Heineken is poised to take full control of United Breweries, the largest brewer in India. UB became known in the U.S. craft brewing industry when its owner, Vijay Mallya took control of the floundering Mendocino Brewing in 1997.
Mendocino was a pioneering brewery at the heart of the craft beer movement. It was opened in 1983 by two homebrewers who bought the equipment from New Albion Brewing which had recently closed. New Albion is of course the first craft brewery in the U.S. to be built from scratch from the ground up, following in the footsteps of Anchor Brewing. Mendocino was the first brewpub in California and the second or third in the country.