Boycotting and supporting

An oddly worded question, but I think I get the point. I would not support (by buying their beer) a craft brewery that made beers I didn't like. And so, would not care either way if a macro beer company bought them.

 

This sounds juicy. Please elaborate!

 

Your poll and this post are asking two different questions.

Would I buy a beer I didn't like simply because the brewery resisted an Inbev buyout? No, I don't buy beer I don't like.

Do I avoid breweries that are conglomerate/Inbev/etc. owned? Yes. It's one of the few easy areas where I can know and support where my money is going. I can't buy an American car, I can't buy American toys for my little one. But I can buy micro, American brewed beer. I can buy local, farm-grown produce. And so on.

Gotta do what ya can where you can.

 

Unfortunately this has become all too commonplace in our current society.

I understand the point you're going with here; however, it's generally safe to assume that when someone believes in that mindset of "if it tastes good, then who cares?" it also usually carries the tagline of "within reason" along with it.

Of course the "within reason" factor will be different depending on each individual. As you yourself stated, some of your examples are pretty extreme; I wouldn't expect a good portion of consumers to continue to support a company that was fully exposed as funding terrorist activity. On the other hand, it's not totally surprising that many people don't view certain activities like strong-arming weaker competitors as an extreme enough reason to boycott said company as long as their product continues to be satisfying. It's pretty easy to see how 'terrorism' would trump 'bully business practices' on the intolerance scale.


Bringing up the Chick-Fil-A debacle as a comparison: I understand why someone people have decided they will never give them any business ever again, and I don't have a problem with them feeling this way... yet while I personally don't agree with the views of the old man, I don't feel strongly enough about the issue at hand to boycott the company either, because DAMN those breakfast chicken biscuits are great hangover food!

 

Good point for sure. I guess my issue is with the people who have the attitude of "I believe it's the taste that matters...and you should too!" I personally believe that real beer advocacy is staying clear of Ab-Inbev, but I don't push that on anyone. If you want to buy AB-Inbev, do it, I am not going to tell you you're "doing it wrong."

I am glad you brought up the Chick Fillet comparison. The reality is, and this is a huge assumption which is a dangerous move, but the Chick Fillet comments probably don't bother you because you're not gay. So it's not that big of a deal to you. AB-Inbev making it harder for small breweries to get a piece of the pie doesn't affect many people on BeerAdvocate, so it's not that big of a deal to them. People don't give two shits until something effects them directly. While that is understandable, history has shown as repeatedly that such a mindset is tremendously foolish and tremendously dangerous.

 

Yes, this is true, but I mean how does A-B/InBev buying smaller breweries going to affect us personally? Since GI was purchased I haven't seen a drop in quality in their products. Drink what you like.

 

No doubt about it, especially that last line. While personally speaking I may not agree with your stance, I also respect your right to have your own opinion without feeling it necessary to criticize you or tell you that "you're wrong" just because you feel differently than me.

chcfan really hit the nail on the head with his comment; too many people nowadays have developed this elitist atttiude where their opinions/views on a subject are the only ones that can be right and if someone feels different they are immediately classified as an idiot. Society is losing the ability to "agree to disagree" and it really is a shame.

Definitely agree about how people may not care as strongly about something until it effects them directly. You're right in that I'm not gay and likewise I don't have any close friends or family members who are gay, which plays a role in me not being as affected by the issue as others. But I'm sure that if there was someone very close to me who was gay and that person felt really strongly against Chick-Fil-A, that would probably more heavily sway my view on the matter.

Again, it boils down to the severity of the issue being debated. People may disagree about supporting a company like Inbev because of their business practices, but in reality it's not so much of a controversial issue that people should be getting so up in arms if others feel differently. It's really a personal choice that should be "to each his own." But I'm sure that if Inbev came out tomorrow and said extremely hateful remarks towards *insert specific group of people* or that they've been funding Al Queda terrorists, a lot more people would negatively react towards their company and as such it would be harder to argue in support of continuing to buy their products, even if the product was still top-notch.

 

It doesn't affect GI, but how does it affect the other craft breweries that InBev is trying to strong-arm? Or the distributors that InBev is threatening to drop if they don't stop carrying craft beer?

 

if the beer was legally sold in by store, and it was a decent price, yea. But seriously if they were doing all that you really think they be selling beer?

 

My point was that everyone has their limits on what is acceptable behavior from a company. Some people have different limits than others.

 

yea I get it. the court of public opinion would get a few of these, I hope.

 

Watch the documentary "Beer Wars" it is up on Netflix instant right now. They were sending lawsuits over beer names that DFH has had for years. Anything to to make a small company lose money is ok with AB-Inbev.

 

Beer Wars = Entertainment. Don't mistake it for unbiased journalism.

This is only a secondary result of a primary goal. Any public corporation has only one ethic to uphold: Maximize shareholder/stakeholder value within the limits of the law. That's it. Business ethics 101 dismissed.

That doesn't mean you don't have a choice. You can still choose not to support that model. Just accept that it's really an angry mob of shareholders pulling the strings. There's a good chance you're one of them if you have a diversified 401k.

 

I still buy Goose Island's 'ladies' and BCS variants because they are well crafted beers. If that changes, I won't, but as it stands I am not going to deny myself some of the better beers on the market by taking the 'moral high ground'.

 

"Beer Wars" is a "Michael Moore" documentary for left-wing beer liberals.

BMC has some of the most talented brewers in the entire world. Heck, the head Brewmaster for Dogfish Head Craft Brewing is Tim Hawn, who came from MillerCoors and their Blue Moon production. Even Sam knows BMC has the best and most knowledgeable people in some cases, especially when you are ramping up production nation-wide.

Fact is, good or evil is relative. I'm only in it for the beer. If a company is supported by BMC to expand and is allowed to do their own thing (like Goose Island), I could care less about who owns them.

 

So what about when my friend who owns a bar tells me stories of Ab-Inbev reps that threaten to pull the stuff that they distribute (not just Bud and Bud Light, but things like wine and spirits as well) if she doesn't take the Long Trail Ale tap off the line?

That's straight from a bar owner, not some documentary that may have a bias.

 

It's not about taking a "moral high ground," it's about making purchases that help craft breweries.

 

Good or evil is relative, dude. Relative to a serial killer, that ABI rep was downright altruistic.

 

Ok....but this is a conversation about whether or not people boycott products because they are owned by Ab-Inbev. Someone mentioned Beerwars as a place to get infomation about the shady practices of Ab-Inbev and you said that Beerwars wasn't a valid source of information. I came back with an actual story from an actual bar owner with no reason to lie about the issue. I wasn't trying to start a conversation about the relaitivity of good vs. evil, so I am not sure what your comment has to do with anything.

 

Sorry, was intended as a facetious jab at Mr. Talk radio up there.