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.

The resurrected Pabod Breweries scored a victory over its rival Nigerian Breweries (NBL) when on 30 June 2008 a Rivers State court ruled that NBL´s injunction over Pabod´s use of a contested bottle could not be upheld.

In a stunning display of religious orthodoxy, the Saudi owner of a five-star hotel in Cairo in May banned the serving of alcohol by reportedly dumping more than USD 300,000 of beer, wine and whiskey into the river Nile.

Apparently, Heineken does not want to take on SABMiller on its own. That’s why it has partnered with Diageo to build a brewery south of Johannesburg.

While the rest of the world is waiting for a super-deal to happen, Heineken is quietly expanding its reach into the Maghreb. Call it an “axis of appeasement” throughout predominantly Muslim countries or just a plain old-fashioned market conquest. In any case, Heineken definitely know what they are doing.

Competition is straining relations between Ethiopia’s s state-owned Meta Abo brewery and the privately-owned BGI which is controlled by the Frenchman Pierre Castel. Meta Abo, which is the largest of Ethiopia’s four government-controlled breweries, has launched a public complaint against the market leader, BGI (with 2 breweries in Ethiopia), claiming it has been the victim of unfair trading practices by BGI. According to reports in the local media, there is more at stake for BGI than its reputation because Meta Abo is also asking for compensation.

St George fighting the dragon

What used to be a shared monopoly is quickly, albeit stumblingly, turning into a highly competitive beer market. As the gap between Castel’s St George brewery and his state-owned rivals begins to widen, Ethiopia’s government-controlled breweries face the danger of falling behind.

No more Amstel for SAB. After 40 years, Heineken decided to terminate its contract with South African Breweries (SAB) on 12 March 2007 with immediate effect.

Having enjoyed a beer market monopoly for years, France’s Pierre Castel now faces competition from Heineken which plans to open a brewery in 2008.