ABI to launch 19 new products in 2012

These guys are still behind the times. Until I see some big ole -bals, they're old news!

 

just 19 more products for me to ignore...

 

i hope they replace all the craft beers on the shelfs so we can get the beer even fresher by driving to every brewery that bud will kick off the shelfs. mmm. budweiser margaritas. better start saving my gas money

 

Last time I checked nobody is holding a gun to these stores heads making them carry one thing over the other. If my local store thinks it will be good business to drop Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams and take out their entire deli department to fit in more InBev brands then more power to them. In my case they would be wrong and will have lost a customer. If other people feel the same way they will lose them as well. If the move doesn't work then the store either goes under or changes their plan again. So next time your in a store and pissed because it takes you 10 minutes to walk past all the InBev products and you blink and miss the 2 craft selections let the store know how you feel by not spending your money there. Instead of complaining about the next store being 2 more miles away and you already missed the first round of the women's basket weaving championships. So you pick up a case of bud margarita from that store. Then they will never change. Why would they? The store got what it wanted, you dignity and your money.

 

The reason why big stores have so much shelf space devoted to BMC is because that's what sells. They won't notice you not spending your money there. The only way to make them change is to buy the craft beer that they do sell, which will make them take notice and buy more craft.

 

I tried A/Bs Cask Winter ale once .. My brother of all people told it was good. HOLY SWILLAGE BATMAN
That shit was a JOKE I should have known better

 

didnt you know ab is a terrorist group...and part of the mafia...shit son

 

A few days before this was announced a friend of mine (who works for a local craft brewery) and I were discussing that AB should do exactly this. They aren't going to convert people back to their beers at this point because craft drinkers are so loyal to the concept of craft itself. What they can go after though are the Smirnoff Ice/Mike's Hard Lemonade etc drinkers.

 

You vote with your dollars, people. Capitalism 101.

 

glad they're ramping up goose island production

 

I really hope nobody adds these monstrosities to this site...

 

yup.... I'm fighting for craft space as is...

 

why is it that when they aim to fight against craft, that instead of making craft beers, they come up with daft beers?

 

This isn't 100% true... in many states it is legal for breweries to pay slotting fees to gobble up shelf space, thus limiting the ability of any of the smaller guys to gain entry. Really... do we need 20 different package configurations of one macro beer? 20 packs, 30 packs, 16oz cans, 12bottles, 24oz cans.... It is a land grab for space, pure and simple. They are attempting to do to the beer aisle what the Kellogs, GM, and Post have done to the cereal aisle.

 

Somebody here has watched Beer Wars! You are 100% right though.

 

Haha... yes I did watch Beer Wars but I've been employed in the beer Biz going on 10 years now. I've seen it in action... daily. I've actually sat in large meeting with corporate buyers and category managers dividing up the territory.

 

Whoa! Just heard about the Lime-A-Rita. I know I called this about 6-8 months ago. Booyah.

/it's gonna suck

 

Personally, I'm hoping to find it on cask...

 

On lime-a-rita:

The new drink is available in 12-packs of 8 oz. cans, 24-packs of 12 oz. shrink-wrapped bottles and single-serve 24 oz. cans

 

Essentially ABI wants to create a system where they have in every region/state a master distributor. Where legal, they would own said distributor. That distributor has a certain portfolio, mostly ABI (probably all, but, they didn't specify that) and then other independent distributors in that region would follow that lead, either at gunpoint or heavily incentivized. What brought this all about was the Yeungling launch in Ohio, but it's been simmering for awhile.

They are going to continue to innovate random stuff like a-rita and purchase other brands (Goose) instead of creating their own (Bourbon Cask Disaster). The CBA agreement is paying off in spades now that they took that money from the GI transaction and invested it all in marketing. Andy Thomas doesn't hurt either.