South African beer market to grow 6 percent to 45 million hl (2020-2025)

South Africa – Premium beer consumption is set to rise 5.9 percent annually until 2025, with the pandemic year 2020 only proving a brief setback.

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AB-InBev cuts craft brewery staff to focus on big beer brands and spirits

USA – As the Big Brewers move with the market, strategy swings are to be expected. But AB-InBev’s recent cuts to its craft brewing personnel suggest that a major “portfolio rebalancing” is underway.

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Carlsberg’s India & Nepal partner Khetan to sell its 33% stake to the brewer

India – Will this end their public spat? Danish brewer Carlsberg said the Khetan Group, which owns 33 percent of the shares in the holding company that manages businesses in India and Nepal, has announced it seeks to sell its entire stake to the brewer for USD 744 million.

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Heineken’s acquisition of drinks firm Distell passes regulatory hurdles

South Africa – At long last. South Africa’s Competition Tribunal, on 9 March, granted Heineken approval to take control of Distell Group and Namibia Breweries. This allows Heineken to create a new business in Africa.

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Has beer become too expensive? AB-InBev reports weak fourth quarter 2022

Belgium | AB-InBev reported an unexpected fall in quarterly sales volumes after two price increases in the United States. But American beer drinkers are now getting over their “sticker shock”, CEO Michel Doukeris assured investors.

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Heineken Nigeria unit says lack of cash adds to inflation pain

Nigeria | What a blunder. The new naira notes rollout caused a shortage of cash and worsened a lack of consumer demand for beer, Nigerian Breweries, a unit of Heineken, said on 24 February.

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Brewers Association hikes revenue to USD 23.3 million in 2022, but still trails pre-pandemic levels

USA | The Brewers Association (BA) generated USD 23.4 million in total revenue in 2022, surpassing the USD 20 million mark for the first time since 2019, the website brewbound.com reported on 16 February.

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Boston Beer has a Truly problem

USA | What happened to Truly? That is a good question. The brand is struggling and has taken Boston Beer’s stock down with it. From a high of nearly USD 1,300 in April 2021 the stock has tumbled to USD 330 per share at the end of February 2023.

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BrewDog signs joint venture with Budweiser to expand in China

United Kingdom | Courting controversy, BrewDog has struck a deal with Budweiser China to brew BrewDog’s flagship beers by the end of March at its Putian craft brewery.

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Heineken buys back EUR 1 billion in shares as FEMSA’s exit begins

Netherlands | Heineken purchased EUR 1 billion (USD 1.1 billion) worth of its shares from FEMSA, after the Mexican Coca-Cola bottler launched a EUR 3.7 billion sale for part of its holdings in the Dutch group.

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AB-InBev shutters US craft brewer Platform

USA | Since 2011, AB-InBev has bought some ten fast-growing regional craft breweries. After the purchase, these brands inevitably changed. Platform brewery from Ohio is a case in point.

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Belgian lawyer cleared of charges in AB-InBev inheritance scandal

Switzerland | Belated justice. A Geneva appeal court acquitted Farida Chorfi, the Belgian ex-lawyer of the Bailo de Spoelberch family, from money laundering and forgery charges.

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Carlsberg warns of “challenging” 2023 whilst Russia exits drag on

Denmark | Carlsberg said that it intends to raise prices this year in response to higher input costs but warned that the move may impact sales in some of its key markets.

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Heineken banks on premiumisation strategy as volumes grew in 2022

Netherlands | The Dutch brewer’s volume sales returned to pre-pandemic levels in 2022, with premium brands outperforming the rest of the portfolio, Heineken reported on 15 February.

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Russian beer market 2022: flat or in decline?

Russia | Even Russian beer sales data have become political. In recent press reports, there was no mention of the drop in sales in the 4^th quarter, nor the decline in imports. Only this much: 2022 beer production was said to have been flat over 2021.

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Vietnam’s Sabeco earns USD 235 million in after-tax profit in 2022

Vietnam | The beer and beverage industry was hit hard by the pandemic, when restaurants, bars and hotels were forced to close. However, the brewing industry has seen a rapid recovery.

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Ukraine beer production declined 28% in 2022 – vodka was up 12%

Ukraine | Despite a war raging, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy conducted a purge of high-ranking officials deemed corrupt and continued his strive to “de-shadow” the alcohol market.

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Brazil’s USD 4 billion accounting scandal puts spotlight on investor Jorge Paulo Lemann

Brazil | The Swiss were in for a shock. Two of the richest Swiss, whose fortune is partly made from beer, are embroiled in scandals. First it was Pierre Castel. Now it is Jorge Paulo Lemann.

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Belgium loses Trappist beer Achel but adds new brewery at Maredsous abbey

Belgium | The renowned Trappist beer Achel will no longer be able to market itself as a Trappist beer, leaving only five breweries of its kind in Belgium.

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Aussie brewers fret over high inflation and beer excise hike

Australia | There is a lot of angst about the latest excise hike, following high inflation. The cost of beer is set to rise again, as excise tax went up by 3.7 percent on 1 February, after rising 4 percent in August last year.

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Heineken hikes UK prices for draught beer by 16 percent and above inflation

United Kingdom | Publicans and punters were in for a bad surprise. Heineken confirmed that, as of 16 January, it would charge 15.8 percent more per keg on average.

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He called himself Jesus: Geneva court upholds fine for Pierre Castel

Switzerland | In Geneva, the billionaire Pierre Castel had registered under the name Jesus Castel. For 30 years, the Swiss taxman was clueless. Then he realised his mistake after reading the press.

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Emmanuel Rurema becomes Africa representative for Doemens

In December 2022, the time had come: Doemens Managing Director Dr Werner Gloßner and Emmanuel Rurema, Managing Director, Advanced Helios Process Solutions Ltd, Kenya, signed the representative contract for the Africa region.

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Cannabis firm Tilray to grow fruit and vegetables to improve financials

Canada | This sounds desperate. As US cannabis legalisation has not progressed as hoped, the Canadian cannabis firm Tilray has to change its strategy to weather the financial storm. It may make more acquisitions in the alcohol space, or even grow vegetables at its cannabis facilities, CEO Irwin Simon said during an earnings call on 9 January 2023.

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Royal Unibrew buys Danish craft brewer Nørrebro in fire sale

Denmark | Never let a good crisis go to waste must be Royal Unibrew’s motto because, on 3 January, it announced the acquisition of Copenhagen’s craft brewer Nørrebro Bryghus. Financial details were not disclosed.

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AB-InBev India to branch out into whiskey

India – The Budweiser brewer expects India to be among the top three markets for its brand in the next three years, led by double-digit growth in the premium beer segment, Indian media reported on 9 November.

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Nigeria’s International Breweries sees debt pile rise to USD 86 million

Nigeria – The country’s third largest brewer, International Breweries, which is majority-controlled by AB-InBev, has faced several challenges in the past five years since it launched a major offensive for market share in Nigeria’s beer market.

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Big Brewers see beer sales rise in the third quarter 2022

Europe | Put the blame on European punters, facing a cost of living crisis, that the Big Brewers need to turn elsewhere for growth. AB-InBev, Heineken and Carlsberg reported a hike in beer sales in their third quarter results. But they had to admit that their performance could have been even better had not European sales proved lagging.

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AB-InBev suspends production of Leffe in Russia and launches ersatz-Corona brand El Capulco

Russia | After AB-InBev's decision to manufacture Leffe in Russia caused an uproar in August, the AB-InBev-Efes joint venture reacted and, on 21 September, announced it will suspend production.

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The international beer market in 2021

Increase of 4 percent | BarthHaas GmbH & Co. KG of Nuremberg, Germany, have recently published their new report on world beer production. According to the BarthHaas Report, beer production worldwide was 1.86 billion hl, almost 71 million hl (+4 percent) higher than it was in 2020. However, the figures for 2020 were 6.5 percent less than the previous year, rather than 5 percent as previously reported, amounting to 1.789 billion hl. The five leading beer producing nations were China, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Germany which continued to produce 50 percent of the world’s beer.