Craft brewery buy-out strategy pays off

AB InBev beats Sierra Nevada and Boston Beer in US microbrew sector  Financial website The Motley Fool reported this week that AB InBev is now America's biggest craft brewer. The veracity of this statement depends, of course, on one's definition of "craft". The Brewers Association, for example, sets a generous production limit for a brewery's beers to be considered craft, one which AB InBev far exceeds. But there's no arguing with the numbers: $107.3m of beer sold in the first half of 2018 me...
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New social responsibilities for AB InBev brands

"Elevate" programme commits High End portfolio to consumer-friendly goals. World's largest brewer AB InBev announced today the creation of a new social development programme for The High End, its portfolio of 11 previously independent American beer and cider brands. This initiative, titled Elevate, has four principal goals: Inclusion of a date of minimum duration ("best before") on all beers Power all breweries 100% with renewable energy by 2020 while cutting water usage by 20% Com...
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European macrobrewers increase US and UK presence

Colorado's Avery and London's Brixton the latest investments.  As 2017 comes to a close, the final rush of brewery takeovers is under way. Last week Spanish giant Mahou San Miguel announced a 30% acquisition of Avery Brewing in Colorado. Avery is a long-established US craft brewery, opening in 1993 and now distributed in 33 US states. The purchase matches the 30% that Mahou San Miguel already owns in another Colorado craft brewery, Founders, purchased in 2014. Founders is still a highly respe...
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Change at the top of AB InBev USA

Head of North American division to be replaced as sales figures plummet. Brazilian Joao Castro Neves is to leave his position as the head of AB InBev North America. He will be replaced on 1st January 2018 by fellow Brazilian Michel Doukeris in a reminder that, for the brewer of all-American brands like Budweiser, the US is just another territory of a global operation whose power is wielded primarily from Brazil and Belgium. The move follows a rapid decline in the fortunes of the Budweiser ...
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