Anheuser-Busch InBev

The legal battle between the two largest beer makers in the U.S. escalated today, as Anheuser-Busch today accused MillerCoors of breaking state and federal laws by stealing trade secrets regarding beer recipes for its two top-selling brands, Bud Light and Michelob Ultra. In the heavily redacted 66-page amended complaint and counterclaim filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, A-B alleges that two of its former employees who now work for MillerCoors and its parent company Molson Coors either shared confidential trade secrets with their current employers or sought information from current employees about the making of A-B products.

Just in time for the holidays, Stella Artois will introduce a brand new limited-edition seasonal beer — Midnight Lager — on Halloween night in historic Sleepy Hollow, NY, most famous for tales of its ghostly rider.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s (AB InBev) global brand, Budweiser, today announced a new partnership with Sergio Ramos, football champion and current captain of Real Madrid and the Spanish national team.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Brewers Collective craft division is betting big on craft beer’s most popular style — the IPA — in 2020. Brewers Collective president Marcelo “Mika” Michaelis told Brewbound that the world’s largest beer company is making a multi-million dollar investment behind a new low-alcohol, low-calorie IPA from Chicago’s Goose Island, as well as a hazy IPA from from Seattle’s Elysian Brewing.

California’s beer distribution system is being shaken up once again. Anheuser-Busch InBev announced Friday evening the planned acquisition of “key assets” from Markstein Beverage Co. in San Marcos, California. The company will add those assets to its existing wholly owned distributor, Anheuser-Busch Sales of San Diego.

In this week’s Last Call: A-B’s Natural Light Hard Seltzer and Big 12 Conference Announce Partnership; Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors Corn Syrup Lawsuit Continues; MillerCoors to Launch 4 New Beers in 2020; August US Beer Shipments Decline

Today, Budweiser and Jim Beam Bourbon unveiled Budweiser Reserve Black Lager, a limited-supply brew with an ABV of 7.1 percent. This specialty beer marks the second collaboration between Budweiser and Jim Beam, joining Budweiser Reserve Copper Lager, which is back by popular demand.

In the latest Last Call: Anheuser-Busch InBev resumes Asia-Pacific IPO application; Roak Brewing to acquire Dark Horse; Reyes closes on DBI deal; A-B appeals ‘No Corn Syrup’ preliminary injunction; and more.

In this week’s Last Call: Patagonia’s Trademark Lawsuit Against A-B Continues; Narragansett to Open Rhode Island Brewery; NBWA’s Beer Purchaser’s Index Expands in August; Anheuser-Busch Donates Canned Water to Hurricane Dorian Relief Effort

Anheuser-Busch InBev has until March 2, 2020, to sell through Bud Light packaging that contains language and an icon indicating that the top-selling beer in the U.S. contains “no corn syrup,” a federal judge ordered today. Wednesday’s order is the latest development in the deceptive advertising lawsuit filed in March by MillerCoors against the world’s largest beer manufacturer.

The awkwardness between Craft Brew Alliance and Anheuser-Busch InBev didn’t end last Friday when the world’s largest beer manufacturer passed on making a qualifying offer to purchase the company. CBA CEO Andy Thomas told Brewbound that the awkwardness has shifted from a will-they, won’t-they-get-married scenario, to one in which the question is if the two companies still want to live together now that they’re no longer engaged.

Call it a scoop. Call it a shill. Either way, Adam Schefter made news today about the relationship between the NFL and Anheuser-Busch InBev. Schefter, the ESPN NFL insider known for breaking the league’s biggest scoops via his Twitter account — including last weekend’s retirement of Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck — announced this morning that Anheusr-Busch InBev-owned Bon & Viv is now the “Official Hard Seltzer Sponsor of the NFL.”

In this week’s Last Call: California ABC Investigates Amazon; US Beer Shipments Down Again in July; Anheuser-Busch’s ZX Ventures Acquires Barbarian; MillerCoors Launches New Blue Moon Campaign

The deadline for Anheuser-Busch InBev to make a qualifying offer to acquire the remaining stake of Craft Brew Alliance (CBA) came and went today without an offer. The world’s largest beer manufacturer, which already owns 31.3 percent of the smaller Portland, Oregon-headquartered craft beer maker, had until today, August 23, to either make an offer for the remaining stake in the company at a minimum of $24.50 per share (about $328 million) or pay a $20 million fee.