Poll: Would you sell out?

If there is another, a couple of suggestions:

First the easy one, in polls such as this one, add the option of "It depends."

Now the more difficult one, word the poll in such a way that you can assume some folks will not read your instructions before responding to the poll. (Polls are a lot like computer manuals, many just start to do things without looking at what the manual says.)

 

Didn't say they couldn't, just that said person would probably leap at the opportunity to "sell out" by definition.

And as for that empathy piece, that's ludicrous. What makes people siding with these brewers any more empathetic? The ability to understand doesn't mean that you have to agree with them.

Both are examples of character traits you seem to assign to InBev defenders.

 

We here in America really latch on to binary thinking... Its really quite sad. The oligarchs use this to control the populace (see Republican v Dem).


****This is nowhere near as simple as a 'Yes/No' question.
There are certainly very few examples of things where the answer is either 'This' or 'That'.

Nuance is our friend.

 

I voted "yes" without thinking twice. Maybe if I was young and idealistic, I'd think more about the impact on the business and all that. The closer I get to retirement age, however, the more apt I'd be to take the truckload of money and chuck it all.

 

Ahh, yes. More likely perhaps. Not slated to sell out, but more likely should the opportunity present itself. Then again values have a tendency to crumble in even the kindest of people when large chunks of money are obtainable with a quick signature or two.

I think the key here on the internet is to state your perspective, as well as, a justification or path to which you arrived at your conclusion. You asked if I think they had more empathy, and in this situation - I do. Namely because they typed up some sort of piece, or note from the perspective of the owner. If folks stated something like "it's not about the money, I wouldn't sell out because I value independence over a backup bank out" - that'd be another display of empathy. There were statements along those lines in both the InBev and Heinken buy-out threads, just at a lesser rate than comments just dogging on the brewer.

I highly doubt folks would say "no, I wouldn't sell out" and then walk away from the conversation at a bar. They'd substantiate their opinion. So what makes this different? We don't have to agree, but I want to hear how you arrived at your conclusion. Maybe you thought of something I didn't that would impact me differently then I originally perceived. I don't see much value in just dogging on a brewer for selling out whether they deserve it or not, which is a question all on its own.

 

Got it. I didn't know where you were coming from on that. Not everyone is as thoughtful as you in stating their opinions!

I'd argue that it's more likely that the defenders of Wicked Weed and Lagunitas felt compelled to defend their position more thoroughly against the backlash those companies were facing, hence the greater effort put into their arguments.

 

Ahh, I hadn't thought of that last part. That's most likely a large part of it.

I probably didn't word it the best. That's part of the problem with an internet forum. Someone may say something in a particular way in-person to infer a meaning, but that's not entirely possible on here. That's why I like to read justifications and written thought-processes.

 

Yes, absolutely. (I would elaborate, but there is nothing more to say)

 

The phrase "sell out" has an intrinsically negative connotation. Also this is beer, breweries aren't exactly saving lives. The potential negatives in selling out are lost jobs if selling out means big beer lays people off and/or the affect on the ability of small breweries to succeed after you've sold out. From what I've seen of the breweries that sold out the number of employees hasn't gone down. The effect on the industry can be questioned but then again it could be weighed against the potential that not selling out while things are good could affect the future job security of the employees of your company.

Closer to home though is what makes sense for the families of the owners. We all sell out to a degree to support our families. Most of us are probably not working in our dream jobs or consider the social ramifications of the company we work for. Is it better to continue to work 80 hours per week to spite big beer vs retiring and spending time with your family or pursuing actual socially beneficial activities. If someone sells their brewery to go spend time with their family and to build houses for the poor are they better or worse than the person who continues working to fight big beer? Perhaps all of those employees of InBev should quit? They are just as complicit as the brewery that sells to InBev. Granted some people are just selling to make money and have no socially redeeming reasons why they do it. So I'd say yes I'd sell out but it would be to enjoy life more and spend more time with my family. Is that any better than selling out just to make money?

 

*If* I was offered the kind of money Constellation offered Ballast Point (I think it was about a billion dollars), I'd sell out without hesitation.

 

Hell yes.

 

The only stipulation I would have is that the purchaser agree in the contract to continue to operate the facilities currently running for x number of years maintaining the current staffing levels within a certain % range. Thereby hopefully affording loyal employees a certain level of comfort in their future.

 

Depends on how much I'm being offered vs how much I'm making + future foreseeable growth.

to sell my successful/promising brewery/business i would have to be getting a bunch of money. from what i've seen, these smaller breweries "selling out" are getting a ton of money in return.

it would depend on the numbers but i'm leaning yes, plus (depending on the contract) you could open up another brewing venture somewhere else

 

So does that mean that those of us who are doing these things have a right to the opinion that the acquisition of Wicked Weed was bad?

 

All depends. If my brewery was successful and was pretty self sufficient without me running everything hell no! If I was still in heavy debt and stuck in a middle ground where I needed more money to grow because at my current growth rate meant I won't be out of debt until I am dead, yes!!!

I wouldn't sell or not sell just because. Why would I sell my brewery if Iloved working there and it didn't consume my life in a negative way? You gotta work anyways, might as well work at your own company doing something you love.

 

I think there are two questions here, is big beer buying small breweries bad and is selling out to big beer bad? The second part of that question goes to whether we have a right to consider the seller bad. That's a philosophical question that I think we need to ask for ourselves whether what they are doing is any worse than what any of us do on a daily basis whether that's in our daily jobs or buying beer from big conglomerates (or anything for that matter from big conglomerates). It is an opinion and thus everyone has their right to their opinion. To be fully honest I don't judge the seller but I still need to ponder whether the sale is bad and whether the continued purchase of these beers after the sale is bad or not. By not buying the beer am I simply chasing windmills?

 

I didn't vote because I simply don't know. I'm not nor will I ever be in those circumstances. I'd like to think I would "stand by my principles" and never sell a business I built, but how can I even postulate what I would do if faced with such a situation. On the other hand, I frequently joke that "everything has a price" when people ask me about my motorcycle or other things I own...

https://www.brewbound.com/news/2017...il&utm_term=0_6026cb3473-8c681f5b05-169157549

https://www.wickedweedsoldout.com/

http://draftmag.com/working-for-a-brewery-that-sold-out/

 

Would I sell out to Inbev/Heineken? Not a chance in hell. Now, if I had built a brewery over time that was profitable, and would continue to be a viable business, and I was ready to move on, I would look into selling it to my employees first. After that, I would look for other folks that would want to keep it independent. If it came down to it, I would close it, and sell the pieces, before I sold to Inbev.

 

If the price was right, of course I would sell out.

I think the reflexive animosity towards "big" is a bit silly. We're talking about beer here, not good vs evil. Unless your own livelihood depends on the beer industry (which is probably true for <1% of the folks on this forum), this is just a glorified pastime. It's not worth getting ideological about. Judge each beer on its own merits, not based on who brews it. Relax and drink.