Why I will never try Bourbon County Stout...

Does your moral compass steer you away from other big corporations as well, or is your problem specifically with BMC?

You've stated that you'll never drink GI beer because of their affiliation with BMC, but what specifically is your problem with BMC?

 

Parabola! harder to come by but so much better for my tastes.

 

I hate insurance companies, they're out to screw you and don't even try to hide it, still have to have it unless you live in a tent on a plot of ground, and don't drive. I don't care for the auto industries either, but I still need a car. I like good beer so I buy what I like, if it was Budweiser that would be fine, a Canadian super brewer like Molson would be ok too. InBev provides a lot of jobs and sells a lot of beer people like which is why they're in the position in the industry to begin with. So what? If you don't like the beer its one thing, but boycotting BCBS seems pointless. As mentioned you like Coors, well surprise it's under the InBev umbrella too.

 

Giant corporations can do great thins and Goose Island seems like the perfect Nexus. McDonalds runs Ronald McDonald House which is an awesome, awesome service for those who need it. If the quality dropped I wouldn't touch GI with a ten foot pole- but it hasn't. And don't fool yourselves, why shouldn't the former owner of GI cash out? It's why many people start companies in the first place- I wish someone would buy me out.

 

I think you should convince all of your friends, neighbors and relatives not to drink it as well.

 

Inbev has no impact on the process in which the beer is made. They solely own Goose Island. Inbevs not dumb they wouldn't just go F it all up.

 

Someone send OP a BCBS, Asap.

 

I used to boycott certain Automobile Companies, simply because I felt the quality wasn't there, or their business practices wasn't agreeable. I've stop boycotting and realized something.... When I pay for something, at a store. That money pays someone's wage. Who in turn, buy said car from the Auto Company I am boycotting.

 

well price matters some but I like your style.

 

Have a friend in St. Louis who works for them and I talked to him about GI. He said AB learned their lesson with Michelob Amber Bock, and the "American Pale" beer. They don't know how to do it, and so bought GI, gave them money and distro and leave them alone to do what they want.

I work for a large corporation so have no ill will for ABInbev. They do what they do very well. I sure as hell don't want all the world's Bud Light drinkers buying up my craft beers. But if craft beer to the OP is about some local "farm to table" concept of consuming a local product made with local ingredients, then by all means find those beers and drink them. Goose Island wouldn't be for him. If it is about making a fantastic beer, with true craftsmanship, then if he never tries Bourbon County Stout he is missing out in a big way. Different people turn to craft beer for different reasons...often they are not about the beer itself.

 

Coors is owned by Molson-Coors not In-Bev. Molson Coors is only the 7th largest brewer by volume.
AB In-Bev does own other greats such as Leffe, Stella Artois, Bass, Beck's, Busch, Rolling Rock, St. Pauli's Girl, Hoegaarden and many more. They also own a stake in Grupo Modelo- makers of Corona, Craft Brewers alliance- Redhook, Widmer Bros, and Kona Brewing.

 

Ah thanks, I assumed In Bev. Wow boycott Inbev and the beer market shrinks a bit, didn't know some of those were under the umbrella.

 

Did you know that VE owns Porache, Lamborgini, Bentley and Audi? They still make fantastic cars even though they have, what many consider to lower class name to their parent company. It's all in how it's made not own owns them.

 

I am a Craft Brand Manager for an AB distributor and you are probably drinking a lot more beers owned by INBEV than you realize.

 

never say never.

why don't you try to get a bottle of BCBS that was brewed BEFORE AB/InBev came into the mix?

I'm sure there are stiil a few bottles of the 2009 and 2010 versions available on the trade forums.

life is too short to miss out on good beer.

 

really, the bottom line is asking yourself why you're doing it and how much effort those motivations are worth. give money to a company that i despise when there are fine or better alternatives whose practices i agree with? no brainer; go with the better companies.

but what about, say, buying shoes? i want to support the little guy, but i'm not fucking around with back pain. and supposed i just can't condone how my shoes are made. given the size of this huge company, would my personal choice not to buy from them matter (no: it would just be so i "feel better", with exactly as much evil still going on)? if i'm that hung up, i need to find other avenues to fight this battle (launching a campaign of awareness, reaching out to other powerful business entities and trying to get them to take a stand, etc).

but either way, i would get my facts straight before i do it. i'm looking at you OP, and your additional preposterous claim that criticism is never harsh or "destructive" in grad school.

 

I freaking hate these threads. It always brings out the "holier than thou" beer drinkers who look down on those who drink BCBS and BMC. You know what? Every once in a while, I drink Bud Light . I also buy as much BCBS as I can find. BMC's are corporations doing what corporations are supposed to do- making money. GI makes money. So AB/Inbev bought them. Big fucking deal. They are simply competitors to craft brewers. Spending money on it doesn't "kill" craft brewers. Since they bought them, I'm pretty sure craft has continued to grow at an incredible rate. Do what you want to do- if you don't want to drink BCBS, don't buy it. If you do, buy it and enjoy it because it's goddamn delicious. But if you don't buy it, get off your high horse because you're no better a Beer Advocate than I am because I do.

 

I don't know who started this whole giant corporations are terrible but when they did they were probably typing it on their apple laptop, sipping starbucks, eating mcdonalds and sitting in their ikea recliner.

 

They also appointed the new CEO after John Hall resigned - Andy Goeler, a 30+ year veteran of AB, best known for Shock Top, and imported Stella Artois. AB also now brews much of the core GI portfolio in their Baldwinsville, NY and Ft. Collin, CO breweries.

AB-InBev now has complete ownership of Grupo Modelo. In the US, after an anti-trust agreement with the DoJ, the rights to the Modelo brands and their largest brewery in Piedras Negras were sold to their former importer, Crown/Constellation.
Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Anheuser-Busch InBev and Grupo Modelo