Australia | It is surprising that Australia’s number two brewer, Lion, would sell a very big brewery, which could give someone else a free kick into the market.

Australia | What is their exit plan? The craft drinks group, Mighty Craft, will pay AUD 27 million (USD 21 million) in cash and AUD 20 million in shares to acquire the Adelaide Hills Group, which has a craft brewery, a cidery and a distillery, on top of owning 75 percent of a hospitality venue in the Adelaide Hills, known as Lot 100.

Australia | Being locked down in Tasmania and unable to travel anywhere, Dr Evan Evans put his free time to excellent use. He wrote a book simply called Mashing.

Australia | Are Australian media suffering from a dearth of big news that they had to hype Asahi’s recent purchase as a major deal? Asahi, the owner of Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), acquired the Melbourne coffee company Allpress Espresso, making it the brewer’s first foray into Australia’s AUD 1.3 billion (USD 950 million) wholesale coffee market.

Australia | It is a victory of sorts. While craft brewers celebrated the announcement on 1 May 2021 that the beer excise tax rebate will increase from AUD 100 000 to AUD 350 000 per annum, as of July this year, many worry that it will not benefit the brewers but the publicans.

Singapore | Given the worsening covid pandemic, ThaiBev, one of southeast Asia’s major brewers, announced that it is postponing its plans to sell a 20 percent stake in its regional beer business via a Singapore listing.

India | A fire sale by another name? Molson Coors sold its Indian business, including the high ABV Thunderbolt beer brand, after suffering a setback in the state of Bihar, following the introduction of prohibition in 2016 and a general decline in sales due to the pandemic.

Japan | Brewer Kirin is estimated to have ranked top in sales of beer and beer-like drinks in 2020, overtaking rival Asahi for the first time in eleven years, the website mainichi.jp reports.

Myanmar | Kirin should publish its investigation report on the military-owned Myanmar Economic Holdings Ltd. (MEHL) and swiftly cut ties with the company, Human Rights Watch, an NGO, said in early January.

Japan | Jointly developed by Sapporo and Family Mart, one of Japan’s largest chains of convenience stores, the beer called Kaitakushi Bakushu Shitate, or “Kaitakushi Beer Tailored” and named after the country’s first brewery, was to hit shelves in January 2021.