No wonder, distributors across the US are rallying behind state legislators to limit taproom sales at craft breweries. As the Brewers Association reported at its annual industry gathering, the Craft Brewers Conference, which was held in Washington, DC, from 10 to 13 April 2017, “at the brewery sales” rose to around 2.3 million barrels (2.7 million hl) in 2016.

You bet that Heineken will jump at the opportunity should Brazil’s brewer Petropolis be sold. Analysts have suggested that increasing pressure on the Brazilian beer-to-beverage group could lead it to seek a merger with a global brewer in order to remain competitive.

Brewers will hope that Michael Bellas, Chairman and CEO of the Beverage Marketing Corporation, got his forecast wrong. At the Beverage Forum in Chicago (27 - 28 April 2017) he said that this year’s beer sales in the US could drop by 0.5 percent or, at best, stay flat.

Given the general consternation over craft beer’s slower growth – only six percent in volume in 2016 – the fact that the craft beer category was outgrown by imports – seven percent – almost went unnoticed. What’s more, imports are still a bigger segment than craft.

Delivering Optimal Flavor to the Consumer

Brewers Association (Ed.): Best Practices Guide to Quality Craft Beer, 2016, 24 pages, paperback, available to download free of charge at www.brewersassociation.org

Why did they not do this in the first place? At the Barcelona Beer Festival (24 - 26 March 2017), Tim Traynor, International Market Manager of Founders Brewing Co, said his company was planning to buy back eight percent of its own shares, previously acquired by Spanish brewer Mahou San Miguel, in order to put an end to the debate whether Founders is still a craft brewer or not.

Looks like the days of heady growth are a thing of the past. According to recently released data by the Brewers Association (BA), craft beer increased its volume share of the US beer market by just 0.1 percent in 2016 to reach 12.3 percent.

To mark International Women’s day on 8 March 2017, the Ontario Craft Brewers association (OCB) announced up to six scholarships for women to complete Level 1 courses in the internationally recognised Cicerone Certification Programme.

Not to be outdone by California’s craft brewer Stone and its venturing into to hotel industry, Scottish brewer BrewDog wants to open the world’s first crowdfunded craft beer hotel in Columbus, Ohio.

The Boston Beer Company, which ranks as the number two craft brewer in the US, saw volumes drop six percent in 2016 over 2015. This reflected lower sales for its flagship brand Samuel Adams, and seasonal Samuel Adams products, as well as its hard cider Angry Orchard.