As the economy is sinking into recession, Brazil Kirin – the renamed brewer Schincariol – has decided to reposition its popular Devassa brand, while discontinuing the most popular version “Bem Loura”, betting only on the premium variety, made with malt and without the addition of other cereals such as corn and rice, Brazilian media reported on 8 June 2016.

Who would have thought that Americans are finally becoming concerned about GMO foods and that it’s the tiny state of Vermont – with only 600,000 residents – that is setting a precedent?

A potential approval for the USD 100 billion-plus deal between AB-InBev and SABMiller may include measures to keep the merged entity from edging craft brewers out of the market, Bloomberg reported on 1 June 2016. These steps could include limiting the company’s ownership of distributors.

Beer, tea or me? The old chat-up line comes to mind when commenting on AB-InBev’s latest venture: a tie-up with Starbucks, which will see the major brewer in the U.S. produce, bottle and distribute a ready-to-drink (RTD) line of Starbucks’ Teavana brand tea in the United States. This was announced on 2 June 2016.

Good news for thirsty Venezuelans. The country’s major brewer Polar will resume beer production in the first week of July 2016, having secured a loan that will enable it to purchase the necessary raw materials.

It’s hard to imagine that the corporate fat cats, aka members of the global business elite, who read Bloomberg Businessweek, regularly go for a sour beer. I mean, can you envisage the Coke-swilling super-investor Warren Buffett ever allowing a Rodenbach Grand Cru to touch his lips?

The response came within days. In early May 2016 AB-InBev announced it is replacing the Budweiser logo with “America” on its 12-oz. cans and bottles this summer. The cans of patriotic beer will be available from 23 May through the November election and aim “to inspire drinkers to celebrate America and Budweiser’s shared values of freedom and authenticity,” the brewer said.

Constellation’s deep pockets. Not only did the beer-to-wine group Constellation splash out a record-breaking USD 1 billion for the San Diego-based craft brewer Ballast Point in November 2015, it has now agreed to invest nearly USD 50 million to establish an East Coast brewing operation in Roanoke, Virginia, a city of 100,000 people that is located 380 km southwest of Washington DC. This was announced on 24 May 2016.

Again, the World Beer Cup 2016 was a huge affair. 96 categories; 6,596 beer entries from 1,907 breweries; 253 judges from 31 countries. The results were posted on 6 May 2016. Since this year is the 500^th anniversary of the German Reinheitsgebot, it was interesting to see who would come out top in a German category.

Funny that a socialist like Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro should think like a French queen. Reportedly, Marie Antoinette said when told that there was a bread shortage: “let them [the French] eat cake.” Well, we know how things worked out for her: she was beheaded in 1793.