When the Scottish firm Brewdog launched its beer, Tactical Nuclear Penguin with an alcohol content of 32 percent , the beer bottles came with a “how-to – enjoy it”. It read: "It should be enjoyed in small servings and with an air of aristocratic nonchalance...In exactly the same manner that you would enjoy a fine whisky, or a visit from a friendly yet anxious ghost."

It’s probably a sign of keeping up with the times that Casella, the company behind the Arvo brands, has termed Arvo 51 the first "crowd-sourced" beer.

The earth shook briefly on 28 September 2012 when Heineken’s executives dropped tons of worries, having received news that shareholders of Fraser & Neave (F&N), the Singaporean conglomerate that owns Asia Pacific Breweries (APB), had finally voted to approve the sale of the brewing unit to Heineken for a sweetened price of 53 Singapore dollars, or USD 43.24, for each share of APB the Dutch brewer did not already own.

Higher taxes on beer and tobacco are supposed to pay for several economic reforms, including free schooling from the age of three, Israeli news services say. Israel’s recently craft beer renaissance might start to whither due to a significant rise in excise and purchase taxes that the Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz ordered at the end of July 2012.

It’s like with second marriages. Hopefully they work out better than the first ones. After an acrimonious split from its first Thai partner, Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, and his Chang brewery (later to become ThaiBev) in 2005, Danish brewer Carlsberg at the end of September 2012 tied the knot with ThaiBev’s rival Singha, the company behind Thailand’s first brewer Boon Rawd and maker of Singha and Leo beer brands.

One of the great success stories of beverage industry, Red Bull will be of its own after a successful but lately bitter partnership with its Indian partner RNG. With this, the Austrian company will go solo and set up its independent operations in India.

This could be Diageo’s chance to get its foot into the door at India’s leading spirits company United Spirits (USL), as Vijay Mallya, the Indian beer and drinks baron, who owns a 28 percent stake in USL, is struggling to save his troubled Kingfisher Airlines.

Or did they just fail to grasp the fundamentals of doing business in a market which is as “interesting” as Uzbekistan’s? In early September 2012 Russian media reported that Carlsberg is in talks with investors to sell its subsidiary in Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan is the most populous and mainly Muslim country of 28 million people in Central Asia.

Better late than never. Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), the Australian beer business SABMiller acquired with its takeover of Foster’s last year, will revert to a formula for its flagship brand Victoria Bitter, which it abandoned in 2007, and raise the alcohol content from 4.6 percent to 4.9 percent from October this year, CUB said on 4 September 2012.

Have they nothing more serious to worry about? An August 2012 review of imported beers highlights the ongoing argument about the quality aspects of fully-imported beers versus those brewed locally under licence.