Belgium | After the share price sag, the cut in dividends and the downgrading of its credit rating by Moody’s, you cannot say that AB-InBev had a jolly good year. But it was not all their fault. The Money Men, who ganged up on AB-InBev in the past quarter and told the world’s number one brewer to pay down debt pronto by cutting dividends or else, can be real hypocrites, sometimes. I could not help thinking that their show of furrowed brows and clenched teeth had a comic book quality to it. Fact is, the Money Men would have known all along that AB-InBev had no intention to reduce its debt pile quickly. 

The new sugar tax on soft drinks has raised GBP 153.8 million (USD 196 million) since it was introduced in April 2018, the BBC reported on 20 November 2018. Covering the period from April to the end of October, it looks as if the tax is on track to raise the estimated proceeds of GBP 240 million (USD 306 million) for the full year. The levy is collected from manufacturers, whether they pass it on to consumers or not. There are 457 producers registered for the levy.

Global consumption of wine rose by 2 million hl to 244 million hl in 2017, according to the German Wine Institute (DWI), based on estimates by the International Organisation of Vine and Wine (OIV).

With over 130 breweries and contract breweries in Greater London, the UK’s capital has become Europe’s undisputed craft beer capital. Many breweries also run taprooms, which are becoming as important as local pubs. Nationally, pubs continue to close at an alarming rate, but in London, at least, punters are in a fix as to where to spend their money if they hanker after a craft beer.

Few are blessed with such a long life and such a major achievement. It may have taken him several decades but Friedrich Schadeberg still managed to turn Krombacher from a village operation, doing about 50,000 hl in the early 1950s, into one of Germany’s largest privately-owned beer and beverage groups.

Grupa Zywiec, the number two brewer in Poland, on 14 November 2018 announced signing an agreement with Chicago Poland Investment Group on the purchase of Browar Namyslow, one of the largest regional breweries in Poland, for PLN 500 million (EUR 116 million/USD 132 million). The transaction is pending regulatory approval. Browar Namyslow owns two breweries: in Namyslow, south-western Poland and Braniewo, northern Poland. Among its brands are Namyslow, Braniewo, Zamkowe, a budget beer brand, and Kuflowe.

Quickly picking up on consumer trends, the privately-owned Belgian brewer Duvel Moortgat bought a 60 percent stake in London's JARR Kombucha, which produces a range of fermented teas. The transaction became public on 22 November 2018, although no financial details were disclosed.

Irish drinks group C&C, the maker of Bulmers/Magners cider and Tennent's lager, will invest in a new brewery in Dublin, to increase capacity for its Five Lamps craft beer label.

Independently-owned craft breweries represented just 2.6 percent of domestic beer consumption in 2017, say The Independent Craft Brewers of Ireland (ICBI), a trade organisation representing independently owned microbreweries across the Republic of Ireland, in a November 2018 report. The Irish beer market is controlled by Diageo/Guinness, Heineken, Molson Coors, and AB-InBev.

A rout in AB-InBev's share price since the beginning of this year has led plenty of commentators to ask if the business model of world's major brewer, which was based on a sequence of takeovers ("buy and build"), has not run its course. When the Brazilians pulled off InBev's acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which ultimately became AB-InBev, it seemed like a guaranteed winner. AB-InBev had such success generating value in the global market, it appeared that Big Beer was a logical target, given its enduring power in the market.