Heineken to invest USD 2.75 billion in Mexico

Mexico | Oriol Bonaclocha, CEO of Heineken Mexico, confirmed on 11 June that his company plans to spend a total of USD 2.75 billion between 2025 and 2028. The majority of the funds are designated for a new brewery with a capacity of 4 million hl beer in the municipality of Kanasin, which will become the company’s eighth facility in the country.

Book review: The Firkin Saga by David Bruce

The Prince of Ales | The Brewers Association’s Craft Brewers Conference and BrewExpo was a different animal in 1998 compared to the giant show it is now. Held in Atlanta, Georgia, in the April of that year, it was like a family affair, though it drew a crowd. The mood was exuberant as this was the time when many communities in the US got their first brewpub. The count of brewpubs from 1996 to 1998 had just jumped from under 700 to 1000. Those who attended the Atlanta conference might remember that the keynote speaker was David Bruce, a Brit, nicknamed the Prince of Ales, who hopped on to the stage in a frog costume.

Fever-Tree and Molson Coors to split cost of US tariffs

USA | Tonic maker Fever-Tree Drinks said on 5 June it would equally split costs of the 10 percent tariff to be imposed on UK imports to the US with brewer Molson Coors. This shall mitigate the short-term impact.

What’s happening at Anchor brewery? Not much, it seems

USA | After a protracted sales process, on 31 May 2024, Sapporo managed to offload San Francisco’s historic Anchor brewery to billionaire Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of Chobani yogurt. One year on, both the beautiful white Art Deco headquarters at 1705 Mariposa St. and the taproom across the street are still sitting idle.

PepsiCo is pushing back its climate goals

USA | The snacks and beverage firm PepsiCo has pushed back its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by a decade: from 2040 to 2050. There are also several delays on plastic packaging goals. Justifying the revisions, its sustainability chief said on 22 May, that the world “was a very different place” when it set its targets.

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.

A-B and SpikedSeltzer inventors head to trial over earnout clash

USA | Is it a case of “sue us if you can”? After quietly simmering in the Connecticut Superior Court for the past three years, a contract dispute between Anheuser-Busch (a subsidiary of AB-InBev) and the inventors/investors of SpikedSeltzer is headed to trial by jury. This was ruled by a judge on 30 April. The dispute centres on whether Anheuser-Busch (A-B) underpaid earnout bonuses owed from its 2016 acquisition of Boathouse Beverage, the inventor of SpikedSeltzer.

BrewDog records multi-million pound loss in US market slump

USA | The Scottish brewer and bar operator BrewDog has reportedly lost almost GBP 7 million (USD 9.3 million) in America last year as the company cuts back its operations, media reported on 3 May.

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.

USA | Constellation Brands anticipates a USD 1 billion financial hit this year from the 25 percent tariffs introduced by US President Trump, which took effect on 4 April. The levy applies to all imported canned beer and empty aluminium cans.