United Kingdom | These are bad times for ale breweries: Within the span of 12 months, Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) is shuttering three heritage breweries: After Jennings in Cumbria and Ringwood in Hampshire, the Wychwood Brewery in Oxfordshire is to cease operations in November this year with the loss of six jobs.

France | Duvel Moortgat has taken over the French brewery Brasserie du Mont Blanc. The purchase of the brewery, announced on 18 September, is the latest in a string of international breweries to be added to Duvel Moortgat’s portfolio.

United Kingdom | Once the preserve of greedy airlines and Amazon, dynamic pricing has arrived in one of Britain's most sacred spaces: the pub. As the UK newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, reported on 11 September, Britain's biggest pub chain Stonegate Group has rolled out the flexible pricing system at some 800 sites across the country.

France | Locals say: If you drive into Strasbourg on the motorway from the north, the first landmark you see is the big IKEA store, followed by the new Perle brewery and the cathedral tower beckoning in the distance. After 18 months of construction and installation works, the Perle brewery opened its doors in July.

France | Storm clouds are gathering over Bordeaux’s winemakers. Unpredictable weather patterns affecting yields, declining export volumes, and consumers drinking more beer, have forced some wine producers to uproot their vineyards. Additionally, the French government has pledged EUR 200 million (USD 215 million) to destroy surplus wine in a bid to shore up prices and support struggling producers.

France | The French prefer blondes. But they also appreciate dark, amber, and white beers. Benefiting from nearly-flat sales of wine since 2019 – due to inflation, the pandemic and climatic hazards that have sometimes disrupted production – packs of beer have settled comfortably in French fridges.

Denmark | An internal probe by the Carlsberg Group into its past dealings in Myanmar found it did invest in Myanmar in 1996 although it had publicly said it was leaving the country to join international boycotts of the military junta. The investigation was spurred by questions from the NGO “Justice for Myanmar” in April 2023.

Belgium | The brewer behind the well-known blonde beer Duvel, together with its on-premise properties, is worth almost EUR 2 billion (USD 2.2 billion), the Belgian business magazine Trends reported, referring to a recent filing by PBM Holding, the Moortgat family's holding company, which was established in 2022.

Germany | The German Brewers Association has appealed to the government and parliament to maintain the reduced VAT rate of 7 percent (previously 19 percent) for food in restaurants beyond 2023.

United Kingdom | BrewDog faced a bit of a backlash on digital media, after it began offering punters an “epic deal” on drinks in August. During happy hour at its 20 or so pubs in London a pint of Pale Ale cost only GBP 5.95 (USD 7.50).