Can Craft Beer Survive Anheuser-Busch InBev?

Soon I will be drinking fresh Loser, in Connecticut, and in no way is that depressing.

 

Yes. Despite the panic with which some folks view each purchase by ABInBev, things have gone too far for ABInBev to do anything but try and diversify by catching a ride on the bandwagon so that they are not by-passed in the shuffle.

There are signs that they are recognizing that their biggest enemy is themselves and that the biggest competitors they have for the consumer dollar are not craft breweries but rather Wine and Spirits consumption. Some demographics are leaving Mass Market beers in droves and it isn't on craft beer where they are spending their money.

 

Umm yes.

 

Definitely an interesting read...

 

Inbev has handled their purchases fairly well so far. Goose Island and Blue Point are still putting out excellent beers. If they keep the focus on quality and accept the profit/market share that comes with that and don't try to squeeze costs out of the breweries too badly I think they'll do fine.

 

Great article and the video on how they make BC is fantastic

 

I smell shit. This Goeler character seems very shady

 

It was a good read. The video was well made. It even showed a barrel with a 'Rare' sign on it.

 

The comical anti-craft beer commercials really crack me up at this point...

 

Love this image:

 

Me too. They won't persuade me to drink Bud Lite, but I think the commercials are funny, and in many cases, spot on in their portrayals of the nerdier beer nerds...but also provide good evidence that the consumer segment at whom the ads are aimed (hardcore BMC devotees) can be pretty snobby about their beer as well.

 

I love the hate on AB, how many of you love your goose island and drink it at the majority of your bottle shares? Interest since they are one of the original "sell outs" but look at their beer and marketing and the reach they now have. Just food for thought, last year GABF 10 barrel took home silver medal for German sparkle party.

 

By "you" it's a general statement lol not to you who have already posted similar views

 

There was a Brewbound video interview with one of the owners of Elysian about 2 months ago (one of the guys who isn't Dick Cantwell ) and during a brief Q&A period someone asks about that Budweiser commercial and the "Peach Pumpkin" dig. He said that when Carlos Brito (or is it Carlo Britos - I can never keep it straight) visited Elysian after the purchase, they put their last keg of their Peach Pumpkin beer on tap and served it to him and other AB execs. When told what it was, they thought it was hilarious and started taking pictures of each other drinking it and sent the pics to the "Bud Guys" to make fun of them...

Simply because ABInBev's US Budweiser's ad campaign is currently positioning that brand as "anti-craft" hardly suggests that that is entire company's attitude - as the multiple "craft" brewery purchases, both before and after the campaign, illustrates.

 

Uh... thanks for that... might I add, duh... and still comical...

 

Considering that small, regional based breweries have literally existed since the domestication of cereal grains, it's safe to assume that they'll "survive" this. Many may sell out, or get swallowed up/commercialized, but such is life in a capitalist society.

 

I agree, hating on AB is going to get harder and harder to do over time unless they drastically change the way they handle their craft portfolio.

 

I though the article focused more on how Bud will survive craft, not the other way around as asked in the title.