Do buyouts really impact the beer?

Once they build that 'High End' brand to 12 breweries, they can mass sell a whole USA "regional" lineup to every bar in the USA (with incentives). I don't see how the little guys can compete with that. There are more chain restaurant tap lines than local. Customers really have to let their voices be heard.

Are they knocking out any "better" beers from said shelf space? I realize taste is subjective. But most can agree GI shouldn't be in every chain restaurant in a town where GABF winners sit on the bench.

Can a 2 for $3 deal be beat? SN 16 oz cans may come close. But for that newcomer to craft (millions more of those than established drinkers, fyi), they are really onto something here.

GI is now seemingly in every fringe "craft" type eatery/bar in my area these days. Some places are hesitant to have more than 1 IPA. How they choose that over some local options (elevated ipa, marble ipa, bosques IPAs.. Even regional beers get the shaft) is a bit of an eye opener. I agree variety is nice, and who am I to be the beer god of judging what should or shouldn't be on a tap list. But there is a true blurring of lines here as AB INBEV has pretty much infiltrated the craft genre.

In many places, GI got added right next to Bud and Bud light. So for those places, GI is better than nothing at all. In that regard, I like that things are getting better. But at what expense? If there is any trickle down effect, it'll be newcomers trying GI, think its okay, and then find a local option at that second or third restaurant they visit down the road.

Smaller breweries just cannot compete on a price level with these guys either. So losing tap lines to a higher price/oz yield is tough, especially when they can label it "craft", and charge the same. In bars that were always hesitant to add a line for GI all of a sudden is not easy to compete with either.

Win out because your products are better. Not because you can buy every facet of the operation.

 

Here's an interesting perspective on the sale of Camden Town:

http://zythophile.co.uk/2015/12/23/...least-surprising-news-in-the-history-of-beer/

 

The places whose products truly are better will always find a way to keep making and selling that product. Those who were riding the wave of popularity and aren't making a superior product may close up shop. That's the way of things. You'll still have plenty of good beer options.

If Sierra Nevada made it in 1981, they'll make it in 2021.

And being honest, as much as I'd miss a bunch of other breweries, if my options were BMC (+whatever good-tasting stuff they're still churning out) and SN, I'd still have plenty of good beer to drink. Life would continue, as much as some clowns here act like it wouldn't.

 

What I often miss in posts like this is...Who's the loser of said dime? The craft brewery owners and operators who make a large sum of money?

MAYBE, a few small jobs are changed/lost at the street level but seriously, I think the people who are part of the purchase benefit greatly, the purchasers gain market share (that's the sole intent, not to dilute beer or ruin people's lives) and the beer gets to more people. Sure, some bigwigs might gain a TINY amount of money. I can't be certain but I'd venture to guess somewhere in the fractions of a % and the guys who worked their hearts out to get these breweries to where they are make more money than they ever imagined.

The argument of shelf space I can see, but most of these guys control such a large amount of distribution they already do that. Also, consumer demand simply takes care of that one pretty easily. Bud-We want that endcap, we'll build it, maintain it and fill it etc. Store owner-OKAY you got it.

 

I said this with Ballast Point's deal. We helped a select few become millionaires. Our job is done as consumers IMHO. I doubt the hourly workers there are seeing any big benefit. The end goal is accomplished as a grassroots company. These workers are just like Mcdonalds/WalMart or any other big factory workers now. Sure they keep people employed and the local economy sees some benefit, but by and large, there are companies that are local that keep profits in state that are nipping at these sold out breweries heels. BP doesn't need our help. Every six pack bought goes directly into Constellations pocket.. fyi, they are all BIG WIGs at the quantity level they work at. Corona sales are ridiculous.

Locally, I have loved seeing my local breweries grow year after year. Every Pint or growler I had filled helped those guys out. I personally know many have investors (or joint partners), so its not all local mom & pop fun and games. Most have bank loans through out of state banks. There is a business side to all of this. But with so many breweries trying to get their name out there, there isn't a time or a place where BP currently fits into my drinking desires. Help your local grow, let them get bought out, and set them free. Rinse and repeat.

Demand is one thing. But newcomer/fringe crafty type drinkers usually buy what they see at the store, at the gas station, and at the beer stores. If they see it enough, they might think its popular enough to give it a try. Points of sale in the supply side are shrinking for many breweries.

Many don't even see it as a feasible opportunity to distribute. In NM, some laws changed this past year to where breweries could open up 2-3 of their own tap rooms. From the smallest in the state, to the biggest, they are taking advantage of that. They saw a demand, and brought their own supply. I guess that's one workaround. It's where consumers go to where the product is. Not enough people do that though. A consumer cannot demand something they don't know exists because the shelf space war is being won by billionaires. Over time, consumer demand should win out. But we are seeing quite a few buyouts every few months unfold. I can see stores telling us or new to craft consumers what to drink. And I don't like that.

 

That is most certainly the case but you personally may not like the results. Blue Moon is being produced at several million barrels a year which means there is a HUGE consumer demand for this beer. There will likely be increased consumer demand for core Goose Island beers like 312, Honkers, IPA in the very near future.

You should continue to support the local independent breweries that you prefer but consumer demand does not equate to your personal preferences.

Cheers!

 

Old folks or Cardinals fans. I may be one. Or both.

 

The easiest answer is - "sometimes yes, sometimes no."

 

Has InBev's purchase of Goose Island changed the way Bourbon County tastes? Possibly not, I don't know.

But you know what will start tasting different? When your favorite local small-scale brewery gets shut out of its only distribution deals because InBev is bullying and outright bribing distributors to drop their craft brands, Favorite Local Beer Co will go out of business. So those beers will go from tasting delicious to tasting like nothing, because they won't exist.

I don't give a hot damn if BCBC tastes the same or not.

 

Are you willing to travel to "Favorite Local Beer Co." to drink on-premise and walk out with several growlers or packaged beers when you leave?

Cheers!

 

Every time I see a post like this, I start wondering, given that ABInBev isn't doing anything they've never tried to do before (except buying fewer than 1% of the existing craft breweries) how did we wind up with so many (over 4000 with the number growing daily) local small-scale breweries up and running and producing flavorful beer in the first place?

I mean how did all those small-scale breweries get distributed in the first place if ABInBev is as all powerful as you are suggesting?

 

Coors distributes a ton of these guys in CO. I cant remeber if they're evil or not? They also emply tons of people and people really want to work for them, from the uneducated to engineers but we'll also ignore that.

 

Yeah, I think it's not quite as raw, and earthy, and it seems more refined, but I am loving the Pure Hoppiness in 12 oz. bottles!

 

Sure lots of people come out smelling like a rose (owners, some employees, if lucky), but ultimately the consumer and many of the now redundant employees who may lose a job they love even with a cash payout to walk away come up short. Innovation, skill and integrity are replaced with automation and eventually a lowest common denominator attitude towards product. Shelf space will be the first deciding battle of the war of attrition. It'll be interesting to see the climate in a couple years. I would bet this will be looked back at as a "Golden Age".

 

As long as they don't mess with the brew master and let it be business as usual then the taste might stay the same. If they start messing with ingredients to save money and speed up the process to get more beer out there, that's what I always think will eventually happen when "macro" buys these breweries up. Most of us just don't wanna give our money to the big guys...but have no problem drinking some BCBS hahaha Cheers and ONE LOVE

 

I will never stop drinking Victory at sea and Sculpin

 

This IS something I know at least a bit about... and I'm sure you are aware that end-cap and specialty display racks are not "additional" space. In fact, it's highly prized space, and space not being occupied (in the referenced picture) by your local craft brewer. I understand this is a separate conversation, and don't want to sidetrack the conversation.

Closer to that thread, I don't think big beer wants to destroy what it's buying. I do think they will push to make it profitable enough to earn the x% their owners (however structured) expect (cost of equity). Was the brewery operating at peak $$$ efficiency when bought? Was it at or above the company's cost of equity? Or did they see room for improvements to the operational/financial side of the purchased brewery to get it in line with that cost? What are the changes to reach profitability, assuming that is the case?

• Better purchasing power to lower variable costs? No change
• You can use x% less of this in your beer to hit profit. Change
• You can utilize these techniques and new equipment to hone in consistency. Sort of a change, in an odd way
• We need to increase the price of these beers y%. No change
• You don't need these 5 employees. No change, presumably (but good?)
• You don't need to produce these X offerings, as they don't make the right %. Sort of a change (to no taste whatsoever)
• We need to tweak these X offerings to make them more palatable to the greater market (those that enjoy our other beers). Change

I don't think these are unreasonable possibilities, but are not guarantees, either. I also noted only changes, not whether they were for the better or worse. I haven't had enough experience to notice any taste perception differences in any specific offerings (didn't get GI, or much Elysian, before their buyouts, for instance). The fear is some of the above (for the worse), and it is still a fairly small sample size of "over time" breweries that can be used. Guess we'll see, over time .

 

And that strategy didn't stem the loss of market share, so live and learn - to use another cliché .


Note: just being argumentative for its own sake here, and to point out one case does not a trend make (but when it's all you have, it can't be just ignored). Mainly, I don't have any proof or necessarily a strong belief in the implications of the actual statement to even attempt to defend it (though it is possible, but I've already done the theoretical post, and we'll still wait and see).

 

Show me where this is the result. That's purely speculation.

 

Check out the movie and music business. It may not have taken hold in the beer game, but give it time.