SABMiller’s share price has climbed in recent weeks on the rumour that the world’s number one brewer AB-InBev will take it over. Now speculation has been growing that, in order to prevent this from happening, SABMiller, the world’s number two brewer, is planning to merge with the number one drinks company Diageo.

Czech brewers will be pleased. The Czech agriculture minister Marian Jurečka said at the end of June 2014 that he is considering pushing for a cut in the excise duty on beer.

Is it hope over realism that Carlsberg have decided to keep all of their Russian breweries open and running in the face of dwindling capacity utilisations? The beer market in Russia fell by 8 percent in 2013 and 5 percent in the first quarter 2014, media say. In fact, since 2008, beer sales in Russia have declined by 25 percent, hurt by various restrictions on sales and tax hikes, which must have led to many breweries now sitting on huge and costly overcapacities.

It seems that, after the persistent rumour of the past couple of weeks, the question is not “if” but “when”. Analysts confirm there is definitely “smoke” here, which in the lingo of the financial world means that “Cowboys” are facing off with a bunch of “Indians” (the former – cowboys – referring to the big investment banks).

European Beer Star 2013 to Northern France

Passion for beer and the art of brewing – this is the philosophy of the owners of the Castelain Brewery in Bénifontaine, France. In order to boost recognition of their brand on a global level, the brewery entered their beer in the 2013 European Beer Star competition – the only brewery from France to do so. They were quickly rewarded for their efforts with a silver medal in the category Red/Amber Lager. This modern brewery (also see article on p. 166) is planning on participating in the international event this year as well.

What a squib. On 2 June 2014 German public media NDR.de reported that hazardous microplastics have been found in Germany’s best-selling mineral water and beer brands. How did the public react? They probably opened another bottle of beer.

Kompania Piwowarska (KP) has stated that it expects beer sales to rise this year thanks to the 2014 Football World Cup. The brewer, which is Poland’s number one and a unit of SABMiller, produces popular brands such as Lech, Tyskie, Redds and Zubr. At the end of May 2014 KP reported that its sales dropped by as much as 9 percent in its 2013/2014 financial year (31 March 2014), while the overall beer market only declined by 2.5 percent to 37.3 million hl.

Many spring barley fields in Europe are in a good or very good shape. The drought this spring didn´t seem to have too big an effect. In certain areas, an early harvest is expected. In some countries, the acreage is significantly smaller than it was last year. The price pressure continues though.

Ho ho. Finally someone from the secretive world of business has come out of the woodwork and entered the debate over Scotland’s independence. On 30 May 2014 Diageo’s CEO Ivan Menezes broke cover and reportedly said that it is “extremely important” that Scotland remains part of the EU, both for Diageo and for the Scotch whisky industry as a whole.

Homebrewers take note! On 29 May 2014, the UK supermarket group Waitrose announced that it has teamed up with craft brewery Thornbridge and home brew supplier Brew UK to find the UK’s best home brew.