Canada | The hype over Cannabis beverages seems to have fizzled. Brewers AB-InBev, Molson Coors and Constellation Brands had big plans to sell THC- or CBD-infused beverages by the end of last year. But only two have hit shelves yet.

USA | It is probably bad taste and also highly dangerous to even think aloud how the corona virus will impact the other Corona. But still, will people, in years to come, think of sun, sand and beaches when picking up a Corona, or of that deadly virus that has afflicted the globe?

USA | With consumer demand for beer shifting to off-premise retailers, Boston Beer’s breweries had to change production from kegs to cans and bottles. Because most of its packaged beers are produced by third-party contract brewers, this led to increased costs.

USA | Doomsayers are having a field day with predicting that covid-19 is going to have a long-term and dramatic effect on the craft brewing industry. Yet, it all depends on how long the public must/wants to stay at home.

USA | In retrospect, 2019 may have been “peak craft”. The Brewers Association (BA) estimates that independents produced 31 million hl beer, up nearly 4 percent, increasing craft’s market share by volume to 13.6 percent.

USA | In the four weeks to 21 March 2020, beer sales soared 16.2 percent per Nielsen data on retail channels. The 12-week sales growth for the category was 8.6 percent.

Mexico | Constellation Brands has reiterated its commitment to Mexico, after residents of Mexicali, a city on the US border, voted against completing its billion-dollar brewery.

USA | Some people are stupid. Reportedly, internet searches for “corona+beer+virus” have risen in recent weeks. Although there is no connection between the coronavirus and the popular Mexican beer, that hasn’t stopped people from getting the two confused.

USA | President Trump may plug “America first”, but when it comes to choosing a beer, American folks turn a deaf ear. Beer imports rose 1.8 percent in 2019 to reach 42.5 million hl, the Beer Institute, an industry body, reported on 5 February 2020.

USA | Diageo has agreed to pay a USD 5 million fine to settle with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had charged the world’s number one drinks company of pressuring distributors to buy excess inventory to boost its results in a flagging market.