What a screamer: Icelandic microbrewery Stedji has produced a beer in time for the country’s mid-winter festival, Thorri (23 January until 22 February 2015) which has the world up in arms. Stedji’s Hvalur 2 beer (hvalur = whale) is made with the testicles of fin whales that were smoked in a “traditional way” with dried sheep dung. What makes the beer so political is the fact that fin whales are classified as endangered on the conservation Red List.

Since the end of November 2014 Carlsberg has seen 15 percent of its market capitalisation wiped out. On 12 January 2015 it was valued at DKK 74 billion (EUR 9.94 billion/USD 11.7 billion). Some analysts estimate Carlsberg’s value could decline by another 10 percent this year. So far, Carlsberg’s efforts to reassure investors it can weather continued losses in Russia have shown little sign of working.

In early January 2015 the pub operator JD Wetherspoon settled a dispute with Heineken that prompted the chain to ban the brewer’s drinks from its 926 pubs in Britain and Ireland. The argument erupted in December after Heineken’s Irish arm refused to supply its eponymous lager and Murphy’s stout to Wetherspoon’s new pub in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin.

Will he even hear their call? The Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA) and the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) are imploring the UK’s Chancellor George Osborne to cut the duty on wine and spirits by 2 percent in his March budget. The “Drop the Duty!” campaign, launched on 15 December 2014, argues that a cut would give a big billion boost to public finances in 2015.

Russia has just lost the economic war with the West, media touted in December, as her currency descended into free fall. Russia’s economy is facing a perfect storm – as is Carlsberg. Since July 2014, Carlsberg’s stock has lost what it managed to gain since 2011. In December alone, Carlsberg’s market value slumped more than USD 2 billion, giving it a market capitalization of DKK 70 billion (USD 12 billion).

It’s going to be an interesting year for Carlsberg Germany. The German Federal Cartel Office expects that its case against Carlsberg Germany will go to court in the first six months of 2015.

Dr Isaac Sheps, CEO of Baltika Breweries, who resigned on 27 November 2014, is the most high-profile casualty of the Russian beer crisis to date. Only three years ago he had been posted to Russia from Carlsberg UK and replaced Baltika’s then head Anton Artemiev, who had failed to prevent a slump in Baltika’s profits amid declining beer volumes and steep tax hikes.

The business climate in Russia seems to be getting icier. The Russian subsidiary of France’s Groupe Danone has demanded an apology from the country’s agriculture minister after he slammed the company for its reportedly substandard dairy products in the latest Kremlin assault against a Western company.

What kind of tourists visit Greece these days? Misers? Tee-totallers? Although inbound tourism to Greece has been on the rise over the past few years, beer consumption declined to 3.9 million hl in 2013 from 4.5 million hl in 2008 according to data published by the Brewers of Europe. In the past, thirsty tourists proved a boon to the country’s brewers. Not any longer, it seems.

It may only be a temporary victory but it was still extraordinary. The UK government was defeated in a vote in Parliament on the degree of control that parent companies can exercise over pubs. On 18 November 2014 MPs voted 284 to 259 in favour of an amendment, which would allow landlords an independent rent review and give them the right to buy their beer on the open market.