Boycotting and supporting

i've never understood this attitude... well, honestly, i always thought it was kind of reactionary and beside-the-point.

i would say a large proportion of the argument against A-B has not been that they commit egregious crimes. even things like blackmailing bar owners with cash cow fizzy beer ("stop stocking craft or no bud for you,") or illegal free kegs and other things like that, the main argument isn't "these guys are evil, don't buy from them!" it's "these guys are hurting the companies i want to buy from! they're fucking up my bar! don't buy from them!"

this is fundamentally different from bringing up ethics or morality. it's just looking after your own self-interest.

i understand that the free market worshippers on this site believe that small breweries need to sink or swim on their own, but if they're making quality beer and sinking because of bribery and fraud, that's not the free market. it's also something one would want to fight against if one wanted more good beer.

 

i agree (and even agreed) with levitation on the general principle, but i was directly angry at lost abbey for not recalling the flat angel's share after 2 flat batches in a row (with draft being carbonated, and flat bottle version tasting like unfermented wort). i got some flat angel's share as a birthday present and it was kind of infuriating to me that someone spent $15~20 or whatever on a bottle of shit beer that shouldn't have been in the store in the first place. then when i emailed them to complain, they offered to send me a t-shirt!

however, they've changed their bottle conditioning yeast and hired a very active PR person (plus offered refunds and stuff when they can in recent incidents, i think) which is the same kind of response i was looking for to begin with. no reason to punish them now for problems they've fixed, and their better beer really is top class.

 

I like supporting independent breweries, but I won't buy something I don't like.
The big beer documentary and the cancellation of DFH's show really jaded me against the BMC guys.
I just don't feel right supporting them in any way.

 

I get where you're coming from. Hell, I even agree. I just don't care that much to stand up on principal in this situation. The craft beer industry appears to be doing just fine, so I don't feel like my self-interest is being threatened here.

 

i think the poll question could have been phrased slightly better. it's pretty easy to be supportive & encouraging of the so called resistance - while at the same time totally un-supportive of the specific products/iterations. no?

 

Nope. Just like I stated. I have no problem with other people that do. That is your business. Not mine. My own personal honor just won't allow it.

 

If I boycotted every company that has ever done unethical things to get ahead of their competition I'd be Amish.

 

Ok Immanuel

 

Haha, no doubt.

I buy beer I like. Unless they are funding the birth of the 4th Reich or something, I don't feel the need to act all high and mighty and "take a stand". They need to make untwistable panties for some people, who will still find a way to twist them.

 

This is a more complicated issue than it seems to be. For example, with Goose Island, the decision to buy or not buy GI beer is not simply a decision to support or boycott AB-Inbev. If I choose not to buy their beer, yes, I am withdrawing my support from Inbev, but I am also withdrawing my support from GI employees who don't participate in the bad business practices of Inbev and who make good beer. It's good to withdraw support from bad people, but in most cases that's simply not the only thing that happens when you boycott.

The other argument could be that boycotting is really a trivial solution to a problem that has roots deeper than the practices of Inbev, but that's a whole other issue reserved for a broader and more controversial discussion...

 

The more people who boycott InBev, the better though! More BCBS for me!!!!

 

True, the funny thing is I've personally experienced far more "unethical" behavior at the family owned small businesses I've worked for than at the large corporations I've worked for.

Don't want to get all "Anne Frank" here, but most people are just trying to make a decent living whether they work for Inbev or Founders, companies, no matter how large, are comprised of people. The amount of people actively engaged in "evil" activities is far, far, smaller than most alarmist realize.

 

I would respect a brewery for not selling out but I will not spend my money on a sub-par product.

 

Nope. Quality and price are the only two factors in my purchasing decision. I don't care if a product is made by AB-Inbev, by a company that wouldn't sell to AB-Inbev, or the North Korean government.

 

I value a brewery's product quality above anything else. If they make crappy beer, then I could give a shit about whether or not they sold out to the big boys.

 

I wouldn't buy a beer that wasn't tasty, no matter who made it. However, I wouldn't buy a beer from Ab/Inbev no matter how awesome it was (I'm looking at your Bourbon County Stout).