The Icelandic love of specially-made Christmas beers knows no bounds this year…that is until all of it has been sold. Read the full story

International beer experts have voted Iceland’s Egils Gull as the Best Standard Lager Beer in the World at the World Beer Awards 2011. Read the full story

Iceland’s national alcohol retail monopoly, known as Vinbudin, has received numerous complaints from customers wondering why there is no fridge in their city centre outlet. Some say local bars have bribed the state-owned store in order to sell more cold draught beer. Read the full story

The recent Eyjafjallajokull eruption in South Iceland is proving a good long-term marketing tool for the country, despite its negative short-term effects, some businessmen are claiming. Read the full story

The news that Lapin Kulta, the iconic beer of Finland’s Lapland, is set to halt production has shocked residents and city officials in the brewery town of Tornio. Read the full story

Last week saw a small crowd hold a funeral procession to commemorate the closure of the famous Pori Brewery. The last rites were administered to a beer-filled coffin as a delivery truck, which was laden with Finland’s favourite beer, Karhu left the site for the last time. Read the full story

Today is the day that Iceland celebrates entering its third glorious beer decade. Icelanders have celebrated Beer Day on 1st March every year since 1989; but today’s twentieth anniversary is being taken more seriously than usual. Read the full story

The Danish beer giant Carlsberg has entered into a partnership with a new Russian brewery just opened in the town of Novosibirsk called Baltika. Jorgen Buhl Rasmussen, the CEO of Carlsberg, was on hand for the opening ceremony, commenting to the Financial Times, “it’s not often we open big breweries like this. In western Europe no one is opening breweries any more.”

The move makes Carlsberg the owner of Russia’s largest beer brand after months of rancorous takeover negotiations with its initial joint Read the full story

With Carlsberg and Heineken’s recent takeover of the UK’s biggest brewery Scottish and Newcastle, the Danish brewer is hoping to make big inroads into the Russian market. This comes as a recent survey revealed that Danes are one of least worried in Europe about enjoying their brew on any occasion.

According to SABMiller, a joint British-South African brewer which is now the world’s largest beer company, Danes still consider beer very much a part of social occasions in Denmark, more so than in wine-belt nations such as Italy and France.

A full 95% of those surveyed said they found a glass of beer acceptable with all meals, compared to 56% among the French and only 23% among Italians. Figures also suggest that they consume an average of 6.5 beers during a typical bar session, second only to the people of Belgium.

Meanwhile Carlsberg is eyeing their newly acquired control of Baltic Beverages Holding (BBH) which owns a lion’s share of the Russian beer market. It also gives them access to the emerging Chinese market through Congqing Breweries.

A brewery control war has been brewing for several years, when South African Breweries (SAB) created a controlling merger with American giant Miller, to wrap up two very frothy markets.

South Africans drink a large amount of beer, with SAB’s Castle lager being the fifth biggest selling beer in the world by volume. The Australian company Fosters is another big rival in the scramble for the lucrative Chinese market.

Scandinavia’s biggest brewery, Carlsberg, recently introduced a beer which is guaranteed to put win first prize in at least one category: cost. The beer which is being advertised as “probably the best beer in the world” is also the world’s most expensive bottle, available for sale for just $396.47 a bottle.

The inspiration behind the beer came from the luxury wine market where connoisseurs hardly blink an eye at a bottle for $400. The brewery is hoping to capitalise on increasing levels of individual wealth.

According to Forbes magazine, the number of billionaires increased by 21 per cent last year. Sixteen of the world’s 946 billionaires recognised by Forbes live in Denmark and have possibly acquired a taste for Carlsberg beer.

The beer will soon be on sale in three restaurants in Copenhagen. One of the restaurants was ranked 15th in the world in 2007 by S. Pellegrino. The Michelin two-star restaurant, Noma, will be putting the $400 beer on their menu soon.

Read the full story