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Dear readers,
So American private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners has pulled the plug on BrewDog. The Scottish brewer and bar operator confirmed it has appointed financial clean-up crew AlixPartners to “evaluate the next phase of investment for the business”. Most observers suspect that BrewDog will be broken up and sold. If a deal is struck, TSG is likely to receive all the proceeds. BrewDog’s 220,000 retail investors among its fandom (aka “Equity Punks”), who poured more than USD 100 million into the firm’s expansion through several crowdfunding rounds, could be left with zilch. That is because TSG holds “preference shares”, ensuring it is paid first - before other investors. When TSG bought a 22 percent stake for USD 265 million in 2017, the deal was structured thus that its shares rank ahead of “ordinary” shares held by crowdfunders and staff. The agreement promised TSG an 18 percent compound annual return on their investment upon a “liquidity event” (a sale or IPO). Due to the ludicrously hefty return, TSG can now claim USD 1.1 billion from any sale. Not that BrewDog is likely to fetch that much. Still, any deal would leave nothing for small investors. It would be easy to say that Equity Punks have only themselves to blame. Crowdfunding operates under the principle of caveat emptor (“buyer beware”). In other words, backers take full responsibility for risks and must be prepared to write off their investment as a donation to a good cause if the worst comes to the worst. The question that has been bugging many observers: Why did BrewDog’s founders James Watt and Martin Dickie, who have since left the sinking ship, agree to such terms? Why did they not just take on more debt? Well, the deal gave the founders a big payout. Before TSG, Messrs Watt and Dickie owned 35 percent and 30 percent of BrewDog, respectively. By selling a portion of their shares to TSG, they pocketed approximately USD 130 million between them. Like good punks they must have thought: “Après moi, le deluge.” Yours, Ina |
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BrewDog puts itself up for sale
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United Kingdom | The producer of Punk IPA and Elvis Juice has called in advisers AlixPartners to run a restructuring process that could prompt the break-up of one of Scotland's best-known consumer businesses, media reported on 14 February. Allegedly, AlixPartners has already begun to sound out prospective suitors and set a quickfire deadline for indicative offers. All this smacks of a distress-driven auction. Read more »
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Every issue we also present selected articles from our print and digital portfolio. Only available for BRAUWELT International subscribers.
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Brewer’s yeast – a new business area Up-cycling | In 2023, average per capita beer consumption in Germany was 88 litres per year, according to statista.com. This makes Germany one of the most beer-loving countries in Europe. However, appearances are deceptive. Beer consumption has been declining for years. In times when abstaining from alcohol is becoming increasingly important for many consumers, breweries must also look beyond their limits and develop new business areas. The following article highlights a collaboration between Tremonis GmbH in Dortmund and Zettl GmbH in Munich, in which brewer’s yeast is being refined into animal feed. |
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Heineken to cut up to 6000 jobs as demand for beer declines The Netherlands | Heineken said it will cut up to 6000 jobs from its global workforce over the next two years to save up to EUR 500 million annually. The job cuts amount to almost 7 percent of the 87,000-strong, global workforce, the brewer said on 11 February. It also set lower expectations for 2026 profit growth than last year, as the Dutch brewer and its peers face weakening demand. The company is searching for a new CEO following the resignation of Dolf van den Brink in January. |
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AB-InBev upbeat for 2026 as volumes decline slows Belgium | The US market was a focal point in AB-InBev’s results presentation (12 February), both in prepared remarks and throughout Q&A. Harry Schuhmacher, the publisher of Beer Business Daily, was not alone in wondering why analysts were so smitten by the brewer’s turnaround in the US, considering that the US market is not the firm’s biggest. |
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Japan's Kirin to sell Four Roses bourbon brand to Gallo USA | In a move that markedly expands its presence in the whiskey category, the privately-owned wine and drinks firm Gallo has agreed to acquire Four Roses bourbon from Japan's Kirin for up to USD 775 million, media reported on 5 February. The Financial Times had reported in October that Kirin was looking to raise as much as USD 1 billion from a sale of Four Roses, which it acquired in 2002. Kirin probably had to accept a lower price for its brand as whiskey sales in the US and abroad are entering into a period of correction after several boom years. |
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Nigeria’s biggest brewer returns to profit after two years of losses Nigeria | Nigerian Breweries swung back to profit in 2025, capping a year of financial repair for the country’s largest brewer, after currency shocks and surging financing costs pushed it into losses for two consecutive years, media reported on 13 February. |
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Nigerians splash out on beer in 2025 Nigeria | It is one of Africa’s largest economies. Tragically, in the past decade the country has gone backwards. On average, individual Nigerians are poorer today than they were in 2015. But this does not seem to stop them from enjoying a beer. Nigerians are estimated to have spent the equivalent of more than USD 1 billion on beer and other brewery products in the first nine months of 2025, according to a recent analysis of financial results from the country’s leading listed brewers. |
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The next generation of aroma hops
The new hop aroma variety “Nobella” from Hopsteiner combines a classic, traditional noble hop flavour with consistent alpha acid levels and reliable performance under today’s climate conditions.
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Kibex 2026 takes place in Seoul in April
Kibex (Korea International Beer Expo) is set to return to Coex, Seoul, from 16–18 April 2026.
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Brewers Association reports 20 percent drop in net revenue USA | The Brewers Association (BA) has published its 2025 Annual Report, detailing how it allocated resources across four key areas: education, government affairs, events, and operations. The report shows a net revenue of USD 16.8 million, a decrease of 20 percent from USD 20.9 million in 2024. |
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Food and beer prices are surging in Russia Russia | Prices have risen steadily in Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. With Russia's economy suspended between stagnation and decline, ordinary Russians have begun to feel the pinch from the Kremlin's war, as it enters into its fifth year, the BBC reported on 18 February. |
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Heineken reconfigures its European operations The Netherlands | In the light of Heineken’s recently announced cost cuts which could affect up to 6000 jobs globally, the reorganisation of its European operations into several multi-market operating companies has employees further on edge. Though touted as “pooling resources” and a sharpening of focus, it is actually about centralising decision-making and reporting lines into fewer regional centres to reduce costs overall and raise profits at a time of declining beer sales. |
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Ontario PM calls off boycott against Diageo’s Crown Royal whisky Canada | The Canadian boycott of US alcohol has now been going on for a year. Even when Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador began selling their stocks of US alcohol at a discount at the end of 2025, followed by Quebec in February 2026 (with the profits going to charity), no one questioned the boycott. One might assume that Team Canada stands united – were it not for the dispute over the major Canadian whisky brand Crown Royal (Diageo), which drove a wedge between Canadians. What happened? |
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Tecnologia para Cerveceros y Malteros
Esta 2ª edición española se basa en la 12ª edición alemana de 2023 y describe de forma muy didáctica, clara, descriptiva y actual todos los aspectos esenciales de la elaboración en si, desde las materias primas, el malteo y la elaboración de cerveza hasta el envasado y empaque del producto terminado.
169 €
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Applied Mathematics for Brewing and Malting Technologists
The goal of this reference book, available for the first time in English, is to provide an overview of the technological calculations and benchmarks relevant to those in the brewing and malting industries. The authors supplement this overview with correlations and statistically reliable relationships they have researched during their carriers.
69 €
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Read the latest news and selected professional articles from the brewing and beverage industry at the website of Fachverlag Hans Carl GmbH. You can access the articles by entering your personal login details here. |
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