USA | The growth rates are still staggering: Boston Beer said that the US hard seltzer category constituted about 7 percent of domestic beer consumption in 2020, having grown approximately 160 percent over 2019.

USA | A laudable initiative, The “Things we don’t say IPA” project, was launched to create awareness for mental health by encouraging people to talk about their experiences and feelings, both good and bad, and to demonstrate the importance of asking for help when needed.

USA | After months of mounting frustration over wages, working conditions, and what they view as management’s deficient pandemic response, on 27 February 2021, workers at Platform Beer Co.’s Columbus, Ohio, taproom walked out. This was after putting a sign on the door, saying that “the entire Platform Columbus crew has quit. The taproom is closed until further notice. Thank you!”

USA | Grupo Modelo, the Mexican arm of AB-InBev, has accused Constellation Brands in a lawsuit of breaching a deal on the use of the Corona brand name by applying it to a product other than beer, it was reported in February 2021.

Brazil | It is just a reshuffle of brand between two systems, but a milestone for Heineken. The Dutch brewer has wanted for years to terminate its distribution contract with Coca-Cola FEMSA, in order to expand its Brazilian distribution network which acquired from Kirin in 2017. FEMSA disagreed and the two were forced to enter into arbitration.

USA | A cool price for a piece of technology. Uber said on 2 February 2021 that it has acquired the alcohol delivery service Drizly, the latest purchase for the ride-hailing company, as it seeks to diversify its business after a pandemic-related decline in rides. Drizly’s sales boomed in 2020, growing more than 330 percent, it was reported, after many consumers stopped dining out and redirected their dollars towards take-aways and deliveries.

USA | What did Americans learn in 2020? Among other things, that you can legally order alcohol online and have it delivered to your doorstep. In a poll 44 percent of respondents said that 2020 was the first year they bought alcohol over the internet.

USA | The on-premise represented 17 percent of total alcohol sales in 2019. The closure of bars and restaurants during the pandemic saw its share drop to 9 percent in 2020. The IWRS, a research outfit, forecasts that it will only be back at 12.4 percent of US volume in 2024.

USA | Going for a whole new design can prove fatal, as the iconic heritage brewery, the San Francisco Potrero Hill Brewery, formerly known as the Anchor Brewery and revived by Fritz Maytag in 1965, is currently experiencing.

USA | Kansas City’s iconic Boulevard brewery has been rocked by accusations of sexual harassment. Claims of harassment first surfaced in late January 2021 in a Reddit post.