The new reality: cannabis and beer

Cannabis drinkables | Once an illicit drug, legal cannabis is now a fast-growing multi-billion dollar business. Despite the confusion and contentions, it is proving to be disruptive, impacting everything from beverages to home construction, while sparking a wave of innovation and entrepreneurship amidst increasing consumer demand.

Growth for small and independent craft brewers remained steady for the first half of 2019, according to new midyear metrics released by the Brewers Association (BA). Production volume for the craft segment increased 4 percent during the first half of 2019.

Zany beer names and truth in advertising

Commentary | The naming of craft beers is increasingly producing pretty strange outcomes. With zany names consumer transparency often falls by the wayside as beer properties are veiled. This prompted BRAUWELT International author Horst Dornbusch to discuss the phenomenon in a critical commentary.

Local hero

Nigerian beer market | They had it so good. For decades, Nigeria’s cosy duopoly of Heineken and Diageo with their premium brands was run like a pharmacy. Brewers sold small volumes at high profits. However, the arrival of SABMiller and its value-for-money beer offerings, encouraged by the Nigerian currency’s decline, transformed the industry. As consumers traded down, the value segment ballooned and became the new mainstream. Overall price levels suffered and the beer profit pool shrank.

The German Sonderweg – Tripping up Big Beer

Foreign brewers in Germany | It’s a tough life for brewers in Germany. The market is in decline, beer prices are at rock bottom and profits under pressure. The only consolation old-established brewers can draw from such dire circumstances is that the foreign brewers AB-InBev and Carlsberg are suffering too. Little remains of their erstwhile plans to disrupt and consolidate the market. In fact, both seem to be beating a gradual retreat.

For the first quarter of 2019, AB-InBev reported a strong start to the new year. According to their management comments published in early May, revenue grew by 5.9 % driven by volume growth of 1.3 % (own beer +1.0 %, non-beer +4.9 %) and revenue per hl growth of 4.6 %. The top-line result was driven by healthy performances in several of the key markets, including Brazil, China, the US, Europe, Colombia and Nigeria, with especially strong volume growth from markets such as Brazil, Nigeria, Europe, Peru and Colombia.

Keep calm and miss the Zeitgeist

Local beer brands | No Instagram, no Facebook, no advertising, no sports sponsoring, not even a moniker. How can a centuries’ old beer brand defy the textbook on marketing and still enjoy a cult following? The phenomenon is called Augustiner, Munich’s oldest brewery.

A picture of craft brewing in Brazil

Ongoing growth | The last annual report from MAPA (the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply, which controls food and alcoholic beverages production in Brazil) shows figures that demonstrate the evolution of Brazilian breweries. This is specially demonstrated by the number of industrial beer plants in the country. While by the end of 2017 there were 679, the report mentions 835 by September 2018, which represents a growth of 156 new plants in thirty-five weeks or, in other words, more than four new breweries per week (fig. 1).

The beer market in India

Huge potential | With a population of about 1.30 billion, 50 % of which are below 25 years and 65 % below 35, and an ongoing culture change, India has emerged as one of the most promising beer markets. Still, the Indian beer industry has not been able to reach its true potential yet. This article presents an overview of the Indian beer market and its major stakeholders.

American Craft Beer Continues to Push into Europe

Dedicated to the world of craft beer | As we look forward to the Craft Brewers Conference in Denver, Colorado, next month, Bob Pease, President and CEO of the Brewers Association, Boulder, USA, outlines the rise of American craft beer and current developments both at home and abroad.