Russia | Beer production in Russia is estimated to decline between 4 and 5 percent in 2022, due to rising production costs and decreasing consumer purchasing power, Oraz Durdyev, President of AB InBev Efes’s Russian unit, told Russian media on 7 July 2022.

Belgium | To support Ukraine, AB-InBev launched its Ukrainian beer brand Chernigivske in several markets around the world in May. The brewer promised to donate at least USD 5 million from this initiative to humanitarian relief efforts. But Ukrainian staff, who were offered to come to Belgium for shelter, could soon find themselves stranded in Brussels, the website brusselstimes.com reported on 10 July 2022.

Czech Republic | Faced with paying over USD 600 million in an arbitrage judgment, Czechs are thinking about privatizing the Budvar brewery, heir to the Budweiser moniker and unending court battles with Anheuser-Busch (today AB-InBev). Could this century-old beer battle, hopped with nationalism and language identity, be over?

Austria | The Federal Competition Authority (BWB) has confirmed that it carried out a search at Brau Union's headquarters in Linz at the beginning of April this year. The watchdog told the Austrian TV network, ORF, on 23 June, that it had received complaints against Brau Union for market abuse which warranted the search.

Germany | Anyone wanting a 1.3 million hl brewery, which is located slightly off the beaten track and only suitable for export production? If interested, please apply to Oettinger brewery, Germany’s major producer of value brands.

Switzerland | Migros’ 2.3 million cooperative members do not want to see alcohol on Migros’ shelves. In a vote they prevailed against Migros’ leadership: The administration of the Federation of Migros Cooperatives (MGB) wanted to lift the ban on alcohol, as did the ten regional administrations.

Belgium | Between the two family branches that own Belgium’s fourth-ranking brewer Haacht, a conflict has erupted over the future course of the business. The criticism centres on Frédéric van der Kelen, 88, the company’s Chairman, who has steered Haacht in one capacity or other for more than 50 years.

Belgium | Belgians consumed more beer in 2021, which indicates a slow recovery from 2020, as the country did not shed its covid restrictions until early June 2021.

United Kingdom | Is BrewDog a pub operator with a brewery attached, or a brewery which operates a string of bars? This is probably a moot point because, with more than 110 bars globally and nearly 1 million hl beer sales in 2021, BrewDog has shown that its integrated beer and bar business works to its advantage.

United Kingdom | Sales of low- and non-alcoholic beers have almost doubled in five years, thanks in no small part to the Big Brewers launching 0.0 versions of their flagship brands. The category now accounts for 3.1 percent of the UK’s beer market, IWSR said, compared with 2.7 percent globally.