Europe | There is only so much you can say when the CEO of AB-InBev steps down after 17 years. And it seems Heineken said much of it in February 2020, when its CEO Jean-Francois van Boxmeer announced his departure after 15 years at the helm.

United Kingdom | The world’s major drinks company, Diageo, is sitting on GBP 9 billion (USD 12.8 billion) of cash. How best to spend it? According to Ivan Menezes, Diageo’s long-serving CEO, it is on Diageo’s shares.

Belgium | They have been a long time in coming and the covid pandemic certainly delayed rollout plans, but finally hard seltzers, which are an alcoholic drink containing sparkling water and fruit flavour, are hitting Europe’s shelves.

Belgium | For a decade the Trappist monks of Notre-Dame de Saint-Remy in Rochefort, southern Belgium, have been fighting with a quarry owner over the purity of the local spring water.

Belgium | The long wait is over. On 8 May 2021, bars and restaurants reopened their outdoor terraces. The reopening was a relief for beer drinkers, bar owners and brewers, after the on-premise was ordered shut in October 2020.

Ireland | More trouble brewing on the island of Ireland. The Republic is reportedly planning to introduce Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) for alcohol before the North. This could result in beer being up to twice as expensive in the Republic than in Northern Ireland. Guess what will happen? Irish retailers will cry into their beers while smugglers will laugh up their sleeves.

Belgium | The rumour mongers were right: Carlos Brito, who built AB-InBev into the world’s major brewer, will step down as CEO in July as the firm shifts its focus from acquisitions to organic growth. The Financial Times newspaper was the first to spread this rumour in September 2020.

The Netherlands | With a nod to Earth Day activists, on 22 April 2021, Dutch brewer Heineken announced that it aims for all of its production sites to become carbon neutral, maximising renewable energy and energy efficiency. As part of its EverGreen campaign, the company will cut its overall emissions by 30 percent by 2030.

Italy | Since 22 April 2021, a gigantic wooden goat dominates Milan’s modern Piazza Gae Aulenti. It is impossible not to see it, considering it stands 14 metres tall. Few people will be aware that the statue, which actually looks like a Trojan Horse, albeit with horns, has been embroiled in a billboard battle between AB-InBev and Asahi.

The Netherlands | After repeated threats from desperate publicans that they will reopen their venues regardless of the lockdown, the Dutch government relented. On 28 April 2021, outdoor terraces were reopened for guests from noon until 6 pm. Still, all sales of alcohol are prohibited from 8 pm until 6 am. This applies to hotels, takeout and delivery and all other outlets selling alcohol.