Thank You InBev

Are you a craft beer drinker? Then those two offerings from GI were hardly made for you. They were made as gateway beers for BMC drinkers, although they can be pretty refreshing when I'm in the right mood.

 

Sofie is a really nice, bright Saison, light on funk, heavy on the crisp citrus. Well worth the $12 or $13 for a four pack, IMO. However I will say this, I have been stockpiling Sofie since before the take over and every new batch we get it I do a side by side with some of the older stuff. This most recent batch that was bottled about a month ago is EXTREMELY heavy on the citrus...very light on the yeasty/barnyard notes. Now if that has to do with aging of the previous releases and yeast continuing to develop the flavor, or what. Still a great beer, but fresh is a different story than with a year on it or so, which I feel is the sweet spot for a beer like Sofie.

 

Unfortunately many bars wouldn't be able to keep their doors open without BMC products (as is the case with my friend who runs a bar. If she wasn't selling BMC stuff she'd go under). Nevertheless, she should be able to sell BMC and craft too, without fear of BMC pulling out their products.

By the way, I applaud you for not selling BMC in your store. That's awesome! Keep it up.

 

That sounds awesome hopefully a tasting will pop up soon, I'm certainly more intrigued than I was before, and buying or splitting one whole sale sounds much more appealing. What are your thoughts on Pepe Nero, and Pere Jacques?

I would certainly consider myself a craft beer drinker... I also drink Oberon all summer and Founders dry hopped pale on a regular basis and Bell's Winter White. Those beers impress me every time I have them. I don't think the brews you are making to convert BMC drinkers should be lacking in quality or flavor... if anything those would be the beers I'd want to come out perfect. What good is it to make the more accessible offerings bland and dull, and the pricier ones "the good stuff". I'm sure as hell not gonna drink one of those 10 dollar six packs and than say "OH! now I'm ready to drop 4 more dollars for 2 less beers." again not saying the other brews aren't worth it just saying GI has successfully planted a seed of doubt. Not to mention goose island kinda is BMC.

 

Right, but again, you're thinking from the mind of a craft beer drinker. BMC drinkers are often turned off by flavor. They're not used to it.

My point is that everything has its purpose, and based on how well they sell, GI must have nailed the purpose of those two beers. And they did it long before InBev took over.

 

I'm a big fan of Pere Jacques as well. I think it's a solid American example of a Belgian dubble. Nice notes of raison and bread. Good mouthfeel. Pepe Nero on the other hand...I never really got that beer. I had it SUPER fresh on tap when they debuted it last year, and the peppercorns were up front, but I didn't get much funk or barnyard from it. They classify it as a Farmhouse Ale, but I feel like it truly lacked there. Maybe an average Belgian style Abbey ale, but that's about it. I expected more, and after a few months the peppercorns really fall off and it's just a below average, I'd personally say. I REALLY enjoy Fleur, I don't know why they discontinued that and not Pepe Nero, I felt Fleur was a great expression and something truly different. If run across and Fleur in a bottle, grab it up, it's drinking really nice right now.

 

The primary "stand" (if you will) against BMC is that they are a blight (if you will....again) on the face of beer. Their beer is crap, but use their influence to persuade people that it is awesome. Being a corporate giant is one thing. Using capital, market and distribution muscle to affect competition is another. And I think this latter aspect is the main argument to boycott BMC

 

I agree with you on the reason. My point is that the same business practices are employed in many other industries to squeeze the little guy out of business. It's bad across the board. I don't blame anyone for boycotting any industry they choose for that reason. My point being, you likely can't boycott them all. So it's slightly hypocritical. I'm guilty of the same and I guess we have to choose our battles. No lectures on ethics, it's just a difficult position that all informed consumers are put in.

 

Don't forget Diagio! No more Dom...

 

Theoretically, if the big boys started producing top-shelf beers at a competitive price I'd be all for it, be damn if they "cared" or not. In reality I would just keep doing what I have been doing - using accumulated knowledge, mood, and price point to shop for beer.

 

I figure when a brewery with a portfolio as deep as goose islands gets bought up, anything they don't deem worth spending money on falls by the wayside. Barrel aging programs I'm sure are on the top of that list. Anything with a complex or expensive ingredient list or time intensive brewing process. I feel the bigger someone is: the more they want to pinch pennys. Seems backwards to me but what do I know? That may not be the case at all but I think thats just my take on it. I imagine they dont have a robot that can incorporate hibiscus and kombucha cost effectively.

Thanks for filling me in I will assuredly take your opinion into consideration when I contemplate which goose island I might buy.

 

There can be a huge difference in how a privately owned business is/can be run versus a corporation. While everyone is aiming for success the methods each employs differs greatly. As a corporation, to be serving a shareholder, your main responsibility is to make money and everything else is at best secondary, more likely inconsequential. As a private company, you have the option to balance goals. Obviously financial success is at the top, but there is more room to guide how one chooses to achieve such success. I'd hope that as more craft brewers grow in size and influence they'd follow the approach of, say, Boston Beer Company.

 

to be honest, I thought this would have stopped being the issue "du jour" by now. I suppose it IS important though - should one buy goose island products because they haven't changed in quality (or at least haven't reported to), or should one boycott them alongside other AB-Inbev products too?

A legitimate question, even outside of the beer community. I would side with the "boycott" side, though I really couldn't care less if another person chooses to buy GI products, either way Inbev isn't going anywhere for a while - whether or not I support them and their tactics that can be shady at times. Of course, in spite of their trying, it doesn't seem to be stamping out the US craft beer industry. I also think that many craft brewers - while they ARE in it for the joys of making great beer - are also in it for the money, it's an inescapable reality of capitalism. We've all got to do something to make the money we need to survive, even if it's something you love money is still a factor in it.

 

Oh, yes, I agree...there are--in many industries--big bully poo heads. But the alcohol biz is a squidge (that's an actual unit of measurement) different in the U.S. with the 3 tier system. I KNOW BMC bullies customers. I'm a customer to their distribution network and labels, and we "fight" each week. But I never go to Wal Mart, McDonalds or Old Navy---which may be why I have no friends

 

There are industries where you canot avoid purchasing products from a corporate giant (petroleum, automobiles) and there industries where you can (beer, pizza, ). As a result there are areas where you can't fight the good fight.

I will say thisif you shop at Walmart or Home Depot you are doing a diservice to your community.

 

stole this from another thread. pretty much what i tried to... told' ya':

if the current trends in American whiskey are as they look in my rear-view mirror, you can probably expect a lot of: "it isn't what we hoped for". which translates to: so what we made more - it's still not on the shelf.

 

At the store I worked at when Goose Island got into our market the rep very briefly mentioned G.I to the owner and that was after I asked him 2 weeks since it had been in the market.

At the store I work out now we have a craft beer rack of bombers one on side and 6/4's on the other. The only thing the rep has done with that is make sure that the line of GI stuff is neat and there. When there were 5-10 cases of GI Coffee for the whole state, my store - which likely sold maybe 2 cases MIXED of Goose Island stuff a month, got a case. As you said the tactics are there but it probably depends on the rep, a lot.

 

Time will tell whether InBev's intentions are pure, that is intended to benefit craft beer lovers or simply profit driven. Granted, every company is in business to make a profit, but the means sometime piss people off - like as has been mentioned, A-B's marketing and their heavy-handed methods to maintain their market share. With InBev buying up craft breweries, perhaps they will spin off this sector and run it independently [I like to dream].

 

Off topic, but I would love to thank InBev for Hoegaarden. its a good Witbier, and it tastes better than most Wits.