On 16 November 2017, the House of Representatives passed its version of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”. No Democrats voted in favour of the Republican bill, which – if passed – would mark the most significant overhaul of the federal tax code since 1986, it was reported.

Craft beer, spirits and wine seem to have munched into Molson Coors business. During the third quarter 2017, net sales for Molson Coors Brewing fell 2.1 percent to USD 2.88 billion, compared to USD 2.94 billion in the same period last year, the company reported on 1 November 2017.

Will brewers soon have to defend their share of throat against wine, spirits and pot? It seems likely. Already there is talk in the industry that legalized pot could become the new craft beer. Legalized marijuana is expected to be a USD 50 billion business by 2026, up from USD six billion in 2016.

The consumer craze for craft beers continues to put pressure on the country’s major brewers. While beer consumption has stagnated for several years, the number of breweries has risen from 644 in 2015 to 775 in 2016. Over half of them are located in only two provinces: Ontario and Quebec.

Boston Beer is doing what AB-InBev is best known for – slashing costs. However, shareholders aren’t feeling the buzz, even though the company’s third quarter (until the end of September) results beat Wall Street’s estimates.

After five years with Stone, its Chief Operating Officer, Pat Tiernan, resigned at the end of October 2017. Stone did not put out a statement indicating why he had left or who would replace him.

This has the stuff of an award-winning PR campaign. It does not have any of that foam-at-the-mouth shrillness. It’s more tongue-in-cheek if anything. On 16 October 2017, the Brewers Association, the not-for-profit organisation that represents America’s 5,000+ small and independent brewers, announced the craft brewing community’s intent to “Take Craft Back” from the Big Brewers.

Is this the future? Constellation Brands, which sells Corona Extra beer in the US, is attempting to create cannabis-infused drinks, after the number three brewer in the US on 30 October 2017 reported it had acquired a 9.9 percent stake in the Canadian medical marijuana company Canopy Growth.

The Long Trail East

Westward, Ho! The story of the United States has always been one of westward expansion, beginning along the East Coast and continuing until it reached the Pacific. For over two centuries the American West has promised progress and new opportunities. Its laid back, relaxed, entrepreneurial attitude has been instrumental in boosting the growth of craft beer, turning the West Coast IPA into the quintessential American craft beer style.

Are we alone in wondering if AB-InBev want to have the whole of the brewing industry covered from “AB”-InBev to “ZX” Ventures? Recall that AB-InBev launched the “disrupter” ZX Ventures (the Z reportedly stands for Zythology, the study of beer, and the X stands for eXperience) in February 2015, with the goal of investing into higher end and non-traditional areas of the beer category.