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A Scottish government proposal to regulate alcohol advertising and promotions more tightly could put an end to beer festivals, tap takeovers and meet-the-brewer events as well as stop small breweries from selling and advertising their beer online.
The Carlsberg Group has closed the deal to purchase Waterloo Brewing in Ontario, Canada. Waterloo, which opened in 1984 as Brick Brewing is Ontario’s first craft brewery and was the largest craft brewery in the province until the purchase.
It’s not just a U.S. thing. The volume of beer sold per person in Canada last year reached an all-time low since tracking began in 1949, according to Statistics Canada. The report, which examined the sale of alcoholic beverages between April 2021 and March 2022, found the volume of beer sold during that period decreased by 2.8%. Wine had an even bigger slump, down 4.0%
Sales of Guinness in pubs across Britain have surpassed Carling and the Irish stout is now the number one selling pint accounting for one in every nine pints pulled in the U.K.
Guinness surpassed Carling to become the number one beer in British pubs in terms of value sales towards the end of last year. The fact that a stout is now the number one beer in British pubs is notable after lagers gained immense popularity in the U.K. over the last few generations.
The global drinks company Diageo, which now owns Guinness, had a strong performance in its half-year results, with a rise in net sales and growth across all regions. Global sales growth increased by 9.4%.
Britain’s largest pub group is planning to sell around 1,000 of its pubs as the on-premise pub business in the U.K. continues to struggle.
High Country Hop, the annual celebration of the Australian hop harvest is returning in its ninth year with Firestone Walker brewmaster Matt Brynildson joining some of Australia’s top craft brewers. Brynildson will be the keynote speaker at the event’s technical symposium ahead of the festival.
The rains have come to California, but much of the Western U.S. remains in a severe drought. In Mexico, the prolonged drought has amplified concerns that large breweries are using precious water to make beer that is exported out to other countries.
Driven by increasing consumer demand, no-alcohol and low-alcohol beer, cider, wine, spirits, and ready-to-drink (RTD) products grew by more than +7% in volume across 10 key global markets in 2022, according to a comprehensive new study published by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis. The category is expected to increase by a third by 2026, spearheaded by growth of non-alcohol products.
Molson Coors will exit the US portion of its CBD joint venture with Canadian cannabis grower Hexo, ending the brewers CBD beverage business in the US.
On the heels of the announcement that Keurig Dr. Pepper has invested $50 million into non-alcoholic brewer Athletic Brewing, the global brewer Asahi just announced the international launch of its alcohol-free beer, Asahi Super Dry 0.0%.
The brewer’s press release said that Asahi’s master brewers take the base recipe of Asahi Super Dry through a process of de-alcoholisation to create the finished beer at 0.0% ABV.
The beer will be available across eight markets worldwide in 2023, beginning with its launch in the UK and Ireland in January.
Starting January 1, 2023, changes to the Craft Beverage Modernization Act (CBMA) will require foreign producers of beer, wine, and distilled spirits to register with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) before their US importers can take advantage of reduced tax rates or credits on the imported products. CBMA tax benefits are limited in quantity, and foreign producers may only assign a certain number of benefits to their US importers for each category of product imported.
Britain’s hospitality sector saw 2,200 venue closures in the last three months, equivalent to one per hour. The sharp increase in closures is thought to be primarily due to the rise costs of energy, food and labor.
The closures cover the full range of on-premise hospitality including the number of nightclubs which has fallen by 5.6% in the last three months alone.
More details here.
The UK government has cancelled a plan to freeze the duty tax on alcohol, less than a month after announcing the policy. Just last month the UK government said it would abolish a proposed increase in duty rates for beer, cider, spirits and wine and instead proposed a temporary measure to reduce the duty on some types of alcoholic beverages. The freeze had been due to take place in February 2023.
UK’s newly appointed chancellor Jeremy Hunt stated yesterday that the freeze would no longer take place, saving the government (US)$671 million a year. The tax on alcohol duty will now rise in line with inflation, as measured by the retail price index (RPI), currently at 12.3%.
The announcement was met with anger by UK alcohol industry bodies. According to an article in Just Drinks, British Beer & Pub Association CEO Emma McClarkin called the move “a huge blow to brewers and pubs”, adding the relief would have helped “keep a lid on spiraling costs and keep the price of pint affordable for pub goers this winter.”
The UK government is abolishing a proposed increase in duty rates for beer, cider, spirits and wine and instead proposed a temporary measure to reduce the duty on some types of alcoholic beverages.
The announcement was made in a mini-budget delivered by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng, during which the government detailed its plans to cut taxes and provide relief to inflation hit business. Kwarteng said that the government will extend draught relief to cover smaller kegs of 20 litres and above to help smaller breweries.
More details on the story here.
Total beer sales in Canada have dropped 7.3 per cent compared to last year, according to a report by Beer Canada.
The drop in sales has been attributed to a variety of reasons.
The global hop company BarthHaas has said in its August report that its German hop crop is estimated to be down by as much as 20% vs. 2021. The early maturing varieties such as Hallertau Mittelfrüh, Northern Brewer, Traditional and Perle) have been affected the most.
New brewery opening in the UK have continued even during the pandemic with 200 new brewery openings in the last 12 months ending March 31st. The tally racks up a 9.1% growth in operating breweries with a current total of 2,426.
The growth in new breweries is down versus a 17.7% growth rate during the same period in 2019/20, but given the conditions of the marketplace and business climate during the lingering pandemic, the uptick is encouraging and would suggest that more breweries will be opening over the next year.
See the full story here.
Big Drop Brewing Co. a brewer of non-alcoholic beers in Suffolk, UK has released a non-alcoholic IPA which may be the first non-alcohol cask-conditioned beer made.
The alcohol-free brewer has a range of low-ABV offerings, from a lager to brown ale and milk stout. The cask beer, Paradiso Citra IPA will have an abv of 0.5%
The beer will be present at the London Craft Beer Festival, on 12th and 13th August.
Data from the research firm Research & Markets shows a forecast of 8% growth CAGR over the next eight years for the global craft beer market.
The report says that “the market is experiencing steady growth across the globe” as consumers are “constantly looking for new and innovative beverages, which has led to an increase in the demand for flavorful options.”
Despite the challenges of a still-simmering pandemic, inflation, supply chains constraints and a developing recession, the report was optimistic for the longer haul. “The market has recovered immensely due to the opening of taprooms and the ease of production. This revival has led to significant changes in the market trends,” said the report.
New Zealand hop grower and distributor Hop Revolution has partnered with Crosby Hops to expand its business in the US.
The agreement will include exclusive US hop processing, cold storage, order fulfilment and give brewers across North America better access to Hop Revolution varieties like Pacific Sunrise and other New Zealand grown proprietary blends.
In a move that will influence the variety and style of beers being brewed on US soil, the market will now see high quality Nelson Sauvin – including in T-90 and the new lupulin-packed Crosby CGX concentrated pellet formats, plus Motueka and Riwaka become widely available.