Australia | Dr Tim Cooper, Managing Director of the Adelaide-based Coopers Brewery, fears that beer is losing its ability to withstand tough economic times.

Australia | Succumbing to wokery, as some see it, the craft brewer Colonial has changed its name, following two years of pressure amid claims it “glorifies and glamorises the colonial process”. As of 7 September, it calls itself CBCo.

Australia | The Tax Office raised the excise by 4 percent on 1 August, leaving Australians with the world’s fourth-highest beer tax behind Norway, Japan, and Finland. Australians now pay 30 percent more tax on beer than their fellow drinkers in the UK.

Myanmar | After more than a year of legal wrangling, Japanese brewer Kirin will sell its stake in Myanmar brewery (MBL), a joint venture with military-owned Myanma Economic Holdings (MEHL), to the brewery for USD 164 million. The decision was announced on 30 June 2022.

Thailand: No light at the end of the tunnel for craft brewers

Thailand | The onset of covid-19 led to a strong fall in on-premise volume sales of beer in 2020, due to a temporary ban on sales of alcohol, the closure of entertainment venues and the decimation of tourism. Off-premise sales also contracted as consumers switched to spirits.

ThaiBev seeks up to USD 1 billion in revived Singapore IPO of beer unit

Singapore | Here we go again. Thai Beverage (ThaiBev) is looking to raise as much as USD 1 billion through the revived Singapore Initial Public Offering (IPO). It could be held later this year, various news agencies reported in May 2022.

China’s brewing industry benefits from premiumization

China | During the first year of the covid pandemic, domestic beer sales suffered a sharp decline. The on-premise was hit hardest, due to nationwide lockdowns and the cancellation of social and festival gatherings.

Coke’s U-turn: Australian craft brewer Feral will not be sold

Australia | How to explain Coca Cola Europacific Partners’ strategy swings? Only in October 2021 had CCEP announced its exit from beer and cider, which included the sale of its stand-alone craft brewer Feral. The Coke bottler had concluded that achieving scale in beer and cider would require significant investment.

Japan | Kirin Holdings will withdraw from its business in Myanmar and terminate its joint venture with a military-linked partner, it said on 14 February 2022.

Australia | The Australian Hotels Association and the Brewers Association continue to campaign for a cut to the increased excise on draught beer, which came into effect on 1 February 2022. Their campaign is in support of pubs, and clubs, many of which are small businesses that have endured the most difficult trading conditions because of the pandemic.