer, a 5.6% abv pale lager, brewed in the town of Żywiec, Poland for 150 years, Żywiec Porter, a dark porter brewed in Cieszyn Brewery. Żywiec Beer is sold by the 1pt. Can, 1pt. Bottles and by the keg. In the United States, it is sold by 6-pack bottles as well as 500 ml cans, it is still brewed by means of traditional methods using all-natural ingredients and mountain spring water. The Żywiec logo includes all of the most important historical symbols of the brewery and Poland itself. Żywiec Beer’s prominent front label displays a man and woman, who dance the Krakowiak, a traditional dance of the area of Kraków in historic Lesser Poland. This dancing couple is dressed in classic Polish folk dancing clothes. Kraków’s coat of arms is represented with the crown in the middle of the couple; the coat of arms is represented by the three spruce trees displayed on the bottom of the label and the year 1856 on top underneath the crown.
The name Żywiec is placed on the red sash across the middle of the label with the golden trimming. The Żywiec logo is the most famous mark and brand of beer in Poland and the trademark of the entire brewery. Polish beer Elbrewery Leżajsk Brewery Warka Brewery Cieszyn Brewery Męskie Granie, a concert tour initiated by Żywiec Brewery Żywiec Official Website Żywiec Group Brewery Museum Documents about the brewery and its owners at the Żywiec branch of Katowice State Archive
Heineken N.V.
Heineken N. V. is a Dutch brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. As of 2017, Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries, it produces 250 international, regional and speciality beers and ciders and employs 73,000 people. With an annual beer production of 188.3 million hectoliters in 2015, global revenues of EUR 20,511 billions in 2015, Heineken N. V. is one of the largest brewers by volume in the world. Heineken's Dutch breweries are located in Zoeterwoude,'s - Wijlre; the original brewery in Amsterdam, closed in 1988, is preserved as a museum called Heineken Experience. Since the merger between the two largest brewing empires in the world, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, in October 2016, Heineken has been the second largest brewer in the world; the Heineken company was founded in 1864 when the 22-year-old Gerard Adriaan Heineken bought a brewery known as De Hooiberg in Amsterdam. In 1869 Heineken switched to the use of bottom-fermenting yeast.
In 1873 the brewery's name changed to Heineken's Bierbrouwerij Maatschappij, opened a second brewery in Rotterdam in 1874. In 1886 Dr. H. Elion, a pupil of the French chemist Louis Pasteur, developed the "Heineken A-yeast" in the Heineken laboratory; this yeast is still the key ingredient of Heineken beer. The founder's son, Henry Pierre Heineken, managed the company from 1917 to 1940, continued involvement with the company until 1951. During his tenure, Heineken developed techniques to maintain consistent beer quality during large-scale production. After World War I, the company focused more on exports. Three days after Prohibition ended in the United States, the first Heineken shipment landed in New York. From that day on, Heineken has remained one of the most successful imported beer brands in the United States. Henry Pierre's son, Alfred Henry "Freddy" Heineken, started working at the company in 1940, in 1971 was appointed Chairman of the Executive Board, he was a powerful force behind Heineken's continued global expansion, while he retired from the Executive Board in 1989, he maintained involvement with the company until his death in 2002.
During this period, Heineken tried to increase its stock price by purchasing competing breweries and closing them down. After World War II, many small breweries were closed. In 1968 Heineken merged with its biggest competitor, in 1975 opened a new brewery in Zoeterwoude; the Amstel brewery was closed in 1980, its production moved to Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch. With the part acquisition of Scottish and Newcastle in 2007/2008 Heineken became the third largest brewer based on revenues, behind the Belgian-Brazilian AB InBev and the British-South African SABMiller. Since the merger between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller in October 2016, Heineken has been the second largest brewer in the world. On 12 January 2010, Heineken International bought the brewery division of Mexican giant FEMSA, merged with the company, expanding its reach throughout Latin America; the company will sell its products there through FEMSA, the largest bottler and brewery in all of Latin America, maker of such brands as Dos Equis XX, Bohemia and Sol.
FEMSA now owns 20% of Heineken N. V. after the early 2010 all-stock deal, becoming its largest single shareholder after the Dutch families who owns 25.83% and public shareholders owning 54.17%. The FEMSA acquisition is expected to keep Heineken in its strong position by growing its market share in the Latin American markets. FEMSA has a massive distribution network and owns Mexico's largest convenience store chain OXXO, which has thousands of locations throughout the country. In September 2014, it was announced that Heineken would sell its Mexican packaging business Empaque to Crown for around $1.23 billion. During that month, Heineken revealed it was in talks to sell its Czech operations to Molson Coors. On 10 September 2015, Heineken International announced it would acquire a 50% stake in Lagunitas Brewing Company of Petaluma, California as part of an effort to allow Lagunitas to expand its operations globally; as part of the deal Lagunitas will no longer be considered a craft brewer as the Heineken stake is greater than 25%.
In January 2017, Heineken announced it was in negotiations to buy the Kirin Company's 12 breweries in Brazil. The following month, Heineken bought Brasil Kirin for US$700 million. After acquiring 50% of Lagunitas Brewing Company, Heineken announced, on 4 May 2017, it would be purchasing the remaining 50%—making it the sole owner of Lagunitas. In June 2018, Heineken named Maggie Timoney as the CEO of Heineken USA, making her the first woman to become a CEO of a major United States beer supplier. Heineken organises the company into five territories which are divided into regional operations; the regions are: Western Europe and Eastern Europe, The Americas and the Middle East, Asia Pacific. These territories contain 115 brewing plants in more than 65 countries, brewing local brands in addition to the Heineken brand; the executive of the company consists of the following people: Jean-François van Boxmeer, Chairman Executive Board/CEO Laurence Debroux, Member Executive Board/CFO Marc Busain, President Americas Frans Eusman, President Asia Pacific Chris Van Steenbergen, Chief Human Resources Officer Marc Gross, Chief Supply Chain Officer Jan Derck van Karnebeek, Chief Commercial Officer Roland Pirmez, President Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe Sean O’Neill, Chief Corporate Relations Officer Stefan Orlowski, President Europe Heineken's brewing plants have been designed and engine
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a country located in Northwestern Europe. The European portion of the Netherlands consists of twelve separate provinces that border Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, the North Sea to the northwest, with maritime borders in the North Sea with Belgium and the United Kingdom. Together with three island territories in the Caribbean Sea—Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba— it forms a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands; the official language is Dutch, but a secondary official language in the province of Friesland is West Frisian. The six largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Tilburg. Amsterdam is the country's capital, while The Hague holds the seat of the States General and Supreme Court; the Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, the largest in any country outside Asia. The country is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union.
It hosts several intergovernmental organisations and international courts, many of which are centered in The Hague, dubbed'the world's legal capital'. Netherlands means'lower countries' in reference to its low elevation and flat topography, with only about 50% of its land exceeding 1 metre above sea level, nearly 17% falling below sea level. Most of the areas below sea level, known as polders, are the result of land reclamation that began in the 16th century. With a population of 17.30 million people, all living within a total area of 41,500 square kilometres —of which the land area is 33,700 square kilometres —the Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. It is the world's second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products, owing to its fertile soil, mild climate, intensive agriculture; the Netherlands was the third country in the world to have representative government, it has been a parliamentary constitutional monarchy with a unitary structure since 1848.
The country has a tradition of pillarisation and a long record of social tolerance, having legalised abortion and human euthanasia, along with maintaining a progressive drug policy. The Netherlands abolished the death penalty in 1870, allowed women's suffrage in 1917, became the world's first country to legalise same-sex marriage in 2001, its mixed-market advanced economy had the thirteenth-highest per capita income globally. The Netherlands ranks among the highest in international indexes of press freedom, economic freedom, human development, quality of life, as well as happiness; the Netherlands' turbulent history and shifts of power resulted in exceptionally many and varying names in different languages. There is diversity within languages; this holds for English, where Dutch is the adjective form and the misnomer Holland a synonym for the country "Netherlands". Dutch comes from Theodiscus and in the past centuries, the hub of Dutch culture is found in its most populous region, home to the capital city of Amsterdam.
Referring to the Netherlands as Holland in the English language is similar to calling the United Kingdom "Britain" by people outside the UK. The term is so pervasive among potential investors and tourists, that the Dutch government's international websites for tourism and trade are "holland.com" and "hollandtradeandinvest.com". The region of Holland consists of North and South Holland, two of the nation's twelve provinces a single province, earlier still, the County of Holland, a remnant of the dissolved Frisian Kingdom. Following the decline of the Duchy of Brabant and the County of Flanders, Holland became the most economically and politically important county in the Low Countries region; the emphasis on Holland during the formation of the Dutch Republic, the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Dutch Wars in the 16th, 17th and 18th century, made Holland serve as a pars pro toto for the entire country, now considered either incorrect, informal, or, depending on context, opprobrious. Nonetheless, Holland is used in reference to the Netherlands national football team.
The region called the Low Countries and the Country of the Netherlands. Place names with Neder, Nieder and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in places all over Europe, they are sometimes used in a deictic relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Oben, Superior or Haut. In the case of the Low Countries / Netherlands the geographical location of the lower region has been more or less downstream and near the sea; the geographical location of the upper region, changed tremendously over time, depending on the location of the economic and military power governing the Low Countries area. The Romans made a distinction between the Roman provinces of downstream Germania Inferior and upstream Germania Superior; the designation'Low' to refer to the region returns again in the 10th century Duchy of Lower Lorraine, that covered much of the Low Countries. But this time the corresponding Upper region is Upper Lorraine, in nowadays Northern France; the Dukes of Burgundy, who ruled the Low Countries in the 15th century, used the term les pays de par deçà for the Low Countries as opposed to les pays de par delà for their original
Warka Brewery
The Warka Brewery is one of Poland's oldest breweries and belongs to the Żywiec Group. Żywiec Group has five main breweries: Żywiec Brewery, Elbrewery, Leżajsk Brewery, Cieszyn Brewery and Warka Brewery, is majority owned by the Dutch Heineken Group. The brewery is located in the historic center of Poland; the company claims that in 1478 Bolesław V, the Mazovian Prince, reserved to Warka the exclusive right to supply beer to his court. The current plant was opened under the Zakłady Piwowarskie w Warszawie. Warka Brewery was purchased in 1999 by Grupa Żywiec S. A; the brewery was modernized in 2004 and now has a production capacity between 200-350 million litres annually. It is the second largest brewery in Grupa Żywiec; the Warka Brewery makes three products: Warka Classic,Warka Strong and "Królewskie", the latter meaning "royal". Warka Classic Beer is well known for its distinct red packaging; the label of the export can. Medals symbolized apperiance quality of taste beer; the inscription 1478 privilege of delivery of the Prince's court.
Polish beer Żywiec Brewery Elbrewery Leżajsk Brewery Cieszyn Brewery Żywiec Group
Amstel Brewery
Amstel Brewery is a Dutch brewery founded in 1870 on the Mauritskade in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was taken over by Heineken International in 1968, the brewing plant closed down in 1982, with production moving to the main Heineken plant at Zoeterwoude; the brewery was founded on 11 June 1870 in Amsterdam and named after the Amstel River, the waters of which served for refrigeration. By 1872, Amstel was annually producing 10,000 hectoliters. For the purpose of storing the beer, winter ice from canals was kept in special double-walled cellars; the beer was drunk in Amsterdam. From 1883, it was exported to Great Britain and the Dutch East Indies; the Beiersche Bierbrouwerij de Amstel was created in 1892 as a joint stock company. In 1915 the production of Amstel had increased twenty-fold and in 1926, Amstel consisted of a third of the Dutch beer exports. In 1941, together with Heineken, bought up the Amsterdam brewery Van Vollenhoven's Bierbrouwerij, closed in 1961. In 1954, Amstel built a brewery in Dutch Guiana.
A few years Amstel was the first Dutch brewery to export beer in cans. At this time, the total exports of Amstel beer amounted to 101,000 hectoliters. In 1958 a subsidiary of Amstel produced its first beer in Jordan. In 1960, the third subsidiary of Amstel was opened in Curaçao. 1963 saw one in Puerto Rico and one in Greece. Amstel was bought out by Heineken International in 1968. In 1972 the Amstel Brewery in Amsterdam was closed and production was relocated to the main Heineken plant in Zoeterwoude; the building on the Mauritskade was torn down. Only the former administration building was kept and has since become part of the Hogeschool van Amsterdam. At the end of the 20th century, in Spain, Heineken International decided to replace the local centennial brand El Águila and convert it into Amstel. Heineken offers several beers under the Amstel brand. Amstel Lager uses predominantly light pilsner malt, although some dark malt is used, it is sold in 75 countries. Amstel Light is a 3.5% Alcohol by Volume pale lager in the USA and The Netherlands, 2.5% ABV in New Zealand, 4.1% ABV in the United Kingdom, 4.0% ABV in Mexico.
Amstel 1870 is a dark 5% abv lager. In France a beer called Amstel Free, with minimal alcohol content – about one per cent ABV – is produced. A non-alcoholic version, Amstel Zero, can be purchased in the Netherlands, Greece and other countries. Amstel markets a shandy called Amstel Radler in several countries, it contains 2% alcohol and it is a mix of lager beer and lemonade. Official website
Soft drink
A soft drink is a drink that contains carbonated water, a sweetener, a natural or artificial flavoring. The sweetener may be a sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice, a sugar substitute, or some combination of these. Soft drinks may contain caffeine, preservatives, and/or other ingredients. Soft drinks are called "soft" in contrast with "hard" alcoholic drinks. Small amounts of alcohol may be present in a soft drink, but the alcohol content must be less than 0.5% of the total volume of the drink in many countries and localities if the drink is to be considered non-alcoholic. Fruit punch and other such non-alcoholic drinks are technically soft drinks by this definition, but are not referred to as such. Soft drinks may be served chilled, over ice cubes, or at room temperature soda, they are available in many container formats, including cans, glass bottles, plastic bottles. Containers come in a variety of sizes. Soft drinks are available at fast food restaurants, movie theaters, convenience stores, casual-dining restaurants, dedicated soda stores, bars from soda fountain machines.
Soft drinks are served in paper or plastic disposable cups in the first three venues. In casual dining restaurants and bars, soft drinks are served in glasses made from glass or plastic. Soft drinks sipped directly from the cups. Soft drinks are mixed with other ingredients in several contexts. In Western countries, in bars and other places where alcohol is served, many mixed drinks are made by blending a soft drink with hard liquor and serving the drink over ice. One well-known example is the rum and coke, which may contain lime juice; some homemade fruit punch recipes, which may or may not contain alcohol, contain a mixture of various fruit juices and a soft drink. At ice cream parlours and 1950s-themed diners, ice cream floats, root beer floats, are sold. Examples of brands include Coca-Cola, Sprite, Sierra Mist, Sunkist, Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, 7 UP. While the term "soft drink" is used in product labeling and on restaurant menus, in many countries these drinks are more referred to by regional names, including carbonated drink, cool drink, cold drink, fizzy drink, fizzy juice, lolly water, seltzer, coke, soda pop and mineral.
Due to the high sugar content in typical soft drinks, they may be called sugary drinks. In the United States, the 2003 Harvard Dialect Survey tracked the usage of the nine most common names. Over half of the survey respondents preferred the term "soda", dominant in the Northeastern United States and the areas surrounding Milwaukee and St. Louis; the term "pop", preferred by 25% of the respondents, was most popular in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, while the genericized trademark "coke", used by 12% of the respondents, was most popular in the Southern United States. The term "tonic" is hyperlocal to eastern Massachusetts. In the English-speaking parts of Canada, the term "pop" is prevalent, but "soft drink" is the most common English term used in Montreal. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the terms "fizzy drink" and the genericized trademark "coke" are common. "Pop" and "fizzy pop" are used in Northern England and the Midlands, while "mineral" or "lemonade" are used in Ireland. In Scotland, "fizzy juice" or simply "juice" is colloquially encountered.
In Australia and New Zealand, "fizzy drink" or "soft drink" is used. In South African English, "cool drink" and "cold drink" are used, but in South African Indian English, "cool drink" is most prevalent. Older people use the term "mineral"; the origins of soft drinks lie in the development of fruit-flavored drinks. In the medieval Middle East, a variety of fruit-flavoured soft drinks were drunk, such as sharbat, were sweetened with ingredients such as sugar and honey. Other common ingredients included lemon, pomegranate, jujube, musk and ice. Middle-Eastern drinks became popular in medieval Europe, where the word "syrup" was derived from Arabic. In Tudor England,'water imperial' was drunk. Another early type of soft drink was lemonade, made of water and lemon juice sweetened with honey, but without carbonated water; the Compagnie des Limonadiers of Paris was granted a monopoly for the sale of lemonade soft drinks in 1676. Vendors dispensed cups of the soft drink to Parisians. In the late 18th century, scientists made important progress in replicating carbonated mineral waters.
In 1767, Englishman Joseph Priestley first discovered a method of infusing water with carbon dioxide to make carbonated water when he suspended a bowl of distilled water above a beer vat at a local brewery in Leeds, England. His invention of carbonated water is the defining component of most soft drinks. Priestley found that water treated in this manner had a pleasant taste, he offered it to his friends as a refreshing drink. In 1772, Priestley published a paper entitled Impregnating Water with Fixed Air in which he describes dripping oil of vitriol onto chalk to produce carbon dioxide gas, encouraging the
