Stone Brewing Co., Escondido, Calif., announced the release of “The Alchemist/Ninkasi/Stone More Brown than Black IPA.” The beer is the fifth collaboration beer released by Stone and various partners in 2011.

Bell Flavors & Fragrances, Northbrook, Ill., forecasted the Top 10 flavors for the food and beverage industry in 2012.

The Coca-Cola Co., Atlanta, announced a multimillion dollar partnership agreement with three leading biotechnology companies to accelerate development of commercial solutions for next-generation PlantBottle packaging made from 100 percent plant-based materials.

William Grant & Sons USA, New York City, is expanding its ultra-premium Elit by Stolichnaya vodka line with a $3,000 limited-edition offering.

Anheuser-Busch InBev’s Budweiser brand announced the debut of its social reality show “Bud United presents: The Big Time” in early 2012 on ABC in the United States. Cast through Budweiser’s social media sites, “Bud United presents: The Big Time” features young adults from around the world fulfilling their dreams, such as racing professional racecar drivers, playing for a global renowned soccer team, pitching a professional baseball game and taking the stage at a major music event. The show will air in the United States on Saturdays on ABC starting Jan. 21, 2012. 

Heineken, Amsterdam, launched the latest phase in its global approach to encourage the responsible consumption of its brands. Organized under the theme “Sunrise belongs to moderate drinkers,” the campaign uses the Heineken brand to deliver and reinforce the message.

In its “Breakfast Consumer Trend Report,” Chicago-based research firm Technomic notes that coffee is playing an increasingly important role in consumers’ breakfast purchasing decisions. Thirty-three percent of consumers who drink coffee at breakfast say they are loyal to a coffee brand or restaurant that serves their preferred coffee, which is an increase from 25 percent who reported loyalty in 2009, it states.

Starbucks Coffee Co., Seattle, announced that since the launch of its mobile payment technology in January, there have been 26 million mobile transactions to date. In the first nine weeks of the program, there were 3 million transactions, and in comparison for the nine-week period starting in October, there were 6 million transactions, demonstrating a significant jump in customer adoption and use.

Atlanta-based The Coca-Cola Co. will launch its Freestyle machines in all Burger King Corp. company-owned restaurant locations across the United States.

In the next step toward launching two public companies, Northfield, Ill.-based Kraft Foods Inc.’s board of directors announced the appointments of the chairmen and chief executive officers of the future global snacks and North American grocery companies.