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.

USA | When Boston Beer reports its fourth-quarter results on 17 February 2021, in all likelihood, it will no longer be officially classified as a craft brewer. That is because the brewer of Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head will have sold more than 6 million barrels of product in 2020.

USA | Americans drank plenty of Corona and Modelo beers while being stuck at home during the pandemic, boosting Constellation Brands’ third quarter results (until end of November 2020) beyond investors’ estimates.

USA | The NBWA, the beer distributors’ industry body, says that Americans were consuming virtually the same volume of beer in a year-over-year analysis. But within the segment there have been remarkable shifts.

USA | The Brewers Association expects the craft brewing industry to have witnessed around 700 openings in 2020. That is about 30 percent lower than in 2019, when there were more than 900 openings and the total number of craft breweries stood at 8,300.