Canada | Pundits wonder if Canada’s suddenly relaxed alcohol laws will make her cities more European.

USA | At long last, Coca-Cola is jumping on the hard seltzer bandwagon with a new brand, based on its sparkling water, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, which will launch in Latin America later this year.

USA | Boston Beer has been one of the stay-at-home winners. Boosted by strong sales of its Truly Hard Seltzer, Boston Beer delivered excellent second quarter 2020 results, even exceeding analysts’ expectations.

USA | With sales tripling in 2019, the low-calorie fruity boozy water continues to be a sensation. The segment leader, White Claw, owned by Mark Anthony Brands, now outsells Budweiser, while number two, Boston Beer’s Truly is bigger than Heineken.

USA | Although Boston Beer is the looser, it still agreed to revised beer distribution laws in its home state of Massachusetts, which will allow small craft brewers to now choose their own distributor.

USA | Now we know. Constellation Brands sold Ballast Point for USD 41.1 million. The figure was disclosed in its latest government filing.

USA | Mikkeller is going through a rough patch. Known to partner with local restauranteurs on its bars, the Mikkeller location in Los Angeles was closed in February, followed by the Mikkeller bar in San Francisco in May.

United Kingdom | Is there more to it than just woke culture signalling? The world’s number one drinks company, Diageo, said it will be pulling paid brand advertising on “major social media platforms” as of July, driven by concerns over hate speech and divisive content on the platforms.

USA | The cancellation of its 2020 events means the Brewers Association (BA) will lose 70 percent of its annual revenue. It has had to resort to staff lay-offs and Julia Herz is among the 24 already made redundant.

USA | To get the green light from the antitrust watchdogs for its purchase of Portland’s Craft Brew Alliance (Widmer, Redhook, Kona, etc), AB-InBev said in June 2020 that it will sell off Kona’s Hawaii brewery and two brewpubs including the rights to the brand on the islands.