Supporting the "enemy"...I broke down

That's one way to look at it. But consider this, the dollar spent at the Ma & Pa shop that was used to pay their employees who may have spent it at Wal-Mart went further before leaving your community than if you spent it directly at Wal-Mart. Same for beer if you consider local craft beer Ma & Pa and In-Bev Wal-mart.

I encourage you to reconsider your departure from your boycott. It does matter.

 

@PA-Michigander only drinks bud chelada

 

Just for the record, Pilsner Urquell is owned by SABMiller.

 

I completely agree...as long as the company is not doing anything that is in directly in opposition to my own views ( obviously rare occurrences, but for some people it seems like being too big is an offense in and of itself ) then I say buy it if it is quality. In fact, why not applaud those larger breweries that still make the great stuff? They do slightly have a strike against them because you can actually find their stuff on the shelves and they can't be called whales. I think that companies of that size that put quality first are admirable. Really, like the post I quoted, it should be all about quality...if this were the case we might see better beer. Right now, too many factors cloud truly quality-based assessments of a beer, a brewery, a brewpub or a distribution company...

 

Reminds me of Olive Garden. I love me some local Italian joints, but if I get a $25 Olive Garden gift card for my b-day, I'm going to smash some breadsticks and greasy salad!

 

... He said while chatting on his iphone, driving his Toyota, wearing his nikes, drinking his Starbucks, on the way to Costco

Waaay to much focus on this InBev thing

 

Most of the local CRAFT stuff is vastly OVER RATED......... SOME of the majors do a much better job.

 

If you'll allow me to share my opinion, I've thought a lot about this myself. I'm a relatively new Anheuser-Busch employee (2.5 years), and I was heavily involved with craft brewing in Oregon before that.

I also choose not to shop at Walmart, for much the same reasons. I think they treat their employees very badly, they rely on government assistance programs to keep wages low, they keep hours just under full-time so they don't have to provide health care, they source poorly made products from countries where the workers are also treated very poorly. They have zero respect for the local or global environment. To me, they represent a "race to the bottom."

I don't think there is a parallel at all with craft beer and Anheuser-Busch. Anheuser-Busch (and the InBev breweries in other countries) brew their beer with local ingredients. The malt used in the US is from barley grown in the US. The cans and bottles are made in the US. There's some specialty malts and European hops that come over, sure, but this is the same as craft brewers - there's no difference there. Because of the brewery locations and distribution network, from a carbon footprint standpoint the AB breweries are often more "local" than most bottled craft beers. AB also goes to extreme lengths to use water as efficiently as possible. It's not a pissing contest, and I know craft breweries care just as much, but we're way ahead of them on this.

AB also treats their employees exceedingly well. A lot of folks at the newly merged craft breweries (and, as someone pointed out already, there was nothing "hostile" about any of those mergers) are now getting excellent medical insurance for the first time in their lives. I know a lot of those guys personally and every single one of them has said they have been pleasantly surprised by working with AB. This is about as opposite from a Walmart experience as it can get.

The other thing I hear all the time is how AB is trying to kill craft beer or squeeze them out with lobbying. Every time I've actually dug into it and found out the details, it was AB taking the blame for something that distributors were actually behind (Florida growler laws, etc.). AB doesn't like that crap anymore than you guys do - the 3-tier system is an outdated burden.

Now, none of this has anything to do with whether you like a particular AB beer or not; that's an entirely different subject. But if you're looking for a reason to dislike AB, corporate behavior is not one of them.

 

Good beer. Good price. Good on you.

 

I know I do!

 

AB isn't behind this, the distributors are. Buying beer in a growler vs a bottle hurts them, not AB.

 

Buy the beer you like. I look forward to Bourbon County season every time.

 

The craft beer community has become too righteous. This kind of thinking is why I have slowly distanced myself from being a beer geek. If it's good beer, who cares????

It's crazy how quickly the craft beer community has changed from people looking for a better alternative to the traditional macro beers to epic whale hunters and "I won't drink this because-ers".

 

Which is just another reason why it's so easy for me to not shop at Walmart or Costco (well, except for Costco gas, it is the most affordable around, especially here in Maryland where I feel the gas taxes are really high).

 

Except BCBS and the like, obviously.


Back on the original question, it's really hard to take a stand for a lot of these things. For example, I don't shop at Walmart because I don't agree with how they treat their employees...but where I work in Chicago, it's the only thing around that I can buy certain items at.

Realistically, this is what happens in capitalism; you might not agree with how Microsoft does business, but you're probably running their software (even on Mac) anyway.

What's wrong with Costco? They pay their employees well, give them time and a half (or overtime? not sure) on Sundays, etc.

 

I will. While I spend some money at Wal-Mart (I like to buy my Vegetable Juice there) I still refuse to spend it to any other Big Box Business and Fast Food Chains.

 

If those breweries sold out I would actually be able to get their beer. I have yet to try a Hill Farmstead, Lawsons, and Fiddlehead beer. As long as quality stays the same, distribution would be greatly improved. IE they would distribute instead of keeping it all to themselves. Selfish...

 

good insight, thank you.

 

Everyone needs to read this.

 

Regarding your last word - gimme a break.