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White retro bike leaning against a beer garden fence (Photo by Omar KH on Unsplash)

Poland | If all goes to plan, Heineken will take Poland’s number two brewer, Grupa Zywiec, from the Warsaw Stock Exchange. In a transaction, announced on 18 October, the Dutch brewer acquired PLN 1.4 billion (USD 299 million) worth of shares from Harbin BV, the Dutch investment vehicle of the Australian barrister Allan Myers, 77.

View of a bar with taps in the front serving well-known beer brands by Big Brewers (Photo by Matthieu Comoy on Unsplash)

Europe | Put the blame on European punters, facing a cost of living crisis, that the Big Brewers need to turn elsewhere for growth. AB-InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg reported a hike in beer sales in their third quarter results. But they had to admit that their performance could have been even better had not European sales proved lagging.

Red Bull can (Photo: Jesper Brouwers on Unsplash)

United Kingdom | It was an expensive victory for the small artisanal gin maker Bullards. It had to spend GBP 30,000 (USD 34,000) in legal fees to fend off the energy drinks behemoth Red Bull, over claims that the word “bull” in Bullards’ name could cause confusion.

Paulaner Spezi can and Riegele Spezi bottle (Photos: left: Ina Verstl; right: Raphael Zawadzki on Unsplash)

Germany | As the Augsburg brewer Riegele and the Munich brewer Paulaner could not settle their dispute over who owns the name to the popular lemonade mix Spezi, a Munich court declared on 11 October that Paulaner may also call its version Spezi and not pay royalties to Riegele.

Outside view of AB-InBev’s Spaten-Franziskaner brewery in Munich (Photo: BRAUWELT)

Germany | A year ago, in October 2021, Bloomberg reported that AB-InBev was seeking a buyer for its German unit, as the world’s number one brewer sought to “prune less profitable businesses and trim debt”. The asking price: USD 1.2 billion.

View of the brand brewery in Wijlre (Jasper K; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Brand_Bierbrouwerij_Wijlre.jpg#file, “Brand Bierbrouwerij Wijlre”, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode)

The Netherlands | Heineken’s cost-cutters had their way again. After Belgium’s Affligem brewery, the Brand brewery in Wijlre is the next to be shuttered. Beer production will be shifted to Heineken’s macro breweries in Zoeterwoude and Den Bosch in 2024. 48 jobs will be lost. This was announced on 26 September.

Green bottles from above (Photo by Ameer Basheer on Unsplash)

Romania | Heineken, the number two brewer in Romania, will shutter the Constanta brewery in the second half of 2023. The plant, which once produced more than 700,000 hl beer, has been operating well below capacity for years. Production will be shifted to the three remaining breweries in the group.

Frankfurt‘s skyline at night (Photo by Steven Wei on Unsplash)

Germany | It is well known that German brewers sit on too much capacity. But it still came as a shock when Radeberger announced, on 29 September, that it will shutter its Binding brewery in Frankfurt. Over the next twelve months production will be relocated to other breweries and 150 people will lose their jobs.

A piece of paper with the words “get ready for Brexit” (Photo by Dolapo Ayoade on Unsplash)

United Kingdom | The Old Dairy Brewery must be in bad shape financially that it had to call in the administrators. Whatever the reasons – Brexit delivered the final blow.

Two Lego figures in caveman clothes holding clubs (Photo by Grianghraf on Unsplash)

United Kingdom | BrewDog’s CEO was subjected to a vicious online smear campaign, which saw him scammed out of some USD 108,000 in Bitcoin by an ex-lover, The Sun, a newspaper, reported on 27 September.

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