USA | After two decades as the top-selling beer in America, Bud light lost its title this year. Modelo Especial took over as the most popular beer tracked in retail channels. Everyone had a view why Bud Light was relegated to second place. But hardly anyone put it down to fundamental changes in consumer perceptions and the beer price architecture.

USA | Rap mogul Sean Combs sued Diageo again on 27 October in the New York Supreme Court, this time for “unlawful retaliation by a powerful international corporation”.

USA | Amongst all the consumer excitement about Boston Beer releasing its super-strong (28% ABV) and super-expensive (USD 240 per bottle) Samuel Adams Utopias beer this month, only analysts took note that the firm again booked an impairment charge related to Dogfish Head, the craft brewer it acquired in 2019.

USA | AB-InBev wants Bud Light to go back to being the beer men drink while watching football or having a barbecue. As the brewer tries to reverse a slump in Bud Light sales, its American unit, Anheuser-Busch, signed the biggest-ever sponsorship deal in the history of Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to become the brand's official beer.

USA | It’s a worry. In recent weeks the share prices of Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Mondelez International, and Constellation Brands, as well as of retailers like Walmart and Costco, have fallen. This came after anonymised data by Walmart had shown that US shoppers, who bought weight-loss drugs, also purchased less food.

USA | The property that for 44 years has housed San Francisco’s historic Anchor Brewery’s “steam beer” plant in Potrero Hill officially hit the market on 12 October.

USA | In March 2024, Molson Coors will debut Happy Thursday, a line of alcoholic refresher beverages aimed at younger American consumers. Its name refers to the unofficial start of the weekend. Molson Coors said it created the beverage using insights from a panel of Gen Z consumers.

Brazil | Heineken-owned Kaiser was added to the government's list of companies responsible for labour conditions analogous to slavery, Reuters reported on 6 October.

Brazil | Petropolis’ 5,000 creditors agreed to a recovery plan, which was submitted to the court in September for final approval. In March, the insolvent brewer had filed for what is called a “judicial recovery” – a court-supervised reorganisation – after a massive drop in output and revenue.

USA | The industry personality and publisher of Beer Business Daily, Harry Schuhmacher, fears the damage to Bud Light could be “quasi-permanent” and longtime consumers could be “lost forever”, after the brand has failed to rebound from a boycott.