Australia | Australia’s family-owned Coopers Brewery credited the recovery of draught beer sales, as well as higher malted barley sales, for boosting its financial year results.

Australia | The free trade deal between the European Union and Australia, which has been in the making since 2018, will not happen any time soon. The latest attempt to wrap things up fell apart in dramatic fashion on 30 October, after the Australians made last minute demands which the EU could not accept.

Australia | Just about all craft breweries will be struggling to pay their excise debts, incurred during the covid pandemic, when the Australian Tax Office (ATO) allowed a deferment of excise and other payments.

China | It was not without glee that the South China Morning Post newspaper reported on 2 October that Great Leap, one of Beijing’s first craft breweries, founded in 2010 to serve the expatriate community, has added Chinese dishes to its menu. The reason: Expats have left the city in droves.

Lebanon | These days one has to be grateful for any positive news coming out of the crisis-ridden Middle Eastern country. On 1 October, the leading Swiss newspaper, Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) posted a gushing portrait of Philippe Jabre, 63, who ran a successful hedge fund in Geneva before returning to his home country and taking control of Lebanon’s number one brewer, Brasserie Almaza, which had been founded by his grandfather in 1933.

Australia | The Scottish brewer and pub company quietly backed away from its prominent pledge, announced in May last year, to share 50 percent of its bar profits with staff.

Australia | When Mighty Craft, a listed alcoholic beverage company and one of country’s largest craft brewers, announced the resignation of Trevor O’Hoy from its board of directors, effective 25 August, everybody knew that the overstretched group was a goner.

Australia | A Federal Parliamentary Committee is looking into the impact of concentration and competition in the retail market on brewers. At a recent hearing, on 28 August, Lion’s Managing Director, David Smith, told the committee that Lion has an “absolute policy” of not getting in the way of taps for independent brewers.

Australia | The pun was unavoidable. Kirin-owned Lion not only decided to close Two Bird’s Spotswood brewery and taproom in Melbourne, which was founded by two women, the iconic brand will be discontinued too.

Australia | Lion Group, the firm behind brands like Toohey’s, Little Creatures Brewing and XXXX beer, is slashing hundreds of jobs following a review of the business by new CEO Sam Fischer. Mr Fischer joined Lion from Diageo, where he was President Asia Pacific and Global Travel, in July 2022.