Austria | A consumer watchdog objected to Brau Union advertising its beer brand Gösser as “carbon neutral”. Because, in a strict sense, it is not. A court recently sided with the activists.

Austria | What is going on at Heineken that two local CEOs resigned recently? In April, Jörg Lehmann, CEO of Germany’s Paulaner Group, in which Heineken has a 30 percent stake, bowed out. Then, on 15 June, Klaus Schörghofer, CEO of Austria’s leading brewer Brau Union, which has been fully owned by Heineken since 2003, stepped down.

Switzerland | Blame it on higher prices for raw materials and energy that nearly 100 breweries closed in 2022, dragging their total number down to 1,179, from 1,278 in 2021.

United Kingdom | The Ellon-based brewer and pub operator, BrewDog, reported substantial losses for the third consecutive year, despite showing a 12 percent rise in revenue to GBP 321.2 million (USD 412 million) in calendar 2022.

Czech Republic | It is after 9:30 pm in a restaurant above the Prague Castle and the waiter is getting anxious. It is past last orders, and he wants us to leave. From the outside terrace, we have listened to a few scattered voices – some Czech, some English. A subdued beer tour has walked by – followed by two groups from the Brewers Forum. As we amble down towards the river, our feet and voices echo through the empty porticoes of Mala Strana.

Czech Republic | It was a good decision to make Prague the host of the 5^th edition of the Brewers Forum (21-23 May). No central European city had ever put on a Forum before. Previous Forums were held in Brussels, Antwerp and Madrid, plus one online during the pandemic. The organisers, the Brewers of Europe, an industry body, wanted to show their support for the Czech Association of Breweries and Malt Houses (ČSPS). In 2022, they applied to get Czech beer culture added to UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list.

United Kingdom | The asset sell-off continues at Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC). The latest brewery to be put on the market is the small Ringwood Brewery in southern England, which produces mainly cask ales. CMBC said on 7 June, that by disposing of Ringwood it seeks to simplify its business.

Denmark | Why did Carlsberg send out its trading update that it has found a buyer for its Russian brewery Baltika on Friday, 23 June, in the afternoon? Is it because the news is actually a non-news, which would be ancient news after the weekend?

Germany | Brewers are in a quandary: Shall they hike the deposit on beer bottles and crates in view of rising costs for new ones, even if it means coughing up millions of euros during the transition? Or shall they keep things as they are in order not to rile their consumers?

Belgium | The Belgian Brewers Association said that the EU's proposed regulation on packaging and packaging waste (PPWR) would force brewers to destroy refillable bottles as part of harmonisation rules. On 31 May it sent a letter to the European Parliament, which must vote on the regulation, to voice its concerns.