US beer sales in 2020 almost unaffected by covid-19

USA | The NBWA, the beer distributors’ industry body, says that Americans were consuming virtually the same volume of beer in a year-over-year analysis. But within the segment there have been remarkable shifts.

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US craft breweries: scraping though 2020

USA | The Brewers Association expects the craft brewing industry to have witnessed around 700 openings in 2020. That is about 30 percent lower than in 2019, when there were more than 900 openings and the total number of craft breweries stood at 8,300.

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Boston beer baron embroiled in legal spat with two sons

USA | Jerry Sheehan, 89, has fallen out with two of his sons, after they filed a suit which accuses him of “misappropriating” USD 80 million of company funds, by splitting it with his six other children, on top of paying himself USD 45 million.

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AB-InBev sells minority stake in its US metal container plant

USA | Private equity firm Apollo Global Management and a group of institutional investors acquired a 49.9 percent stake in AB-InBev’s US-based metal container plant for about USD 3 billion. The transaction was announced on 23 December 2020.

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US craft brewers in 2020: a mixed picture

USA | Early pandemic predictions projected thousands of craft brewery closings in 2020. But government aid and brewers’ ingenuity helped breweries to make it through the tough year.

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Venezuela: how to bring a beer industry down

Venezuela | The outcome of the parliamentary election on 6 November 2020 was never in doubt. President Nicolas Maduro and his revolutionary socialists came out “victorious” in a vote marked by mass abstention.

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Molson Coors divests Irwindale brewery to rival Pabst

USA | Molson Coors Beverage Company is on track with its revitalisation plan, which includes streamlining the organisation and reinvesting resources into its brands and capabilities.

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Canadian cannabis firm Aphria buys craft brewer SweetWater

USA | Why would a Canadian cannabis firm, with a market capitalisation of USD 1.2 billion and operations on five continents, splash out at least USD 300 million in a cash and stock deal for a craft brewer from Georgia?

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Coke and Molson Coors partner to launch Coke’s Topo Chico hard seltzer

USA | Fearful to renege on their words that alcohol shall not touch their lips in the US, Coke struck an agreement with Molson Coors to manufacture, market and distribute Coca-Cola’s Topo Chico hard seltzer brand for them.

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Yuengling expands distribution with Molson Coors joint venture

USA | Looks like brewer Molson Coors has lots of spare capacity. In September 2020 Molson Coors Beverage and D.G. Yuengling & Son formed a joint venture that will expand the reach of America’s oldest brewery to millions more drinkers outside its mostly East Coast distribution territory.

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Heineken enters Peru and buys beer brand Tres Cruces

Peru | Following an auction, Heineken succeeded in acquiring the local beer brand Tres Cruces from soft drink firm AJE Group (AJE) and will now try to take on the market leader Backus (AB-InBev).

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Constellation Brands said to explore new site for half-finished brewery

Mexico | It could be done: dismantle, truck and reassemble. Constellation Brands, the number three brewer in the US, is exploring options to move its unfinished brewery from Mexicali to Baja California’s coastal zone, the website Mexico-now.com reported on 7 September 2020.

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Bahamian Brewery’s double whammy

Bahamas | It has taken the Bahamian Brewery more than a year to come back on-line. In early September 2019, the tropical storm Dorian hit the islands, putting the brewery under more than one metre of water for hours and destroying all its electrical installations, finished product and raw materials.

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Ex-Lagunitas CEO Maria Stipp becomes CEO of Stone Brewing

USA | A familiar face: The former CEO of Heineken-owned craft brewer Lagunitas, Maria Stipp, joined Stone brewery on 14 September 2020 as its new CEO.

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US craft brewers face first year of diminished sales

USA | The Brewers Association estimates a 10 to 20 percent decline in sales for small and independently-owned craft breweries in 2020, after a drop of around 10 percent through the first half of 2020. This could mean a loss of  3 to 6 million hl beer over 2019.

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Cannabis beverages: patience is the word

USA | Long time no hear from cannabis beverages. Although much hyped in 2019, they seem to have disappeared from view as hard seltzers have taken off. But don’t write them off yet.

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Brewery closures (all but one) leave Mexico with a hangover

Mexico | From April to May this year, beer production in Mexico declined by about 60 percent over the same period last year. Brewers large and small suffered under the shutdown, which began on 5 April 2020, when the government decreed brewing as non-essential, and lasted until early June.

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Alcohol laws relaxed across Canada due to covid-19

Canada | Pundits wonder if Canada’s suddenly relaxed alcohol laws will make her cities more European.

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Coke will launch a Topo Chico Hard Seltzer in Latin America

USA | At long last, Coca-Cola is jumping on the hard seltzer bandwagon with a new brand, based on its sparkling water, Topo Chico Hard Seltzer, which will launch in Latin America later this year.

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