Despite its impressive rise over the last few years, craft beer still occupies a tiny share of the UK beer market: less than 1 percent, says BrewDog. The Scottish brewer is behind a new initiative – United Craft Brewers – a group which was launched in early May 2015. The founder members are Camden Town Brewery, Magic Rock Brewing, Beavertown Brewery, distributor James Clay and BrewDog. The association’s mission is to “respect, promote and educate the British drinking public about craft beer – a joint promotion of beer, irrespective of delivery method.”

How mean. UK media quipped that the world's number two brewer has got “crafty” with the acquisition of London-based brewery Meantime. Meantime was established by brewmaster Alastair Hook in 1999 when he built a brewery in Greenwich, London. The business has since created a successful range of British and international beer styles. Last year, Meantime reportedly increased its beer sales by 58 percent to reach over 60,000 hl, outpacing the UK beer market’s 1 percent growth.

Who is to blame if women don’t drink beer? Only the brewers themselves. SABMiller’s CEO Alan Clark thinks it is the brewers’ “insulting” and “dismissive” advertising that is putting women off beer. On 13 May 2015 he said it is time to consign the “lager lout, laddish, college frat” image of beer drinking to history and to “modernise” beer.

Carlsberg’s outgoing CEO Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen reiterated that Carlsberg would remain committed to Russia despite current woes. But he would say that, wouldn’t he? There is no buyer willing to take Carlsberg’s Russian business of their hands at this point.

Björn Falkeström’s secret wish was granted. He did not receive the award for Entrepreneur of the Year by the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet (see our report in Brauwelt INTERNATIONAL 2/2015).

Good if you can. In the three months to 31 March 2015 AB-InBev increased profits as it lifted prices and sold more premium lagers in Brazil and China, thus making up for sharply lower U.S. volume sales.

“The world is a village and we are all connected.” This saying comes to mind on hearing that on 29 April 2015 AB-InBev’s shareholders approved Olivier Goudet, 51, as Chairman, bringing an end to the leadership of Kees Storm whose term on the board expired. Mr Goudet, a Frenchman who has been an AB-InBev independent board member since 2011, will serve for four years.

Playing the patriotic card or what? Dutch brewer Heineken will start producing the traditional bread-based drink kvass at four of its Russian breweries as the country’s beer market battles a steep downturn, the brewer said on 23 April 2015.

Already at the end of last year Carlsberg announced that it would construct a new brewery in Trondheim on the site of the existing Ringnes E.C. Dahls brewery for DKK 110 million kronor (about EUR 15 million), but only on 27 April 2015 it was revealed that this project will be a collaboration between Carlsberg and Brooklyn Brewery from New York.

Heineken, the world’s number three brewer, on 22 April 2015 reported stronger than expected revenue growth in the first quarter, boosted by sales of Mexican lagers and drinking over the New Year in Vietnam.