AmBev, whose business in Venezuela has been struggling, said in a securities filing that Cerveceria Regional will own 85 percent of the combined business, but that this stake could drop to 80 percent in the next four years.

The course and examination are open to any candidate without prior work or education requirements, although candidates should be well grounded in science and mathematics. While the completion of the IBD General Certificate in Brewing is helpful, it is not required.

SABMiller confirmed that its local subsidiary, Miller Trading Company, and two affiliated distributors have filed the complaint. The brewer said that “current practice restricts its access to the market, limits consumer choice and stifles competition in contravention of Mexico‘s competition laws.”

As part of Craft Brewers, Kona will be able to expand its brand and distribution while maintaining its craft brewery operations in Hawaii. Kona beer for mainland distribution will continue to be brewed by Widmer and Redhook.

Industry observers have been whispering it for some time: “Miller’s clearly having problems. Brands, ahem, well, not doing well. Gotta do something about that.”

The MBAA is pleased to team up with the University of Wisconsin at Madison whose pilot brewery offers students the opportunity to gain a hands-on brewing experience. The beer participants produce during the two-week course will be sampled in the final sensory session. And what’s left will be served at the closing banquet.

Grupo Modelo’s Chief Financial Officer Emilio Fullaondo said in a conference call with analysts that higher spending on marketing and distribution, including advertising related to the 2010 World Cup, pushed up costs. Its operating profit in the quarter slipped 1 percent, while EBITDA, a measure of cash flow, fell 2.2 percent.

Private equity players like a high-risk gamble. Often brought in when companies need restructuring or about to go bankrupt, these scavengers need to have very keen senses. Those private equity houses that were in the business of buying low, adding debt, and selling high are yesterday’s news. Today’s players have to show a knack for fixing up the companies they buy because otherwise they will have problems taking them public, or selling them in parts, which are their usual exit routes.

Karl Ockert has been with the BridgePort Brewing Company in Portland, which he helped found and build, since 1984. He earned his B.S. degree in Fermentation Sciences from the University of California at Davis in 1983. Mr Ockert’s brewing career has covered the spectrum of brewing plants, from brewpubs to the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Newark, New Jersey.

The four-hour Sensory Analysis Seminar is designed to train brewers and beer enthusiasts in the sensory evaluation of beer. Participants will learn to employ techniques used in professional breweries worldwide to assess the quality of ales and lagers.