-The Craft Beer Blacklist-

Everyone that has a lobby with any government lobbies for their own best interest. Craft beer lobbies for their interest, as does the Hombrewer's association. Both of those lobbies are actively lobbying against macro beer as a whole as well.

Just like the NRA is the lobby for the gun manufacturers. They never have and never will lobby for what their "card carrying members" want because that is not what they are intended to do.

I am on the side that 99% of lobbying is wrong, and you cannot condemn one group when the group whose side you are on is doing the exact same thing on the opposite end.

 

When one side is saying trying to do business as normal and the other side is trying to stop them, that's not the same thing.

 

Found that one out know accident a couple months ago while taking a trip down a Wikipedia black-hole. Apparently, they were purchased by a Canadian brewery and two years later Sapporo bought out that brewer.
But Sapporo is the last thing on my mind when I'm sipping a Fin du Monde

 

I am not going to change what I purchase because of this, but it is interesting. I didn't care when Bud bought Goose Island. They helped reach the masses and the price point stayed the same or got better.

 

That would be true if I cared about small software firms, but I don't. I care about beer, and, in particular, the beer I care about is brewed by craft brewers. The argument isn't that the little guy is always good and the big company is always bad; it's that I feel that way in this particular instance.

 

Let's just agree to disagree, shall we?

 

Its not meant to enhance the community. And let me know of any "fly by nighters" you know of that popped up. Because I know several people and have a good friend who has busted his ass for 15 years to get his own brand and brewery.
He started with zero and worked his way to where he is now and still makes less $ then he should. His product is excellent. He's being swallowed up by the people that have all the buying power lawyers and $ to kill his dream. You can't just "throw together" a brewery man. Its not like selling cordwood. Youbgotta have a lot of dough and people to back your concept which is extremely difficult. I'm all for drinking what you like but every time there is a thread like this its always the same all you bourbon county people get defensive. Drink you your beer its fantastic just realize like american airlines and united merger when you have all the money power and lawyers to market your product t there is little to no risk.

 

And another thing their marketing was well planned and highly successful at A/B BC. They over produced and then instead of flooding the market they trickled it in to hype it up and get people to line up to get it. It worked and then they released the rest 90 days later and it was sitting on shelves for 5 bucks less a four pak.

 

You've been on here a while apparently. Have you never seen this discussion before? You've really restarted this at the most basic level.

 

I quit smoking cigarette's in 2005 because I didn't feel tobacco companies deserved another $10 bucks from me.

I don't drink BMC because I don't feel mega BMC corporations need another $10 from me.

I try my hardest to be an educated consumer and not a brand loyalist or impulsive buyer.

Let all the fish swim. Not just the rich and greedy.

 

..wow, so dumb.

 

For the record, does this include Stevie Wonder??

 

No one is telling you what to do. You're a big boy. Decide for yourself what to do. The list is giving information.

 

Thanks for reminding me that I have free will And the implication is that items on a blacklist are to be avoided.

 

Yes, but avoided by only those who care to do so. Why does that bother you?

 

I still buy Goose Island outside of the BCB stuff. If there's an alternative that's craft I'll usually opt for that, but I won't go out of my way to avoid good beer even if its owned by AB.

 

I think there goal is to drive the breweries they do not own off the shelves and off of taps. Which eliminates choice for the beer consumer.

 

So if you can't be 100% corporation free then don't try, right? I guess I'll say that to my local hardware store owner, whom I specifically go to because he's going to spend his profits in Rhode Island, "hey man, I use an Apple laptop, so I really shouldn't care at all about your local business and I should just go straight to Home Depot to buy my paint. I mean, I'd like to support you and you'd like my support, but if I can't be 100% corporation free then I'm a hypocrite to even prioritize you."

Point being, even the slightest efforts to spend your money with the small guy as opposed to the huge company, is likely to have an economic multiplier effect the generates a lot more prosperity than you will see. But hey, if you want to dichotomize the argument into black and white, completely corporation free or not, by all means go for it. It's an argument that gets used constantly when this subject comes up and it's really nothing more than a defense mechanism that allows you to swerve around the more complex and nuanced dialogues that need to be had when discussing issues related to our modern economic system.

 

Not stop being made, but maybe not being on a store shelf, or on a tap line for a consumer a chance to buy.

Every time an AB distributor strong arms or financially entices a bar into committing a tap line to Goose Island IPA or 312 - it pushes local beer X off.

 

Yeah, it is a basic level argument, but I thought it was appropriate for responding to a basic blanket statement that the brewery ownership doesn't matter.

My main point was the quality issue isn't what I care about. Or even the short term sales, it's the big picture about what long term success by the big breweries in the craft beer market will probably lead to.