The ACCC looks to have been overly optimistic in its July assurance that the long-running draught beer contracts investigation would be completed this year.

The investigation began in 2014. An ACCC spokesperson this week declined to update the likely timeframe for completion.

“The ACCC’s investigation into the exclusivity provisions of wholesale draught beer supply contracts continues and is at an advanced stage,” she told Australian Brews News.

Industry sources suggest the process may have been delayed byAB InBev’s takeover of SABMiller, given the needforCarlton & United Breweries’new managementto participate in the process.

A verdict during 2017 now looks to be a certainty.