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.

After 17 years at the helm of brewer Boston Beer, President and CEO Martin Roper has announced he will retire in 2018. A search committee for his replacement has already been convened and the company has hired recruiting firm Korn Ferry International to conduct the search.

Why did he bother? In early February 2017, news spread quickly on social media that Matthew Adam of Cincinnati had filed a lawsuit against retailer Walmart, alleging its craft beers under the Trouble Brewing label fail to meet the qualifications for craft beer.

It’s official. Heineken will take over Kirin’s struggling Brazilian subsidiary, the Dutch brewer announced on 13 February 2017. The total consideration to be paid to Kirin for the shares is EUR 664 million (USD 706 million). This corresponds to an estimated enterprise value of EUR 1.0 billion (USD 1.1 billion) for Heineken.

Who would have thought that a beer ad, whose themes are hope, ambition, hard work and self-reliance, could be interpreted as a jibe against President Trump’s policies? Well, it’s all to do with timing.

A group of more than 120 retailers and trade associations, including Walmart, Target and Best Buy, launched a coalition on 1 February 2017. The coalition, called “Americans for Affordable Products”, is pushing back against the proposed “Border-Adjustment Tax” (BAT) which would subject imports to US taxes. The coalition fears it will increase the cost of clothing, food, medicine, gas, and other essential items that Americans rely on.