Miscellaneous

Asia/Australia

United Breweries raises profit in January-through-March quarter

India | United Breweries, the major brewer in India, reported a 20.5 percent increase in quarterly profit on 5 May, lifted by solid demand for higher-priced beers and lower excise duty costs.
Europe/Russia

Trappist abbey and brewery Maria Toevlucht may close

The Netherlands | The Dutch are set to lose one of their two Trappist breweries. The Noord-Brabant abbey Maria Toevlucht (Mary of Refuge) in Zundert will close as there are too few monks to sustain a community, Dutch media reported on 14 May.
The Americas

Molson Coors: Macro pressures will end, just don’t know when

USA | During Molson Coors first quarter investor call on 8 May, the outgoing CEO, Gavin Hattersley, got straight to the point in his opening remarks, when he addressed the “challenging first quarter” not only for Molson Coors, but for “so many of our peers in staples”, and blamed a “volatile” global macroeconomic environment for the depressed results.

Europe/Russia

AB-InBev’s first quarter: profit up, volume sales down

Belgium | People around the world are drinking less beer, at least that by AB-InBev. And yet the group, on 8 May, reported first-quarter net profit of USD 2.15 billion, nearly twice what it was a year ago. Revenue was up 1.5 percent year-over-year to USD 13.6 billion, but volume sales were down 2.2 percent.

Europe/Russia

Indie brewers kept out of UK pubs by multinationals, survey finds

United Kingdom | A new report by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), which was published on 28 April, shows that whilst demand for independent beer remains strong, UK brewers face strong headwinds from increased taxation, market access restrictions and reduced alcohol consumption.

Europe/Russia

Swedish microbreweries can sell beer to visitors after a “lecture”

Sweden | Sweden’s parliament voted in favour of the government’s draft law to legalise on-site sales for small breweries, wineries and distilleries. The proposal passed with 154 votes for and 129 votes against on 23 April.

The Americas

Boston Beer says tariffs could cost up to USD 30 million

USA | Boston Beer, the maker of Samuel Adams beer, Truly hard seltzer, and other drinks, said the extra costs due to tariffs this year will be between USD 20 million and USD 30 million. The big driver of those costs is the aluminium Boston Beer uses for its cans.

Europe/Russia

Heineken sues Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo over delisting

The Netherlands | Heineken and Jumbo have been negotiating the conditions for their cooperation in 2025, but have not reached an agreement on prices yet. As a result, products such as Amstel, Birra Moretti, Brand and Desperados are hard to find on Jumbo’s shelves.

Current issue

BRAUWELT International 2

Editorial
Table of contents

BRAUWELT on tour

drinktec

15 Sep 2025 - 19 Sep 2025

People and Positions

Management change at VLB

Berlin | The Versuchs- und Lehranstalt für Brauerei in Berlin (VLB) e.V. is initiating a significant generational change: After more than two decades of dedicated service as VLB Managing Director, Dr. Josef Fontaine will hand over the position in October 2025. His successor will be Dr. Björn Klotzbücher, who will take up his position at the VLB on 1 July 1 2025.

Previews

Keg Champion Awards 2025

Toasting sustainability | The Steel Keg Association is once again toasting sustainability with its annual Keg Champion Awards. As part of drinktec 2025, the Keg Champions 2025 will be honoured - for the second time in Europe. We talked with Alexander Brand, Chairman of the Steel Keg Association, about the awards, the impact of returnable steel kegs, and how you can help celebrate those who are making a difference – one keg at a time.

Packaging

KHS and Husky develop very light PET bottle for still beverages

New benchmark | Under the working title of Factor 101, KHS, in close cooperation with Canadian-based injection molding technology equipment and services provider Husky Technologies, has produced a container that uses just 5.89 grams of material to hold 591 milliliters of product. This is equivalent to the 20-ounce size common in the United States.

News from institutes and associations

Christian Weber elected president of the Brewers of Europe

Warsaw | On Tuesday, 13 May 2025, the Brewers of Europe’s General Assembly elected Mr Christian Weber, CEO of the Karlsberg brewery and current president of the German Brewers’ Association (Deutscher Brauer-Bund), as its new president.

Raw materials

Spring barley report 2025: Good sowing conditions; area almost unchanged

Europe | The sowing conditions for spring barley in Europe have generally been described as very good this year. Due to the dry conditions, sowing could also be carried out relatively early. Rainfall is now lacking in most regions, which jeopardizes further good growth.

Company news

BarthHaas Grants: EUR 20,000 for hop research

Nuremberg | BarthHaas is again offering BarthHaas Grants to support two promising new research projects with funding amounting to EUR 10,000 per project. The grants will be awarded for project ideas in the fields of brewing science and hops. Young researchers can apply to the world’s leading hop services provider until 1 July 2025.

Previews

Africa Brewing Conference 2025 to take place from 2–4 June

Johannesburg,| The Africa Brewing Conference 2025 will take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, at the Hotel Sky Sandton, from 2–4 June.

Company news

BrewingScience issue March/April 2025 out now

Nuremberg | The latest BrewingScience issue March/April 2025 is out now. The scientific online-journal BrewingScience features peer-reviewed scientific papers with impact on the brewing industry. The latest issue has been sponsored by Hopsteiner. The brief article abstracts below provide a good initial overview of what you can expect in this issue.