All articles by Stephen Beaumont

Beer commentator

Climate concerns fuel hop growers’ innovation

It’s not often hops and hop growing make the mainstream news but in early October it seemed the English language…
Tilray has track-record to make success of latest M&A in uncertain US craft-beer category

When Aphria, the Canadian cannabis company, acquired US-based SweetWater Brewery in November 2020, some industry eyebrows were raised but not…
Hop-loving brewers need to remember beer drinkers matter

By almost all objective standards, we are living in the heyday of hops. There are presently more varieties available to…
Why Sapporo’s swoop for Stone Brewing makes sense

The move by Sapporo Holdings to acquire US craft beer maker Stone Brewing surprised some industry watchers – but it…
Beer helped fuel the rise of RTDs. How can it strike back?

The original RTD is beer, a drink facing fierce competition the world over from an ever-burgeoning range of ready-to-drink beverages…

Will beer’s forays into functional stick?

One needn’t spend an abundance of time in the drinks industry in order to become impressed by the sheer volume…
Where has beer’s innovation mojo gone? – comment

In the beer category, innovation arrives sporadically and assumes many forms, precious few of which most astute observers might consider…
Why beer’s social conscience is not without consumer risk – comment

As the saying goes, opinions are like earlobes, everybody’s got ‘em. (Or, at least, I think it’s something like that;…
Supply Chain Special – What’s the impact on beer? – comment

Rounding off Just Drinks' focus on the supply chain squeeze and its impact on the beverages industry, category commentator Stephen…
What’s coming up in beer in 2022? – Predictions for the Year Ahead – comment

To say that the past couple of years have been turbulent ones for the global brewing industry is to make…