AB-InBev-Efes launches iced tea in Russia

Russia | Russia's largest brewer, AB-InBev-Efes has started to make Zeno iced tea in two flavours, green tea and black lemon tea, the newspaper Kommersant reported in May. AB-InBev-Efes, which was put under interim administration by Russian President Vladimir Putin in December 2024, is thus pushing further into the soft drinks market amid flat beer sales. The soft drinks are produced in facilities in Omsk and Ivanovo.

Trappist abbey and brewery Maria Toevlucht may close

The Netherlands | The Dutch are set to lose one of their two Trappist breweries. The Noord-Brabant abbey Maria Toevlucht (Mary of Refuge) in Zundert will close as there are too few monks to sustain a community, Dutch media reported on 14 May.

AB-InBev’s first quarter: profit up, volume sales down

Belgium | People around the world are drinking less beer, at least that by AB-InBev. And yet the group, on 8 May, reported first-quarter net profit of USD 2.15 billion, nearly twice what it was a year ago. Revenue was up 1.5 percent year-over-year to USD 13.6 billion, but volume sales were down 2.2 percent.

Indie brewers kept out of UK pubs by multinationals, survey finds

United Kingdom | A new report by the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA), which was published on 28 April, shows that whilst demand for independent beer remains strong, UK brewers face strong headwinds from increased taxation, market access restrictions and reduced alcohol consumption.

Swedish microbreweries can sell beer to visitors after a “lecture”

Sweden | Sweden’s parliament voted in favour of the government’s draft law to legalise on-site sales for small breweries, wineries and distilleries. The proposal passed with 154 votes for and 129 votes against on 23 April.

United Kingdom | The UK Prime Minister beat US President Trump to the line in the race for a trade deal with India. It is not exactly the deepest and most comprehensive trade deal the UK has ever signed, but the timing (6 May) could not be more fortunate. Scotch whisky distillers were elated.

Heineken sues Dutch supermarket chain Jumbo over delisting

The Netherlands | Heineken and Jumbo have been negotiating the conditions for their cooperation in 2025, but have not reached an agreement on prices yet. As a result, products such as Amstel, Birra Moretti, Brand and Desperados are hard to find on Jumbo’s shelves.

Austria’s independent brewers poke fun at Heineken’s Brau Union

Austria | Who actually owns the beer we drink? This is exactly what Austria’s privately-owned breweries want to communicate. And they are doing it with rather striking and funny slogans. However, they do not want their campaign to be seen as “corporation bashing”, but as purely educational.

German brewers face 35 percent tariff on canned beer to the US

Germany | It must have come as a shock to Europe’s brewers exporting their beer to the United States: Not only will importers pay the baseline 10 percent tariff. They will also have to pay a 25 percent levy if the beer comes in cans.

German beer exports under pressure (and not just in America)

Germany | Enjoying a beer after work is still part of everyday life for many people in Germany. However, new data show that beer consumption has fallen significantly in recent years. Germans drank an average of 88 litres beer last year. In 2014, it was still almost 103 litres of beer, a decline of 15 percent.