AB-InBev may walk into an interesting situation in Australia when they take over SABMiller. Since June 2016, a labour dispute at CUB’s Abbotsford brewery in Melbourne has simmered, leading several well-known local pubs to turn off their Carlton Draught and VB taps.

In this case it’s see and believe. Too often we were told that the Vietnamese government would sell its controlling stake in the country’s brewers Sabeco and Habeco and nothing came of it.

If you want a beach to yourself, go to Turkey. Where last year millions roasted like hot dogs, you will find empty deck chairs this year. Turkey’s spat with Russia is partly to blame for the drop in tourists.

Evil to him who evil thinks. Only three years ago Bihar’s government lured Carlsberg into the state and made it invest about USD 25 million in setting up a brewery. Then in 2015 the government introduced prohibition, which had been part of an election promise. What do you make of that?

The country’s major brewer Lion will receive as much as AUD 300 million (USD 224 million) in compensation for the early termination of its contract to distribute a portfolio of AB-InBev beers, including Corona, Budweiser, Stella Artois and Becks. The popular brands are handed back to Carlton and United Breweries (CUB), the renamed Foster’s, which is currently owned by SABMiller.

After Stockholm and Trondheim, Brooklyn Brewery will tap into South Korea’s booming craft beer market by building a brewery in Jeju, a tropical island off the country’s southern coast, which serves as a popular tourist destination.

It’s all very hush-hush. Asia Brewery, a subsidiary of Philippine conglomerate LT Group, said on 27 May 2016 that it had struck a deal with Heineken that will allow it to brew the popular Dutch beer brand later this year.

For the International Women’s Collaboration Brew Day (WCBD), which took place on 8 March 2016, the Adelaide based Wheaty Brewing Corp created a Bluestocking beer, which was to excel at having a really deep blue colour.

If AB-InBev can do it, so can Lion. Buying up craft brewers, that is. In early May 2016 Lion reported it was buying Byron Bay Brewing Company, a 5,000 hl craft brewer, after being approached by its owner Barry Schadel. This will expand the number of craft breweries in its portfolio to half a dozen.

On 5 May 2016 the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) advised that it will not oppose AB-InBev’s acquisition of SABMiller. Chairman Rod Sims said: “The ACCC has concluded that the proposed acquisition is not likely to substantially lessen competition in the Australian beer market…. While AB-InBev’s brands have been successful in Australia, particularly Corona, they have previously been distributed via either Lion or CUB. AB-InBev has only a limited direct company presence in Australia and does not brew beer here.”