After two years of having gotten written up as a takeover target, every fund manager and his dog seem to have finally woken up to the idea that buying SABMiller’s shares will land them a nice windfall profit in a few years’ time when the world’s number two brewer could be taken over.

In Golden, Colorado, they will have celebrated this news with a cold one. In 2011 Coors Light surpassed Budweiser as the number two beer brand by shipments in the U.S., including Puerto Rico, and exports, the trade publication Beer Marketer’s Insights reported in early January 2012.

Billy Busch, half brother to August Busch III, has finally started serving his Kräftig beer in St Louis bars – only to get served a USD 600,000 suit by consultancy Rio Creative in a breach of contract. Rio filed a suit on 21 November 2011 against the William K. Busch Brewing Company and company founder William K. “Billy” Busch, St Louis media reported.

When it comes to on-premise beer, the U.S. has always sported strange customs. Go to any bar and, more likely than not, you will be served a beer in a bottle rather than a draught beer. Thankfully, things are changing. And it’s because of craft beer.

... very little, it seems. Exactly three years after Anheuser-Busch was taken over by InBev, the local St Louis newspaper, St Louis Post, on 26 November 2011 ran a story on the new culture at Anheuser-Busch’s headquarters in St Louis, which highlights the profound changes.

How can they drink beer if they are without jobs? The jobless rate in Britain in October 2011 jumped to 8.1 percent, its highest level in 17 years, and young people, the core customer group for beermakers, are being hit hardest. Experts are talking openly of a “lost generation” without hope of finding a job.

Kirin Holdings on 4 November 2011 agreed to buy out shareholders in Brazilian beermaker Schincariol Participacoes e Representacoes, completing its biggest acquisition to date.

Brewers usually blame it on the economy or the weather if figures don't live up to expectations. Same with MillerCoors. The number two brewer in the U.S. reported on 2 November 2011 that low consumer spending and rising commodity prices contributed to weaker earnings in the third quarter.

Is Heineken breaking the glass ceiling for women or has the brewer run out of male candidates wanting to turn around a struggling brand? In October 2011, Heineken USA announced the appointment of Olga Osminkina, most recently Executive Director of Global Marketing for cosmetics company Estée Lauder, as its Senior Brand Director for Heineken Lager.

In October 2011 a São Paulo court lifted an injunction against Japanese brewer Kirin which had been sought by Schincariol’s minority shareholders, who had hoped to block the sale of Schincariol.