"Beer Wars" Documentary: Thoughts?

Not to worry. For every small brewery being bought by InBev 5 more craft breweries are going into business. Becks is mediocre beer anyway.

 

If trying that swill the big 3 produces supposedly as craft brew sways anyone then obviously it is like good old
PT Barnum said.....

 

Not sure if you can still find them but there have been numerous threads on this movie. Also spend some time on here and it's pretty easy to get an overall idea how people feel about the big 3. Goose Island cough cough...

 

Had just watched this recently. I loved this documentary. I was a little concerned by the fact that they are taking over in a smaller sense. Also disappointed that Goose Island was recently bought out, from Chicago, so that sucks....

 

The war is going to get nasty

 

In my experience, many people on beeradvocate hate AB/inbev.......until they realize that one of their favorite beers is owned by them (cue BCBS). Then, they do a number of things. First, they change their opinion on Ab-inbev so that they can consume the beer they like guilt free and second, they shit on anyone who hates Ab/inbev and call them elitist and tell them to get off their high horse.

Of course, there are quite a few people who don't give a shit either way. Their mantra is "if the beer is good, I'll drink it." Honestly, in my opinion those are the folks that are most dangerous because their apathy allows companies like Ab/inbev to swallow up craft breweries, keep the recipes, get a bigger cut off the overall money spent on beer (as now they have all of the macro market and some of the craft market) and make it harder for the smaller breweries to get their product out there (case in point, when Long Trail Hibernator gets bumped off the tap line in favor of Spaten because Ab/inbev made a threat to the bar owner that they would stop delivering Bud Light (an obvious cash cow for many bars) if the didn't make the switch).

Ok, enough soap boxing.

 

I don't thing GI was strong-armed into selling to InBev.

Buuut I also like many InBev products, so I am a pretty dangerous guy.

 

Where did this Spaten scenario happen or is this hypothetical? Distributors are businesses and I've yet to hear of one refusing to sell their money maker to anyone. Also what beer was on the tap before the LongTrail Hibenator and have you expressed your concern about their lost business?

 

I'm with Norica and am calling bullshite on this supposed scenario.?

Why? First, because in 98% of America, ABI does not do it's own distribution. Second, most AB wholesalers do not carry Spaten.

Bud Light sales keep the lights on and the bills paid...there is virtually no scenario I can concoct in which a business would refuse to sell a product which is already losing market share.

 

My thought is that an and b,c suck my balls...

Also, caffeinated beer is an awful idea and leaving Sam Adams was an even worse idea.

 

Uhhhhh.... So lets say bud light got a 100 on beer advocate. I'm supposed to drink a different
Beer that got an 80 just because its a craft beer???

I'm here for the good beer. Who ever makes the best beer is who I'm going to drink... So if ab/InBev makes a 100 rated beer, I'm going to drink it.

No one on here wants to drink shitty beer, that's why we go to the craft brewers.

 

I saw it and what I surprised about is how absolutely pernicious Bud is. After watching that documentary I just wanted to set the nearest bud brewery ablaze.

 

Yeah, that chick didnt seem too sharp.

 

I came away with two main thoughts after watching Beer Wars:

The three tier system is flawed and grossly favors the Big Boys. Whether it's lobbying for legislation or just leaning on retailers (through distributors), it is difficult for the smaller breweries to compete. Larger craft brewers like Sierra Nevada and Sam Adams can make the system work, but the really small guys can get boxed out in spite of having a superior product. We the consumers suffer.

Mass marketing can really influence opinions. And this is not just for beer, it includes politics, autos, ice cream, etc. I have never met anyone who admits being controlled by major ad campaigns . . . but 50% of beer consumed in the US are Bud products and Corona is the top import. It's scary what else people might think they are doing right.

 

But they were both small breweries not too long ago.

​

Sierra Nevada - 1983 - 2,142 barrels​

Boston Beer Co. - 1985 - "over 500" barrels​

 

that movie is pretty old now...i think they should make a part 2...just to show the changes since the first one. and to show the steady decline if macro brew.

 

+1

Having been in the beer business for 7 yrs now, I can't imagine anything like this ever happening.

The benefits of small breweries getting on with a big distributor is huge. We have dedicated staff to work with grocery and restaurant chains to get their product in their systems and on their shelves which otherwise can be difficult for small companies to get accomplished. Couple that with the delivery and warehousing infrastructure already in place, draft service and line cleaning, sales staff, etc. a small brewery self distributing has no chance to service an entire large city, there is just too much work to be done and too much competition. The "we are a small operation, sorry out service isn't awesome" only works for so long, eventually the retailers just get tired poor service.

 

FYI - PT Barnum was correct.

 

When it comes down to it, fear and greed are the two top human motivators. The beer owner who fears that losing Bud Light will be the end of his business will always respond to the greed of AB/InBev. However, there will always be the bar owner or corporation that will not cave in or will just install additional taps in order to please both the macro and craft drinkers. I don't for a minute believe that anyone truly believes BMC would just sit back and not respond to a loss of their market share. Look what happened to the Big 3 U.S. Automakers. They sat back and didn't respond to a loss of their market share; need I say more?