A sharp rise in raw materials costs that cannot be passed on to the consumer will mean that many craft brewery may not make it through 2008.

Molson Coors and SABMiller are expected to look for new headquarters.

Brewers Anheuser-Busch and Miller said at a conference in Florida in February that several U.S. state Attorneys General have demanded information on how they market and sell caffeinated alcoholic drinks.

In a beer market that is basically flat and where domestic volumes can only be maintained with the help of price promotions, Anheuser-Busch plans to use line extensions of core brands, different advertising, and cost cuts to revive its core beer sales and profitability.

The Coca-Cola Company said it would continue to make acquisitions, but they were not necessary for the world’s largest soft drink maker to meet its long-term growth objectives.

John Brock, the former CEO of InBev, who was ousted in 2005 so that the Brazilian Carlos Britos could take his seat, will get a chance to revisit Belgium again – as the new CEO of the world’s largest Coca-Cola bottler.

Grupo Modelo, which is 50.2 percent owned by Anheuser-Busch, saw its shipments to the U.S. drop 6 percent during the fourth quarter of 2007 year-on-year. For the full year 2007, global exports barely rose at all.

In 2007 the sales growth gap between beer and spirits narrowed which is good news for the beer industry.

For those involved in the production, distribution, sale and service of beer, the Siebel Institute of Technology offers an in-depth two-day course.

The World Brewing Academy reports that its Web-based Concise Course in Brewing is now formally recognised by the Institute of Brewing and Distilling (IBD) as suitable for students writing the IBD General Certificate in Brewing Exam.