multinational companies microbreweries SABMiller Grolsch InBev Anheuser-Busch Anheuser-Busch InBev regional breweries brewing industry beer
The brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of other producers known as microbreweries or regional breweries or craft breweries depending on size, region, and marketing preference. More than 133 billion liters (3.5×10 U.S. gallons; 2.9×10 imperial gallons) are sold per year—producing total global revenues of $294.5 billion (£147.7 billion) as of 2006. SABMiller became the largest brewing company in the world when it acquired Royal Grolsch, brewer of Dutch premium beer brand Grolsch. InBev was the second-largest beer-producing company in the world and Anheuser-Busch held the third spot, but after the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by InBev, the new Anheuser-Busch InBev company is currently the largest brewer in the world.
