Let me preface this post by issuing a disclaimer: this is more industry news about Heineken. You have been forewarned.

On Tuesday I mentioned Heineken’s purchase of Drinks Union in the Czech Republic. Something that hadn’t occurred to me was all the buying and expansion happening elsewhere. In that post, I also included Carlsberg’s previous acquisition of Baltika in the Scottish & Newcastle deal. So how about some more Russian beer news?

Apparently, Heineken is planning to invest in its Volga Brewery, to the tune of €117 million, or about $182 million. The Volga Brewery produces Russian beer brands PIT, Okhota, and Bochkarev, which ranked in the top 20 Russian brands by Interbrand Zintzmeyer & Lux in 2007. However, the report also indicated that Bochkarev was on the decline last year.

By ramping up funds for improving efficiency and marketing, Heineken may yet become an even bigger player in the Russian beer market, and could revive brands that need assistance. They’ve already got their hands in several cookie jars there, such as Ivan Taranov Breweries and Stepan Razin, through the acquisition of St. Petersburg’s Bravo International.

So while Carlsberg is getting a big slice of the Russian pie with Baltic Beverage Holdings, Heineken wants its slice to get bigger. And with this investment, that may well happen.

Furthermore, after agreeing to a joint venture with Diageo and Namibia Breweries Ltd. in South Africa earlier this month, they’ve already broken ground on a new brewery just outside Johannesburg. The city’s economic daily Business Day reported that the DNH Drinks venture needed to complete the project as soon as possible because of the costs of importing Amstel into the country, according to analyst Chris Gilmour, and the facility is expected to be finished by the end of 2009.

At the end of the article, Mr. Gilmour alludes to the possibilty of a joint venture with Anheuser-Busch for the 2010 World Cup being held in South Africa. What better way to accommodate all those thirsty football fans than with a new megabrewery? Definitely a smart move on Heienken’s part.

But with so many lucrative deals going on these days, it’s hard to keep track of it all.

I took a little creative license with the cartoon at the top. My glib attempt at humor.