Kiwi rival given N.Z. beer

Press, 11 October 1986, Page 8

Kiwi rival given N.Z. beer

By

CHRIS PETERS,

NZPA staff correspondent Steinlager, one of the main sponsors behind the New Zealand challenge for the America’s Cup, has given an arch rival, Dennis Conner, 100 dozen bottles of its beer. Conner, who has caused controversy by requesting core samples to be taken from the the New Zealand racer KZ7, is also considered one of the two main obstacles the New Zealanders must clear if they are to challenge Australia for the

cup in late January. Steinlager’s parent group, Lion Breweries, is sponsoring the Cup challenge to the tune of a minimum $1 million, raised from a 3c levy on every can sold. But on Thursday Steinlager representatives in Fremantle towed a trailer-load of the New Zealand beer to the San Diego camp, and handed it over to a syndicate representative, with promotional cameras there to record the event. In a second irony, one of Conner’s main spon-

sors is the United States beer giant, Budweiser, which is backing his challenge to the tune of SUSS million. A Steinlager spokesman, Mr Richard Jones, said that the 50 cases of two-dozen bottles — which he said was worth a total sAustlsoo but which retail at nearly sAust2 a bottle — was a pay-off for a photograph of the American skipper with a can of Steinlager beer, taken at the launch of KZ7 in August. The photograph, which was for an in-house pub-

Ilcation, is using as a caption a statement Conner made to an Australian newspaper. When offered an Australian beer, Conner told the reporter: “Give me a Steinlager.” “When we took the photo we asked him what he wanted for it. He asked for 200 dozen bottles of Steinlager, but we told him the photo wasn’t worth that much. “We offered him 100 dozen and he accepted it. “The pay-off was that I deliver the beer to him in Fremantle.”