Brewer SABMiller says lager sales are down 1 percent in its South African operation, SA Breweries (SAB), for the period April to September 2008 as consumers feel the effect of high food and fuel prices and competition in the premium beer segment.

Looks like the Nigerian beer market is going to witness some real action in the months to come. On 27 November 2008 it was announced that the world’s number two brewer SABMiller has entered into agreement to acquire a majority stake in the recently resuscitated Port Harcourt-based Pabod Breweries. The days of Nigeria’s beer duopoly seem truly over. Now Heineken und Guinness have to face competition from both SABMiller and the Castel Group.

Heineken watch out. While the Dutch brewer still seems to pondering as to what to do internationally with its Strongbow and Bulmers cider brands, SABMiller’s subsidiary in Ghana, Accra Brewery Limited (ABL) in October has launched Redd’s, which a premium alcohol fruit beverage “made for the modern, confident woman”.

Keroche Breweries has become east Africa’s newest beer maker, launching three brands on 24 October 2008. The brands – Summit Lager, Summit Malt and a yet-to-be-named "black" beer, will compete with East African Breweries’ Tusker Lager, Tusker Malt and Guinness respectively. Until the entry of Keroche, EABL was Kenya’s sole large-scale brewer.

Grolsch, Dreher - who cares that they aren’t exactly Germanic in heritage? To the discerning South African consumers these brands are the closest they will get to an old-time Germanic beer brand, although Grolsch is Dutch and Dreher Hungarian.

One way to conceal defeat: join your opponent. That’s what Germany’s Warsteiner brewery has done. Failing to get its Cameroonian brewery off the ground, the privately owned Warsteiner brewery decided to form a joint venture with its competitor Groupe Castel, whose Cameroonian subsidiary controls almost 80 percent of the domestic beer market.

Although a court declared Pabod Breweries’ bottle not to infringe upon the Star bottle design, Star’s parent, Nigerian Breweries (NBL), which is controlled by Heineken, has decided not to let matters rest but to lodge an appeal against the verdict. The court has adjourned the matter until 23 October 2008. The upstart Pabod Breweries whose launch has been held back because of Nigerian Breweries’ actions by more than half a year, has suffered significant losses yet remains upbeat.

Norman Adami, previously President and CEO of SABMiller Americas, will return to SABMiller to assume the position of Managing Director and Chairman of SAB Ltd in South Africa. Tony van Kralingen, who currently holds this position, has been persuaded to sidestep. He will become Director of Human Resources and Supply Chain for the group.

The Egyptian Tourist Federation has announced it will shortly strip the Hyatt hotel of its five-star status, following the decision by its renegade Saudi owner to ban the sale of alcohol on its premises.

Amstel it ain´t. But it´s Dutch and that is all that counts. From the end of June Grolsch will be available nationally in on and off premises.