Anheuser-Busch InBev

Anheuser-Busch has officially announced its return as the exclusive category advertiser for the 2017 Super Bowl, marking its 28th consecutive year in the big game. The national brewer will feature four of its brands, bringing back last year’s advertisers Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob ULTRA, and Super Bowl newcomer – Busch.

Anheuser-Busch InBev and Keurig Green Mountain have signed an agreement to enter into a research and development-driven joint venture that will be tasked with inventing an in-home alcohol drink system, the two companies announced today. Specific financial terms of the transaction, including ownership percentages, were not disclosed and the deal is expected to close during the first quarter.

Craft Brew Alliance has appointed two Anheuser-Busch InBev executives to its board of directors, according to a press release issued last week.

Anheuser-Busch InBev is making a number of sizable investments to grow its acquired craft beer brands both domestically and abroad, according to recent reports. The world’s largest beer company is planning a large-scale international expansion for its biggest craft offering, Goose Island, and making significant investments to scale production capabilities for its Blue Point and Karbach Brewing brands in their respective home markets of New York and Texas.

The world’s biggest beer and soda makers struck a deal Wednesday, but the transaction wasn’t a long-rumored merger of the two companies. Anheuser-Busch InBev has agreed to sell its 54.5 percent equity stake in Coca-Cola Beverages Africa to the soda-making goliath for $3.15 billion. ABI had acquired the business in October as part of its $100 billion takeover of rival SABMiller.

The Cicerone Certification Program announced this week that The High End’s Max Bakker has become one of only 13 individuals world-wide to earn the title of Master Cicerone. The certification was earned following two days of intense written and oral exams, testing knowledge of beer styles, draft systems, beer evaluation, brewing technology and beer and food pairings. Bakker is now the first and only Master Cicerone located in New York.

Asahi Group to Purchase Pilsner Urquell and Other Beer Brands for $7.8 Billion

The federal government has approved Anheuser-Busch InBev’s acquisition of Texas-based Karbach Brewing Company.

Goose Island is migrating to Europe. Anheuser-Busch InBev is planting a series of pubs branded with the Chicago craft brewery’s name, starting with a pilot launch in London before Dec. 25, followed by a second London location and a third in Belgium, according to the Telegraph. The opening of the Goose Island Vintage Ale House marks the first launch by A-B InBev’s “brand experience” division, which reportedly hopes to gain notoriety for its craft brands. The pubs will offer Goose Island’s barrel-aged beers and American smokehouse-style fare.

The Beer Institute is hoping a so-called “lame duck session” of Congress won’t hurt the chances of finally passing the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act (CBMTRA), which would lower excise taxes, compliance burdens, and regulations on alcohol makers.

The high end beer segment is poised to grow by 170 million cases over the next two years, according to Constellation Brands executive vice president Paul Hetterich. Speaking to more than 200 beer industry professionals attending the Beer Marketer’s Insights winter seminar, Hetterich, as well as leaders from Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors, discussed the consumer shift toward high end products and their companies’ strategies for competing in that segment.

When asked during last week’s earnings call whether or not the U.S. craft market was reaching an “inflection point,” Anheuser-Busch InBev CEO Carlos Brito responded by speculating that consumers might one day “get a bit tired of so much choice.” That sound bite — which was part of a two-minute long response about the growth of craft, A-B’s activity in the segment and thoughts on how the category is continuing to evolve — would eventually get picked up by beverage industry website just-drinks.com, igniting a hailstorm of hot takes in the process.

Another member of MillerCoors’ Tenth & Blake division is setting up shop near a Major League Baseball stadium. Texas’ Revolver Brewing plans to open a brewery inside the forthcoming entertainment district being developed by the Texas Rangers and the Cordish Companies in Arlington, Texas.

Anheuser-Busch InBev today announced it would purchase Karbach Brewing Company, the fastest-growing craft brewery in Texas and the ninth to join A-B’s ever-expanding High End division. Specific financial terms of the transaction were not disc