What’s happening at Anchor brewery? Not much, it seems

USA | After a protracted sales process, on 31 May 2024, Sapporo managed to offload San Francisco’s historic Anchor brewery to billionaire Hamdi Ulukaya, the founder of Chobani yogurt. One year on, both the beautiful white Art Deco headquarters at 1705 Mariposa St. and the taproom across the street are still sitting idle.

PepsiCo is pushing back its climate goals

USA | The snacks and beverage firm PepsiCo has pushed back its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by a decade: from 2040 to 2050. There are also several delays on plastic packaging goals. Justifying the revisions, its sustainability chief said on 22 May, that the world “was a very different place” when it set its targets.

Molson Coors: Macro pressures will end, just don’t know when

USA | During Molson Coors first quarter investor call on 8 May, the outgoing CEO, Gavin Hattersley, got straight to the point in his opening remarks, when he addressed the “challenging first quarter” not only for Molson Coors, but for “so many of our peers in staples”, and blamed a “volatile” global macroeconomic environment for the depressed results.

A-B and SpikedSeltzer inventors head to trial over earnout clash

USA | Is it a case of “sue us if you can”? After quietly simmering in the Connecticut Superior Court for the past three years, a contract dispute between Anheuser-Busch (a subsidiary of AB-InBev) and the inventors/investors of SpikedSeltzer is headed to trial by jury. This was ruled by a judge on 30 April. The dispute centres on whether Anheuser-Busch (A-B) underpaid earnout bonuses owed from its 2016 acquisition of Boathouse Beverage, the inventor of SpikedSeltzer.

BrewDog records multi-million pound loss in US market slump

USA | The Scottish brewer and bar operator BrewDog has reportedly lost almost GBP 7 million (USD 9.3 million) in America last year as the company cuts back its operations, media reported on 3 May.

Boston Beer says tariffs could cost up to USD 30 million

USA | Boston Beer, the maker of Samuel Adams beer, Truly hard seltzer, and other drinks, said the extra costs due to tariffs this year will be between USD 20 million and USD 30 million. The big driver of those costs is the aluminium Boston Beer uses for its cans.

USA | Constellation Brands anticipates a USD 1 billion financial hit this year from the 25 percent tariffs introduced by US President Trump, which took effect on 4 April. The levy applies to all imported canned beer and empty aluminium cans.

Cannabis firm Tilray ceases operations at Hop Valley brewery

USA | And another brewery goes. As cannabis firm Tilray pushes further into alcohol, it has acquired a slew of breweries and brands, both from AB-InBev and Molson Coors over the past two years. The most recent spate of acquisitions included Hop Valley, one of four brands acquired from Molson Coors in August 2024. On 10 April, the newssite Brewbound reported that Tilray will cease operations at Hop Valley’s brewery in Eugene, Oregon.

USA | As AB-InBev continues to streamline its craft brewing operations in the US, it announced on 28 March that it would invest USD 1 million in the operations of Wicked Weed in Asheville, North Carolina, which it acquired in 2017. The news coincided with the winding down of operations at its production facility in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, “over the next few months”.

Labatt shifts Mill Street’s production from Toronto to London, Ontario

Canada | Labatt Breweries is closing the Mill Street brewery in Toronto when the current ten-year lease expires later this year, the company said on 27 March. The move will result in 39 job losses, but workers will be offered roles at other Labatt operations.