This week in beer, featuring Guinness, Boston Beer Co and Suntory

Here's a round-up of this week's top stories in the global beer & cider categories. We also have similar round-ups for soft drinks & bottled water and spirits & wine.

• Lack of premium beer in Asia Pacific hurts international brewers' margins - research

As the world’s biggest region for beer volumes, Asia Pacific and China, in particular, is a vital market for any brewer to be in.

• US brewers target Vietnam as main Trans-Pacific Partnership opportunity

The American Brewers Association has said the best opportunity created by the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal for the US beer industry is increasing exports to Vietnam.

• Diageo's Hop House 13 Guinness lager extension hits UK

Diageo has extended the reach for its Hop House 13 Lager to the UK.

• Boston Beer Co adds US$50m to stock repurchase

Boston Beer Co has raised the value of its stock repurchase programme by a further US$50m.

• Starbucks brings wine and beer to UK

Coffee shop giant Starbucks has opened a central London store that serves beer and wine.

• Suntory Holdings considers US beer launch - report

Suntory Holdings may start selling its Japanese beer brands in the US in the wake of an Anheuser-Busch InBev takeover of SABMiller, according to a report.

• Invest more to tackle alcohol abuse - SpiritsEurope

Greater investment is needed in educational initiatives to tackle alcohol abuse and especially under-age drinking, according to trade association SpiritsEurope.

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