Germany | Krones is facing strong headwinds. Counter-measures, introduced in July this year, included a hiring freeze and cuts to material costs. But on 17 September 2019 Krones announced that there will be redundancies. Up to 400 jobs could be lost.

Germany | AB-InBev has bought a 20 percent stake in Munich craft brewer Crew Republic, which, at 9,000 hl in annual beer sales, is among Germany’s largest. But over the past few years it has seen its spare capital shrink while it has struggled to hike sales.   

Germany | Annoyed with Google’s misleading entries on waiting times for the brewery’s restaurant, the publican has sought to drag Google to court over this. On 27 August 2019, Google accepted an injunction granted to the publican to avoid further legal battles.

Germany | As of March 2020, several dozen Bavarian breweries will increase the deposit on beer crates from currently EUR 1.50 to EUR 6. This is meant to persuade tardy consumers to return crates more quickly rather than throw them away or store them in their basements.

Germany | Once the pride of German brewers, the country’s much-touted return-refill system for beer bottles and crates is becoming more and more unmanageable, as brewers flood the market with proprietary containers, thus adding to the SKU deluge.  

Austria | Where on earth is Murau? And how come it holds a festival on Global Beer? Murau, a small town of about 3,500 inhabitants, lies 160 km southeast of Salzburg. First mentioned in the late 13th century, Murau’s fame, historically, rested on logging and brewing.

Austria | In the Styrian town of Murau, the summer festival “Global Beer” is bringing the global brewing industry back to the here and now.

United Kingdom | The listed brewer and pub operator, Greene King, with a portfolio of 2,700 pubs, restaurants and hotels, has been snapped up by CK Asset Holdings from Hong Kong in a GBP 4.6 billion (USD 5.6 billion) transaction. The deal is still pending shareholder and regulatory approval.

United Kingdom | Non-boozy spirits, though a contradiction in terms, seem to be the next big thing. Hence drinks company Diageo has hiked its stake in Seedlip to a “significant majority shareholding” in early August 2019.

United Kingdom | That is clever. Deviating from its preferred route to finance through crowdfunding, the Scottish brewer and pub operator may issue a GBP 10 million (USD 12 million) bond that would repay lenders partly in beer.