Chaple Down winery's Curious Brewery has released its Apple Cider expression in can form across the UK through Majestic Wine outlets.

Heineken has witnessed a successful summer through the sales of its mini kegs in the off trade according to Toby Lancaster, category and shopper marketing director for Heineken UK.

Heineken NV is buying a $3.1bn stake in China’s top beer maker - the country’s biggest brewery deal - as it seeks to unseat rival Anheuser-Busch InBev in a fiercely competitive market.

Peroni Nastro Azzurro has announced that the brand will undergo a rebrand in the UK, including a new logo, bottle design and glassware.

Growth for small and independent US craft brewers remained stable for the first half of 2018, according to new mid-year figures released by the Brewers Association.

AB InBev has revealed it will be launching a new gluten-free variant of Stella Artois throughout the UK off trade from August.

Upset Hindus are urging Lazio-based Pontino Brewery (Birrificio Pontino) to apologise and withdraw its “Sons of Shiva” beer; calling it highly inappropriate.

Cider Supply Co has made an agreement with Craft Republic to distribute its French cider brand Galipette Cidre across mainland China (excluding Hong Kong, Macau & Taiwan).

Australian-based beer company Lion, has acquired 100% of London’s Fourpure Brewing Co for an undisclosed figure.

AB InBev now sources three quarters of its barley for UK-brewed Budweiser – the UK’s second biggest beer brand behind Stella Artois - from British farms thanks to its “Bud Farmers” innovative.

London-based beer brand Beavertown Brewery, has sold a minor stake in its business to Heineken for £40m.

Badger Beer, one of the oldest UK ale producers, has rebranded its core range reducing it from 12 down to six in response to the craft beer movement.

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer is ramping up its spending on marketing initiatives ahead of the soccer World Cup this summer, as strong demand in Europe, Mexico and China buoyed earnings in the first quarter.

AB InBev, the world’s largest brewing company, has reported revenue growth of 4.7% in FYQ1, while total volumes declined by 0.2%.

Scottish beer brand, Tennent’s Lager, has launched a new can design to hit shelves in May, inspired by the appearance of a pint of lager.

Camden Town Brewery has launched its 2018 advertising campaign ‘Hello Hells’ throughout the UK, its biggest marketing investment to date.

Heineken UK has unveiled The Greenpaper – a new initiative which aims to boost the on-trade by more than £1bn over the next three years.

London-based brewery, The Five Points Brewing Company, has surpassed its crowdfunding target of £750,000 a week early.

Brook House Hops has become the first British hop grower to sell direct to brewers through an online retail channel.

Organic beer is not just a marketing tool to gain bigger premiums, but a branch of the craft beer movement with integrity, according to UK-based Stroud Brewery.

Steve Magnall, CEO at St Peter's Brewery, has called for support from alcohol awareness groups to stop new alcohol-free labelling plans, which could see drinks containing 0.5% abv labelled as zero alcohol.

SIBA chairman resigns

11 April, 2018

The Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has today announced that Buster Grant has resigned as chairman of the society with immediate effect to dedicate more time to his personal business activities.

New Zealand cider brand, Old Mout has released its first alcohol-free cider for the first time, in response to the growing demand for low alcohol beverages.

Tennent’s Lager is launching Tennent’s Lager Care, a quality-focused programme for the on-trade market which aims to educate customers and staff on beer management.

American craft beer sales grew by 8% in 2017, but the number of breweries that closed nationwide jumped by nearly 70%.

Heineken 0.0, has gained a listing on-board Ryanair, one of Europe’s largest airline companies.

Internationally renowned chef, Joan Roca insists that beer pairings have a significant future in the culinary business due to its “versatility”.

A year on from the launch Carlsberg UK says its Export premium lager is up +9% in retail sales and +49% up (in retail value) in its platinum and gold outlets.

Global brewing giant AB InBev has reported revenue growth of +5.1% in FY17 and +8.2% in 4Q17, with revenue per hl growth of +5.1% in FY17 and +6.6% in 4Q17.

Heineken has partnered up with Infor, a provider of industry-specific cloud applications, to optomise production capacity and reduce waste.

Edinburgh Craft Beer Festival has attracted more than 40 breweries from around the world including the US, Scandinavia and the UK, set to take place on 25-27 May 2018.

After years of targeting health-conscious beer drinkers with Michelob Ultra, Anheuser-Busch InBev is going after an even choosier consumer: the organic shopper.

Following a recent board meeting of independent brewers in the UK, the Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA) has planned to create a marketing ‘Code of Practice’ for its members.

St Peter's Brewery in Suffolk, England has created a new English Ale in 500ml cans, specifically developed for the Canadian market.

Brewdog to open beer hotel

22 February, 2018

Scottish brewing giant, Brewdog has announced plans to build a hotel called Doghouse at the brewery’s headquarters in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, opening in the first half of 2019.

Scottish brewer, BrewDog is set to construct a $30m brewery in Brisbane, Australia as part of its global expansion.

Scottish brewing giant, BrewDog, has won its trademark battle over the Elvis Presley Estate following accusations it was taking advantage of the famous name.

Asahi UK, the British subsidiary of Asahi Europe Ltd, has relaunched Asahi Super Dry to the UK markets, which will be made in the Peroni brewery, north Italy.

Molson Coors Brewing Company has expanded its cider portfolio with the acquisition of Aspall Cyder Limited for around £40m.

The price of Japanese beer is set to rise due to the increase in the costs of natural resources and labor expense.

Chinese beer brands have boosted prices in a reaction to higher resource and labour costs, lead by Tsingtao Brewery Co.

Luandina has launched as the first 100% Angolan beer, a pilsner-style beer named after a feminisation of the capital city Luanda, which references the respect for female power.

Asahi UK will see a new managing director take the helm from January 2018 as current MD, Gary Haigh retires at the end of this year.

Meantime Brewery has joined up with Nude Coffee Roasters in London to create two new beers designed for mixing.

Scottish brewer Innis & Gunn has announced that 99% of shareholders have accepted a £15m investment from L Catterton, the largest consumer-focused private equity firm in the world.

Annual cider sales have exceeded the £1bn threshold for the first time since 2014 due to good weather in Britain at the start of its summer.

A representative of the government of South Australia has posted a bizarre marketing video calling Scottish Brewers Brewdog “rude w*****s” after plans to build a brewery in Adelaide stalled.

Carlsberg UK has expanded the San Miguel UK portfolio with San Miguel Gluten Free which will be made available September 2017.

International wine, spirit and cider producer, Distell has sponsored reigning European Rugby
Champions, Saracens with its Savanna Dry cider.

Market research firm Fact.MR has predicted that Europe will dominate the craft beer industry until 2022.

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Ben Branson

Ben Branson on the future of non-alc spirits

In his inaugural column for Drinks International, Branson takes a wider look at the overall non-alcoholic spirits sector to identify which brands will thrive and which won’t survive.

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