Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, the UK, France, Poland: all have progressive duties for beer (with variable thresholds and reductions) which benefit the smaller guys. So why has it taken the U.S. a quarter of a century of craft beer growth to think about alleviating the excise burden for craft brewers? Of course, tax regimes in “Old Europe” don’t mean anything to American politicians. That’s why it’s a brave and laudable move by The Brewers Association (BA), which represents America’s craft brewers, to try to convince their legislators in both Houses of Congress that a change to a graduated beer excise rate is really needed.

Wimmin, stop popping Prozac. There’s an alternative: it isn’t fattening, not even addictive and doesn’t require a prescription. Mother’s little helper is called Skinnygirl, a ready-to-drink (RTD) Margarita cocktail, which sells at a store near you.

For the sixth year in a row, total volume of sales for the carbonated soft drinks industry was down in 2010, says Beverage Digest. Fortunately, total moneys made – thanks to higher prices – were up from the previous year. So gloom all around? Not quite. Because Americans are increasingly shifting their preference to diet drinks.

On 21 March 2011 the Brewers Association, the trade association representing the majority of U.S. brewing companies, released 2010 data on the U.S. craft brewing industry. Small and independent craft brewers saw volume increase 11 percent and retail sales dollars increase 12 percent over 2009, representing a growth of over 1.2 million hl.

Mr Brito will be pleased. The business magazine Barron’s has named him one of the top 30 CEOs in the world among such notables as the investor Warren Buffet, Steve Jobs (Apple), Peter Löscher (Siemens) and Michael O’Leary (Ryanair). While 18 of the 30 CEOs run U.S.-based outfits, Australia, Ireland, Germany, Japan and several other countries are also represented.

Adieu, then, August Busch. At the end of March 2011, AB-InBev said that August Busch IV will step down as a director at AB-InBev in April, which brings the Busch family’s formal involvement in the brewing giant to a close.

For the world’s number one brewer, AB-InBev, spending USD 39 million on Chicago specialty brewer Goose Island is a joke. But the deal, announced on 28 March 2011, highlights a shift in consumer preferences that matters to the USD 91 billion brewer. In the U.S., sales of mass-market beers have been in decline while those of high-end beers are growing.

The Siebel Institute of Technology, America’s oldest brewing school, is pleased to announce their first ever Spanish-language course for professional brewers.

This course (11 – 14 April 2011) will take an in-depth look at beer styles and flavours, providing the most in-depth training available in both "old world" and "new world" beer styles.

Over-paid managers will throw themselves on their swords. Warren Buffett, the billionaire investor, said he rates businesses on their ability to raise prices and sometimes doesn’t even consider the people in charge. His cynical view on corporate suits and flunkies clashes with AB-InBev’s Carlos Brito, who likes to hammer home the message that the success of a corporation hinges on its managerial elites. ”Great companies are formed by great people,” not by popular products, cash flow or assets, Mr Brito told Stanford University graduates in November 2010. Who’s right? Mr Buffett or Mr Brito?