USA | Why would a Canadian cannabis firm, with a market capitalisation of USD 1.2 billion and operations on five continents, splash out at least USD 300 million in a cash and stock deal for a craft brewer from Georgia?

USA | Fearful to renege on their words that alcohol shall not touch their lips in the US, Coke struck an agreement with Molson Coors to manufacture, market and distribute Coca-Cola’s Topo Chico hard seltzer brand for them.

USA | Looks like brewer Molson Coors has lots of spare capacity. In September 2020 Molson Coors Beverage and D.G. Yuengling & Son formed a joint venture that will expand the reach of America’s oldest brewery to millions more drinkers outside its mostly East Coast distribution territory.

Peru | Following an auction, Heineken succeeded in acquiring the local beer brand Tres Cruces from soft drink firm AJE Group (AJE) and will now try to take on the market leader Backus (AB-InBev).

Mexico | It could be done: dismantle, truck and reassemble. Constellation Brands, the number three brewer in the US, is exploring options to move its unfinished brewery from Mexicali to Baja California’s coastal zone, the website Mexico-now.com reported on 7 September 2020.

Bahamas | It has taken the Bahamian Brewery more than a year to come back on-line. In early September 2019, the tropical storm Dorian hit the islands, putting the brewery under more than one metre of water for hours and destroying all its electrical installations, finished product and raw materials.

USA | A familiar face: The former CEO of Heineken-owned craft brewer Lagunitas, Maria Stipp, joined Stone brewery on 14 September 2020 as its new CEO.

USA | The Brewers Association estimates a 10 to 20 percent decline in sales for small and independently-owned craft breweries in 2020, after a drop of around 10 percent through the first half of 2020. This could mean a loss of  3 to 6 million hl beer over 2019.

USA | Long time no hear from cannabis beverages. Although much hyped in 2019, they seem to have disappeared from view as hard seltzers have taken off. But don’t write them off yet.

Mexico | From April to May this year, beer production in Mexico declined by about 60 percent over the same period last year. Brewers large and small suffered under the shutdown, which began on 5 April 2020, when the government decreed brewing as non-essential, and lasted until early June.