United Kingdom | Beer and spirits company BrewDog, which was hit by criticism from former employees over its toxic culture earlier this year, has appointed a chairman with a blue-chip reputation. The former Asda boss and City grandee, Allan Leighton, 68, has joined BrewDog as non-executive chairman, in the latest sign that the Scottish craft brewer is moving closer to a public listing on the stock market.

Germany | In the legal procedures following accusations of beer cartel shenanigans, three Kölsch breweries from Cologne and two of their managers were acquitted of allegations of illegal price fixing.

United Kingdom | BrewDog has established its first international joint venture with Japan’s Asahi, as the UK’s largest craft brewer seeks to increase sales ahead of a planned London IPO.

Sweden | An interesting idea – not that it will ever be seriously considered. The economist Jerker Holm suggested that Sweden’s monopolist off-licence retailer, Systembolaget, should adopt a flexible pricing policy: lower the prices of beer, wine and spirits in southern Sweden, but hike them in the northern part of the country.

Germany | More and more consumers in Germany are enjoying a beer without alcohol. The production of non-alcoholic beers has more than doubled since 2007 to about 6.6 million hl in 2020.

United Kingdom | Prompt payment (or rather the lack of it) is a hot topic in all industries, so much so that the UK government set up its “hall of shame”, aka its Prompt Payment Code (PPC) in 2008. On 1 November 2019, Johnnie Walker owner Diageo was among 20 companies to be suspended from the PPC, since it failed to comply with the Code’s terms of payment. Businesses signed up to the voluntary Code pledged to pay 95 percent of all supplier invoices within 60 days. Recently, the rules were tightened. As of 1 July 2021, signatories to PPC are obliged to pay small firms within 30 days.

United Kingdom | Doing the right thing can be tough sometimes. The overwhelming majority (96 percent) of small independent brewers in Scotland are unprepared for the Deposit Return Scheme, due to go live in July 2022, according to a new survey (August 2021) by the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA).

Germany | Isn’t there a saying like “you only know what you are missing when it is no longer there”? For 35 years, the Munich photographer Volker Derlath has been a regular at the Oktoberfest. In the thick of things, camera at the ready, he would capture beer-fuelled moments, ranging from the comical to the violent and anguished. For Mr Derlath, the Oktoberfest is a modern bacchanal, where life, freed from civilising constraints, can be lived to the fullest.

United Kingdom | A lack of qualified drivers combined with tough visa requirements for EU drivers are disrupting the country’s supply chains.

Russia | What are we to make of Russia currently creating the world’s most ambitious and strictest supply chain track and trace system? Its digital system, known as Chestny Znak (trans. “honest sign”), is expected to be fully operational in 2024.