Wicked Weed Funkatorium Invitational 2017

So basically the breweries were buying hops from ABI and that's okay but the consumers buying beer from ABI isn't? In both situations ABI is getting paid. It may be cheaper for the smaller breweries to purchase hops through ABI but isn't that still being extremely hypocritical of purchasing practices when they could buy local or from the "little guy" like they expect us, the consumer to do?

 

My point was it prevents the consumer from having a choice. Different types of hops have different characteristics, so it's not the same for a brewery to buy local (non South African) hops from the little guy.

 

If breweries wanted South African hops, they were forced to buy them through ABI because ABI had a monopoly on them. Now ABI can use that monopoly to exclusively benefit breweries withing their "craft" portfolio. Those are the kind of anti-competitive business practices that you are standing against by refusing to buy ABI products.

 

Too bad that article was very biased.

If AB put the money into the research to grow the hops, and if most the hops are already going to the local beer there, when there is a shortage, there simply are no hops left to sell.

Its not like AB is trying to shut out everyone's access to hops, but if they spent the money on R&D I bet your ass they put agreements in place to get first rights to all the hops that are grown there for X amount of time.

Any other brewery is free to do the same practice.

If I want to go to my local farmer and buy all of his hops for the next X years, I am free to do so. If I have enough capital, I can buy out an entire regions worth of hops for my beers and no one elses.

It's an asshole move, but we live under 'free' market capitalism. That's how these things are supposed to work.

 

All that matters is where does the money go. I assume that ABI bought whatever beer is currently sitting in barrels when they bought the company, so when that beer is bottled and sold, profits will go to ABI. There's no magic that makes independent craft brewed beer any different, its all about where your money is going and what business you choose to support.

 

"Supposed to work" based on whose rules? Of course the entities that benefit from a system do what they can to ensure that system continues to benerit them. As they continually adjust the system, they are continually adjusting how the system is "supposed to work". No surprise there, but that doesn't mean the system in place is the best for other entities, and those entities are free to do what they can to adjust the system to how they see it is supposed to work. Just because free market capitalism exists as the prevalent market force doesn't mean its the best system.

 

I'm certainly aware of the variety of hops available but my point is that they're still funding the machine. I know these hops may have a new appeal but it's still hypocritical to buy hops from ABI as it is for us to buy from these micro-brews under ABI.

 

I agree with dsigmon.

Which is why it will be important for true independent craft breweries to explore ways to make sure they have access to the ingredients they need to make great beer. Because you can be sure that AB-InBev is going to continue to do whatever they can to keep those ingredients out of the hands of their competitors.

 

I was responding to someone who made it sound like all beer now released by Wicked Weed wouldn't be considered craft beer because of the buy out. Now considering a lot of their sours are sitting in barrels from before the buy out, and were set aside while they were a "craft" brewer, how could it be that just the buy out changes their beer designation instantly? That didn't make any sense. It was craft beer when it was made, hard to imagine now that Inbev is the owner (soon, not official yet) all the old beer being bottled wouldn't still be considered craft beer.

 

This is easier said than done. I know one craft brewery in Louisville Ky whose IPAs are called scavenger series because they have to "scavenge" for beer. Another brewery in Charleston that just opened has had the same problem acquiring hops. The middle tier and large "craft" breweries all have multi year contracts with hop farmers because they know they will need them and can afford them. Smaller breweries cant afford to do that. The hop farming market was not ready for the explosion of craft beer at all, especially all the new styles of hops that are so popular. This is reflected in the scarcity of them especially among smaller breweries.

 

Buying it now puts some of my money in ABs pockets. Call it craft, crafty or whatever.... That isn't happening. The boycott for me is immediate and comprehensive.

 

Again not the point. I have zero issues with your point. My concern is someone saying it is not now craft beer, even though it was brewed when the same person would have called it craft beer. The beer, already brewed, didn't magically change. Don't like the soon to be new owner, I get it.

 

By definition it is not craft beer. The Craft Brewing association has specific guidelines of what can be a craft brewery and what is not. They keep raising the barrels brewed/yr for some of the bigger craft breweries but you cannot have more than 25% owned by someone else. Thats why founders (pretty sure they are partly owned >25%) is not "craft" anymore. Wicked definitely isnt.

 

Thanks for the information, but when this last batches of beer where barreled where they not craft by definition? Or simply at the point that ownership has changed all beer becomes not craft? Curious. Mainly because as of right now, ownership hasn't changed, technically still craft beer?

 

It was a MillerSAB hop farm for a while, it was always theirs, InBev purchased MillerSAB and now it's InBev. In the past, they sold a small surplus of hops to craft brewers.

This year, the yield was down and they didn't have extra to sell. These hops are extremely hard to source before the yeild was less. Now InBev is keeping them.

It's not a direct correlation to the wicked greed purchase...

 

Why hasnt ownership changed? I havent been keeping up with it so is the deal not finalized? I assume when they signed the papers they are no longer craft. The NC craft brewing association has dropped them immediately.

Im not a lawyer but I would assume that anything brewed before is now not "craft" because ABInBev bought it. To me, it doesnt really matter if it was brewed before they were bought out because the money is now going to ABInBev which I oppose due to their illegal and dirty methods to control the entire beer market in the US and everywhere else are have beer.

 

DoJ will review for antitrust issues, gonna take months to close is my thought

NC Brewers guild stripped them of their vote too...

 

I believe one of the conditions of AB InBev's approval to purchase Devil's Backbone was that the Justice Department would be reviewing all such purchases going forward for anti-trust concerns. So it isn't as straight forward as signing on a dotted line.

 

If ABI can buy Miller for 107 *B*illion, then little old WW should be a simple rubber stamp approval.