The Beer Thread

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A

azeth

6,216
8
Eyashusa_sl said:
I'm sure most people have absolutely no idea how massive the scope of beers owned by the Big 3 are. I certainly didn't know Stella was owned by AB, but it doesn't surprise me at all. Let's be honest, if it isn't Miller or Coors or Budweiser I'm sure 90%+ think they are drinking some microbrew or independent brewery and patting themselves on the back for sticking it to the man.
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I dont think 90% is accurate, but i understand its just some hyperbole. But, Blue Moon, Shocktop, Mike's Lemonade i think are generally considered non-craft products as much as Coors, Bud and Miller.

By the way of the 3 big alcohol-water brands, I prefer Miller.
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Azeth_sl said:
Would it be too logical for AB to just establish a true craft brewery within their current system? It won't be "craft" by definition, but it can have soul and taste if they do it right.
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Head brewer from Lagunitas thought that the breweries for the Big 3 are so specialized to their specific product that they probably couldn't produce a beer like his even if they wanted to. Now they do have the financial resources to build new breweries of course and they actually have some very talented brewers working for them. But for now they are sticking with marketing gimmicks and an inferior craft beer lineup (excluding GI).

When InBev first purchased GI with a "hands-off-brewing" contract in place I thought it might have been a step in the right direction. Having the Big 3 opening up their resources (political, financial, distribution and technology) could be a huge benefit to the craft beer scene, while allowing the Big 3 to get a piece of the action. Turns out InBev didn't give two shits about GI and what they were really hoping to do is create a loophole in Illinois liquor laws which would have allowed them to self-distribute Bud there (in state breweries can self distribute, out of state ones can't). By being able to self-distribute Bud they could undercut Miller/Coors and make way more cash that way than GI could ever hope to bring in. But that has been InBev's m.o. Preach for the sanctity of the three-tiered system then through political maneuvering they create ways that allows them to operate in multiple levels of it.

Even if that plan doesn't pan out (the whole thing has become a tangled mess in the IL courts) they still control all the new distribution for GI and as outlined in the article above, they plan to utilize the GI product with their ability to operate on razor thin margins, thanks to their sheer volume of sales, to start starving out some of these craft breweries.
 
Ao-

Ao-

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
<WoW Guild Officer>
7,879
507
opiate82_sl said:
Head brewer from Lagunitas thought that the breweries for the Big 3 are so specialized to their specific product that they probably couldn't produce a beer like his even if they wanted to. Now they do have the financial resources to build new breweries of course and they actually have some very talented brewers working for them. But for now they are sticking with marketing gimmicks and an inferior craft beer lineup (excluding GI).

When InBev first purchased GI with a "hands-off-brewing" contract in place I thought it might have been a step in the right direction. Having the Big 3 opening up their resources (political, financial, distribution and technology) could be a huge benefit to the craft beer scene, while allowing the Big 3 to get a piece of the action. Turns out InBev didn't give two shits about GI and what they were really hoping to do is create a loophole in Illinois liquor laws which would have allowed them to self-distribute Bud there (in state breweries can self distribute, out of state ones can't). By being able to self-distribute Bud they could undercut Miller/Coors and make way more cash that way than GI could ever hope to bring in. But that has been InBev's m.o. Preach for the sanctity of the three-tiered system then through political maneuvering they create ways that allows them to operate in multiple levels of it.

Even if that plan doesn't pan out (the whole thing has become a tangled mess in the IL courts) they still control all the new distribution for GI and as outlined in the article above, they plan to utilize the GI product with their ability to operate on razor thin margins, thanks to their sheer volume of sales, to start starving out some of these craft breweries.
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He is absolutely wrong. Multiple Big 3 brewers have left to start their own small breweries. I graduated high school with one and he's a brewer at a brew pub up on Lake Superior.
 
Joeboo

Joeboo

Molten Core Raider
8,157
140
AB-InBev owns:
Bass
Beck's
Boddingtons
Budweiser/Busch
Goose Island
Labatt
Lakeport
Lowenbrau
Michelob
Natural Light
Red Bridge
Rolling Rock
Shock Top
Spaten
St Pauli Girl
Stella Artois
Stone Mill

and about 50 other beer brands sold in foreign countries like China, Russia, and South America that we don't see in North America at all

Brands owned by Coors:
Killian's Irish REd
Blue Moon
Keystone
Zima(lol)
Molson

Miller actually doesn't have much:
Mickey's
Olde English 800
Milwaukee's Best
Hamms
Ice House
Red Dog
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Ao-_sl said:
He is absolutely wrong. Multiple Big 3 brewers have left to start their own small breweries. I graduated high school with one and he's a brewer at a brew pub up on Lake Superior.
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Sorry, maybe it wasn't clear, couldn't brew his beer in the current breweries of the big three. Basically he was saying if he walked into an AB brewery with Lagunitas IPA recipe in hand they probably couldn't brew it there because the equipment is so specifically tailored to making a Budweiser. He wasn't saying that the brewers don't have the knowledge or the talent, I'm sure he knows better than that. Mitch Steele is a former AB brewer...
 
Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,719
7,538
joeboo_sl said:
AB-InBev owns:
Bass
Beck's
Boddingtons
Budweiser/Busch
Goose Island
Labatt
Lakeport
Lowenbrau
Michelob
Natural Light
Red Bridge
Rolling Rock
Shock Top
Spaten
St Pauli Girl
Stella Artois
Stone Mill

and about 50 other beer brands sold in foreign countries like China, Russia, and South America that we don't see in North America at all

Brands owned by Coors:
Killian's Irish REd
Blue Moon
Keystone
Zima(lol)
Molson

Miller actually doesn't have much:
Mickey's
Olde English 800
Milwaukee's Best
Hamms
Ice House
Red Dog
Click to expand...
Almost all of these beers suck. Killian's is aight. I appreciate how cheap it is. In college we would "splurge" for Killian's kegs for parties. They were typically only $10-$12 more than PBR.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,922
4,325
I had completely forgotten that Lowenbrau exists. That was my go-to beer for a couple of years; it's delicious.
 
Lost Virtue

Lost Virtue

Trakanon Raider
2,327
269
Drinking a Uinta 'Birthday Suit' sour... Must say, one of the tartest sours I have ever had. It is like drinking liquid Atomic Warhead hard candies... The downside is, it lacks a lot of the typical sour flavor, just tart, tart, and more tart!
 
A

azeth

6,216
8
Lost Virtue_sl said:
Drinking a Uinta 'Birthday Suit' sour... Must say, one of the tartest sours I have ever had. It is like drinking liquid Atomic Warhead hard candies... The downside is, it lacks a lot of the typical sour flavor, just tart, tart, and more tart!
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birthday suit is very good. love it.
 
Royal

Royal

Connoisseur of Exotic Pictures
15,077
10,643
Lost Virtue_sl said:
Drinking a Uinta 'Birthday Suit' sour... Must say, one of the tartest sours I have ever had. It is like drinking liquid Atomic Warhead hard candies... The downside is, it lacks a lot of the typical sour flavor, just tart, tart, and more tart!
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I thought the same thing when I had it; Atomic Warhead. It's really a bit too sour, since none of the other flavors it may or may not have don't stand a chance of making it through. I ended up cutting about 3:1 with some Monkshine to finish off the last bottle of it I bought.
 
Ao-

Ao-

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
<WoW Guild Officer>
7,879
507
Royal_sl said:
I hope this isn't the start of some national/regional trend that starts hoping state-to-state.
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It's similar to the system that's in place in MN. Barrel limit to allow for growler/bomber sales, above it only sales to distributors. Brewpubs can't distribute.
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Royal_sl said:
I hope this isn't the start of some national/regional trend that starts hoping state-to-state.
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Rumor is they are in fact trying to use this tactic in other states, either to reverse previous dismantlings of three-tiered laws, or to prevent their dismantling from happening. Like I said earlier in the thread, one of their new political tactics to fight craft beer is to try toprotectabuse the fuck out ofthe three-tiered system.

Here in WA any brewery can self-distribute and can off-premise sell anything they want. Our governor is in InBev's pocket but the couple of attempts at legislation that would be to the benefit to the big boys and to the detriment of our local breweries have been shot down. Regardless of money, local beer has the support of our voters and the politicians around here know that.
 
Soygen

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
<Nazi Janitors>
28,524
45,039
What is the logic behind laws like that? Is it simply lobbyists from bigger breweries trying to make it harder for smaller ones? Why should there be any law on who the breweries sell to? It reminds me of the states that aren't letting Tesla Motors sell directly to customers. It's fucking ridiculous.
 
Vitality

Vitality

ＨＵＳＴＬＥ
5,808
30
My favorite beer. Also thanks for the Bellevue Brewery recommendation, I'll take a look.

rrr_img_68067.jpg
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Soygen_sl said:
What is the logic behind laws like that? Is it simply lobbyists from bigger breweries trying to make it harder for smaller ones? Why should there be any law on who the breweries sell to? It reminds me of the states that aren't letting Tesla Motors sell directly to customers. It's fucking ridiculous.
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The logic of the laws in 1933 when they were enacted or the logic behind them now? I could get into a long diatribe about the current state and necessity of the three-tiered system but it is currently too sunny to be writing an essay. The documentaryBeer Warsis an interesting watch and really goes into how the Big 3 have manipulated the three-tiered system to their advantage.

The three-tiered system has more or less been dismantled here in WA, but funny thing is despite what all the naysayers thought distributors still have their place here and really are thriving. Self distribution allows for a brewery to control their growth but eventually they can't match the distribution efficiencies a dedicated distributor gives them so the cost benefits are a wash so they sign on to more easily facilitate growth. Then again, I'm sure the big 3 aren't happy because they don't control the distributors here and it really has put a dent in their market share (craft beer market share is ~8% nation wide and estimated to be as high as 30% in Seattle). Really we have the WA wine industry to thank for our laws because they paved the way for dismantling the three-tiered stuff and set the precedent for local beer to have similar favorable distribution and retail sales laws that the wine industry enjoys.
 
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