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.

USA | Because of the lockdown and the closure of bars, US domestic beer shipments in May 2020 declined 6.6 percent to 14.2 million barrels (16.6 million hl), from 15.2 million barrels a year ago, The Beer Institute reports.

USA | Since the death of George Floyd, who was killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis, craft brewers have come together to launch a new beer in support of equality for people of colour.

USA | Beer imports in April, the first full month of lockdown, were 3.2 million hl. That is 23 percent or 946,000 hl below the same month last year, the Beer Institute, a trade body, reported on 4 June 2020.

USA | PicoBrew was considered the future of beer. But the world’s first automatic all-grain homebrewing appliance, which was as big as a microwave and could sit on a cupboard, is currently winding down.

Mexico | Because of the covid-19 pandemic, the Mexican government has extended brewery closures from the original date 1 May to 1 June 2020. This applies to all “non-essential” industries. Brewing and beer distribution are not considered essential.

USA | As consumers have hunkered down in their homes, reduced their shopping trips and stocked up on large packs of 12-ounce cans of trusted beer brands, demand for cans has shot through the roof.