With the appointment of Rainer Grimm as CFO, the privately owned Wild, one of the world’s leading suppliers of natural flavour ingredients to the food and beverage industry, is getting into shape for an initial public offering.

A rainy summer and an ageing population dragged Germany’s per capita beer consumption down to a record low of 112.5 litres in 2007, the Brewers’ Association reported in December.

Pilsner Urquell’s advertising campaign is set to rub German brewers the wrong way.

An urban Weizen, which does not draw on a Dirndl and Lederhosen romance, has been the surprise winner last year.

Located between Poland and Russia, Belarus may not be the paragon of democracy, yet its beer market has shown significant growth potential.

Heineken and Carlsberg have made two “indicative proposals” but no formal bid yet for Scottish & Newcastle (S&N). Having lost patience, S&N has asked the Takeover Panel to set a deadline for a formal bid, which has been scheduled for 21 January.

Ball Corporation announced today that its European subsidiary, Ball Packaging Europe, plans to build a beverage can manufacturing plant in India. The facility, which is expected to be located near Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra, will be positioned strategically to supply the two-piece beverage can needs for the majority of existing and currently planned beverage can filling lines in India. Application procedures with the proper governmental agencies are in the process of being completed, and the first commercial cans are expected to be produced by mid-2009.

A rail strike and a blizzard marked the start of BRAU Beviale 2007 in Nuremberg (14 to 16 November), but this did not deter the 34,500 or so trade visitors (2006: 36,260) from attending this year’s most important international capital goods exhibition for the beverage industry.

Early in 2008, the first solar thermics system from Krones will go on line at the privately owned Hofmühl Brewery in Eichstätt

Thanks to the summer that never was, the UK’s top beer brands are counting the cost of a year with no major football tournament.