Anheuser Busch and their deceptive marketing

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Dude, seriously, if u read my posts, i clearly state that i don't have a problem with people who drink BMC, I DON'T HAVE A CLOSE MINDED ATTITUDE towards those people. If people like BMC, drink it, good, be happy. I'm not telling you to drink craft beer. My entire freaking point was, I DID take the high road, I said no when he asked me if i wanted to sample it. But the rep was the one being pushy about it. And i don't like these corporations feeding lies to the public like "we're in alliance with the craft brewers" when that's not true. "Turn my nose up?" no, i just walked away and went about my business, i didn't care to get in some pointless argument that would have no conclusion. The fact is I don't support In-Bev anymore in any way. That's my choice, i'm not being a snob. Why r u calling me out for having my opinion about them? It's not about their beer, it's about their platform; i enjoy being a customer, not just a demographic. Many of these craft brewers started off homebrewing in their garages just like us and they get off on people actually enjoying their beer, and so do i, i connect with that.

Well in your first post you said

Maybe I should've just plainly said no, but instead i said "no, i don't support Anheuser Busch products".....so instead of just realizing that i obviously know more than the average consumer, he further's the matter by saying "why?". ok, so whatever, i was honest, i said "b/c they're trying to kill craft brews" s

And went on telling the guy that pretty much the world is going to end because of inbev.

Far be it from a SALESMAN to try and earn a living. I just bet the other SALESMEN there from the sainted craft brews were not trying to make money for the company and perhaps topple the evil empire known to be inbev.

To be fair I have heard flat out BS from both sides of the argument. Everything from union bashing to false claims of hostile take overs just to shut down a brew.

If just for a moment you think any beer company has any other idea in their heads other than to try and separate you from your money then you are misguided at best and delusional at worst. Only difference between inbev and the little guy is no one pays attention to the little guy so his claims can be ignored. While every word inbev utters gets run by a bevy of lawyers and looked at for a potential law suit.

Sit down and relax and have a beer from your favorite small brewery before they fulfill their dreams and become as big as inbev. While you are enjoying said brew remember it is just beer not a family member being offered up for sacrifice. Same goes for everyone for petes sake. It is just beer
 
I'm glad Ken Grossman, Jim Koch, Sam Calgione and others aren't worried about growing their businesses and making money, and instead haven't expanded their operations at all and also sell their beer at a loss because they don't care about the bottom line.

If In-Bev is trying to destroy craft breweries, they're doing it wrong. Craft breweries are at an all time high in this country.

Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, and Samuel Adams are companies with HUGE growth and expansion and are some of the largest American brewing companies. They care about growing and expanding, and they definitely don't sell their beer at a loss, but the difference is they are passionate about tradition, flavor, and style. They don't cut corners and they produce some of the best beer in the country because that's their mission. They will never be AB and they don't want to but everyone wants to make a living.
 
Sierra Nevada, Dogfish Head, and Samuel Adams are companies with HUGE growth and expansion and are some of the largest American brewing companies. They care about growing and expanding, and they definitely don't sell their beer at a loss, but the difference is they are passionate about tradition, flavor, and style. They don't cut corners and they produce some of the best beer in the country because that's their mission. They will never be AB and they don't want to but everyone wants to make a living.

Couple things stand out here as patently fallacious, mainly that they don't cut corners as every comlanies goal is to cut every corner they can get away with. You bet they shop grain, hop annd yeast prices and buy the least expensive they can and get away with. They bring a lot of the process in house because it lowers the cost of production in the end, paying a monkey $10 an hour to mill grain nets them x amount in savings and same goes for other processes.

I am not saying they use fillers in place of actual grains but if they can find a way to do it and provide the same flavor don't think for a minute they wouldn't or won't do it.
 
I just think it's ironic that the AB defenders jump in as a group to essentially claim that AB doesn't need defending. And after the fistful of good arguments is made (punched), this herd goes on to attack the snobby, ignorant, ill-willed perpetrator.

Personally, I only like about 6 or so breweries, none of which are owned by inBev.

I don't trust inBev to make beer worth buying, and I don't trust the majority of craft brewers to make beer worth buying. I guess that makes me a real snob, truly ignorant to the point of blasphemy (one of you actually said I don't deserve to drink beer!) --however it works for me. What a wonderful world of beer we live in!

The problem about deception in "deceptive marketing" is that it's redundant.
 
So just by skimming the first four or so lines of the original post, I'm pretty sure I can safely say: repost



This is a topic that's been beaten to death, reincarnated, beaten to death again, scraped back together and reanimated, then beaten to death a third time.
 
Couple things stand out here as patently fallacious, mainly that they don't cut corners as every comlanies goal is to cut every corner they can get away with. You bet they shop grain, hop annd yeast prices and buy the least expensive they can and get away with. They bring a lot of the process in house because it lowers the cost of production in the end, paying a monkey $10 an hour to mill grain nets them x amount in savings and same goes for other processes.

I am not saying they use fillers in place of actual grains but if they can find a way to do it and provide the same flavor don't think for a minute they wouldn't or won't do it.

I think Nightshade's point was more so that those brewers have the intent of brewing quality over quantity, which I pretty much agree with. A lot of people do not like their beer, but they keep making it because its good quality beer and they win people over everyday.
 
Listen folks, I'm the OP, and i want to apologize if I offended anyone. During my original post i was worked up and rambling. I'm not against corporations, or capitalism, or people just doing their jobs, or the freedom to drink what u like and not be judged. I simply feel like the AB rep was antagonizing me a bit and my personal opinion is that BMC would love nothing more than for the craft bubble to burst so that they don't have to compete with craft. I'm not a beer snob, i do however refuse support certain corporations for various reasons that i don't feel like getting into again. I truly don't like their beer and it this point in my life, it's not worth it for me to waste my time drinking something I don't like. But the original point I was trying to make was regarding what i believe to be deceptive marketing practices by BMC and how that they trickle down to the lowest level of their employees.

I missed this post...Sorry and no worries:rockin:
 
I tend to believe that people tend to cast their values onto others in order to be okay with themselves. People feel better about their own greed and drive to make a buck when they say things like "small craft breweries are only in it for the money, just like BMC"

This statement is effing lame. Look at the knowledge and time the smaller brewers take to share what they know with homebrewers. I don't buy for one second that all these guys care about is a buck...I tend to believe they appreciate their consumers and go out of their way to make a product they can truly be proud of. But then, that may be me just casting my beliefs on others because its what makes sense to me.

To those of you who believe in looking out for the little guy and protecting American workers/companies, more power to you...to the rest...good luck to you.
 
Dude, seriously, if u read my posts, i clearly state that i don't have a problem with people who drink BMC, I DON'T HAVE A CLOSE MINDED ATTITUDE towards those people. If people like BMC, drink it, good, be happy. I'm not telling you to drink craft beer. My entire freaking point was, I DID take the high road, I said no when he asked me if i wanted to sample it. But the rep was the one being pushy about it. And i don't like these corporations feeding lies to the public like "we're in alliance with the craft brewers" when that's not true. "Turn my nose up?" no, i just walked away and went about my business, i didn't care to get in some pointless argument that would have no conclusion. The fact is I don't support In-Bev anymore in any way. That's my choice, i'm not being a snob. Why r u calling me out for having my opinion about them? It's not about their beer, it's about their platform; i enjoy being a customer, not just a demographic. Many of these craft brewers started off homebrewing in their garages just like us and they get off on people actually enjoying their beer, and so do i, i connect with that.

I think the best solution would have been to try the beer with an open mind. Ask the rep questions about the beer (yeast, hops, malt, etc.) Make him do his job!! I guarantee you anyone who is pushing a local craft beer can tell you all about the beer and brewing process. After a critical tasting tell him your opinions....and don't pull any punches. If it sucked tell him exactly why. Right now it sounds like it sucked because of who brewed it and that's just dumb!!
 
I tend to believe that people tend to cast their values onto others in order to be okay with themselves. People feel better about their own greed and drive to make a buck when they say things like "small craft breweries are only in it for the money, just like BMC"

This statement is effing lame. Look at the knowledge and time the smaller brewers take to share what they know with homebrewers. I don't buy for one second that all these guys care about is a buck...I tend to believe they appreciate their consumers and go out of their way to make a product they can truly be proud of. But then, that may be me just casting my beliefs on others because its what makes sense to me.

To those of you who believe in looking out for the little guy and protecting American workers/companies, more power to you...to the rest...good luck to you.

Whether you like it or not BMC has contributed in a HUGE way to the field of brewing science. This of course has greatly benefited the craft beer industry. So you can say that in a way BMC has shared and is sharing their knowledge with smaller brewers.
 
I think the best solution would have been to try the beer with an open mind. Ask the rep questions about the beer (yeast, hops, malt, etc.) Make him do his job!! I guarantee you anyone who is pushing a local craft beer can tell you all about the beer and brewing process. After a critical tasting tell him your opinions....and don't pull any punches. If it sucked tell him exactly why. Right now it sounds like it sucked because of who brewed it and that's just dumb!!

Agreed, but i'm not saying the beer sucked, i've never tried it, hell it could be good. I just had no desire to try it b/c i don't like the way In-Bev does business and I might have found it difficult not to voice my opinion to this rep who probably doesn't give a damn what i think and the discussion would have ended up being awkward and pointless.
 
Agreed, but i'm not saying the beer sucked, i've never tried it, hell it could be good. I just had no desire to try it b/c i don't like the way In-Bev does business and I might have found it difficult not to voice my opinion to this rep who probably doesn't give a damn what i think and the discussion would have ended up being awkward and pointless.

You remind me of my in-laws. They won't eat/buy Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream because they don't like the company's image/politics. It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of their ice cream. You won't drink/buy In-Bev products for the same reason.
 
I don't think there's anything wrong with disliking the big companies out for money over quality, but you can personally look towards the real craft breweries instead.

If consumers at large really want to be swayed by marketing tactics, then by all means let them, it's not going to help by getting upset at the low-end salespeople, or at the people who don't really care. If they prefer an inferior product, then it's up to them to self-educate and explore, if interested. It'll allow you to enjoy more of what you enjoy... craft beer, and not beer with a crafty label. But I get your point about essentially making false claims, it's not right.

However, more importantly, which DuClaw brew did you try and find mediocre? I've been to the brewery and they were all great people making solid beer :(
 
Whether you like it or not BMC has contributed in a HUGE way to the field of brewing science. This of course has greatly benefited the craft beer industry. So you can say that in a way BMC has shared and is sharing their knowledge with smaller brewers.

Yes, and they invested all of this money because their lawyers care about me and my home brewing? This is not the same as the owner of a craft brewery taking his time to sit in on a pod cast or similar.
 
You remind me of my in-laws. They won't eat/buy Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream because they don't like the company's image/politics. It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of their ice cream. You won't drink/buy In-Bev products for the same reason.

Correct....except that I will drink the products if i'm in a social environment and that's what i'm offered, like i said i'm not a snob and i'm not gonna be an a-hole when i'm a guest of someone.

However, my wife and I don't approve of your hairstyle, we think our daughter deserves better:p
 
i'm not gonna be an a-hole when i'm a guest of someone.

But it's OK to be an a-hole to some poor schlub volunteering his Saturday to man his employer's table at a craft brewing store's beer tasting? Why? Because his boss's boss's boss cares more about keeping all his workers employed than about pushing the boundaries of adventurous beer?
 
However, more importantly, which DuClaw brew did you try and find mediocre? I've been to the brewery and they were all great people making solid beer :(

Bad Moon Porter
Venom
Misfit Red
Black Jack Stout
Devil's Milk
Hellrazer

All mediocre IMO. I live close to the brewpub and so i have easy access, but I just don't find most of their beers very appealing.

Sweet Baby Jesus on the other hand.....I like a lot, the quality of the brew underneath the adjuncts is about average, but the flavor is pretty damn tasty after all is said and done.
 
You remind me of my in-laws. They won't eat/buy Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream because they don't like the company's image/politics. It has absolutely nothing to do with the quality of their ice cream. You won't drink/buy In-Bev products for the same reason.

Yes but ben and jerrys supports the sierra club...same reason I don't buy Sierra Nevada products:p
 
Yes, and they invested all of this money because their lawyers care about me and my home brewing? This is not the same as the owner of a craft brewery taking his time to sit in on a pod cast or similar.

ha...yeah, ur right. you know, i'd like to see BMC list their ingredients on the bottle like many breweries do. e.g. Southern Tier. Wonder what we'd find in there?
 
But it's OK to be an a-hole to some poor schlub volunteering his Saturday to man his employer's table at a craft brewing store's beer tasting? Why? Because his boss's boss's boss cares more about keeping all his workers employed than about pushing the boundaries of adventurous beer?

No, I was not an a-hole to him, as i previously mentioned i declined his sample foreseeing a pointless argument coming. If anything, he was an a-hole to me by persisting so vehemently when I initially declined. I said to him initially "no, i don't support AB", thats not being an a-hole, thats enough said, and he should have left it at that b/c when someone says something like that, u know furthering the conversation is a pointless endeavor, but he pushed forward anyway........so don't act like i went out to personally attack this guy, i just wanted to buy my beer and go home.:drunk:
 
I have no "stuck up pride". its about quality craftsmanship and brewers that care about their consumers. Do you like buying from a corporation who does 't give a damn about you or would you rather buy from people who are just like you, who make beer because they love it. Maybe you don't care, but i do, thats all i'm saying.

Read it yourself if you want to:

http://beerpulse.com/2012/11/lagunitas-owner-calls-out-millercoors-a-b-inbev-on-twitter/

Ever buy from Home Depot or Lowe's? Yeah? Then shut up already?

We buy what's available. So what if some people aren't open-minded enough to try different beer. Their problem not yours. All you can do is educate other people, not try to fight the big breweries. I work with a guy that's EXTRA country. What are his 2 favorite beers? "Coors and Yoors". He never batted an eye at trying anything else, but word got around (lots of jokes too) that I brew and knowing he was a beer drinkin' man I sent him home with some blonde ales. He didn't even wait to see me at work but texted me that night asking me to bring him a sixer and he'd "donate" to my brewing. Told him I'd just give it to him (for the educational purpose). He still drinks Coors light religiously but not because he's still close minded, but because he's used to it, it's cheaper, and I can't make enough homebrew to satisfy more than my consumption and a few hand outs!

So do I think AB/In-bev BMC has him brains washed and are trying to push their products to take out small breweries? H-E-Double hockey stick no! Some of their products have people interested enough to want to try MY beers... And I'm as local as it gets according to my beer geek friends.
 
But it's OK to be an a-hole to some poor schlub volunteering his Saturday to man his employer's table at a craft brewing store's beer tasting? Why? Because his boss's boss's boss cares more about keeping all his workers employed than about pushing the boundaries of adventurous beer?

Wow, you get the spin award for this one!!!
 
Ever buy from Home Depot or Lowe's? Yeah? Then shut up already?

.

Settle down there, chief. 1st of all, no hardware store I know "does it for the love of hardware", but many craft brewers love brewing and they love their consumers and they did it "for the love of beer"...and to turn enough profit to stay in business. 2nd of all, I have a local hardware store in the town i grew up in, and when the big guy came to town, all us locals still went to the piddily dunk local hardware store so he wouldn't go out of business, and what happened? the local store stayed in business and bought out the big guy, so yeah, i'm all about that.:rockin:
 
Whether you like it or not BMC has contributed in a HUGE way to the field of brewing science. This of course has greatly benefited the craft beer industry. So you can say that in a way BMC has shared and is sharing their knowledge with smaller brewers.

I am interested in this statement. In what "HUGE" way has BMC contributed to brewing higher quality beer?
 
I am interested in this statement. In what "HUGE" way has BMC contributed to brewing higher quality beer?

BMC brews the EXACT same, light bodied, light colored, lightly flavored beer batch after batch after batch after batch after batch. You think you can brew something that technically difficult without an absolutely complete understanding of your process and the biological functions along the way? Where brewpubs and microbreweries have slight variations between batches, a difference of .002 degrees of gravity don't matter much in a hopped up IPA or full bodied, malty amber ale. A flaw like that would show immediately in a batch of Miller Lite or Coors Banquet. I would never venture to suggest that the fine folks over at AB don't know how to brew their beer perfectly. Hell, Mitch Steele of Stone fame started out as a line brewery at AB, and Stone is better off because of it. Just because a beer style isn't to your liking, don't for one second believe consumerism and market demand didn't drive the flavor of these macro-lagers.

Drink the beer you like and shut up.
 
Wonder what we'd find in there?

6-Row Barley
Corn or Rice
Yeast Culture From When Columbus sailed the ocean blue
Sky Blue Water or Pure Artesian Spring Water or Clear Mountain Water (queue the music... Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer!!!)
*Many different chemicals used to speed and enhance the brewing process. (This recipe not approved by the FDA.)
*Insert picture of large beer sh**** in the woods while drinking from a stream flowing from a nearby mountain top.*
 
BMC brews the EXACT same, light bodied, light colored, lightly flavored beer batch after batch after batch after batch after batch. You think you can brew something that technically difficult without an absolutely complete understanding of your process and the biological functions along the way? Where brewpubs and microbreweries have slight variations between batches, a difference of .002 degrees of gravity don't matter much in a hopped up IPA or full bodied, malty amber ale. A flaw like that would show immediately in a batch of Miller Lite or Coors Banquet. I would never venture to suggest that the fine folks over at AB don't know how to brew their beer perfectly. Hell, Mitch Steele of Stone fame started out as a line brewery at AB, and Stone is better off because of it. Just because a beer style isn't to your liking, don't for one second believe consumerism and market demand didn't drive the flavor of these macro-lagers.

Drink the beer you like and shut up.

I don't doubt that BMC can brew an extraordinarily consistent product time after time after time with the help of some extraordinarily ingenuitive brewing technologies.

I am just asking how those processes and technologies have translated in a significant degree to the production of excellent beer from craft breweries.
 
Do you refrigerate beer?

Educate me (seriously), what did they have to do with refrigerating beer? I mean, I'm sure they did it, but it seems like a given to do so, even if they never existed, I think brewers would have started refrigerating beer
 
Educate me (seriously), what did they have to do with refrigerating beer? I mean, I'm sure they did it, but it seems like a given to do so, even if they never existed, I think brewers would have started refrigerating beer

HAHA... my thoughts exactly
 
Educate me (seriously), what did they have to do with refrigerating beer? I mean, I'm sure they did it, but it seems like a given to do so, even if they never existed, I think brewers would have started refrigerating beer

It was AB that first developed and utilized refridgerated rail cars to transport their beer across the country. Not only did this help beer keep longer, but it helped countless other industries as well. Meat packing, for one, could now ship frozen beef cross country as well.
 
I am interested in this statement. In what "HUGE" way has BMC contributed to brewing higher quality beer?

Look at the top brewing programs in America. Seibel Institute has been around for over 130 years and UC-Davis has been around for almost 60 years. Where do you think these master brewers worked before craft beer came around? Yep....BMC. I don't care for most of their beers but on a purely technical level it is pretty cool what they consistently do. Who do you thing pioneered malt analysis, water chemistry, yeast biology, and packaging? Not to mention that they were often the force behind the development of new hop varieties. Or maybe you thought all those things happened in the last 20 years???:confused:
 

While you and Peg are off blowing each other full of self righteousness, the rest of us will now take a step back and enjoy our pints. Pick up a book and educate yourself before you try to attack somebody because you don't like the product they peddle. Money speaks louder than words on an internet forum.

It's just beer.
 
It was AB that first developed and utilized refridgerated rail cars to transport their beer across the country. Not only did this help beer keep longer, but it helped countless other industries as well. Meat packing, for one, could now ship frozen beef cross country as well.

I think you have that backwards.

Meat packers were the first to use refrigerated rail cars to ship meat across country.
 
Example: You can't expect the average Joe to reach for a berliner weisse as an after meal digestif because they are hard to find, hard to pronounce and if though unlikely he was a homebrewer, somewhat tricky to brew correctly, even with the right equipment and yeast strains/bacterias not to mention time consuming to ferment completely. No beer would do it better in my opinion, yet I, a not so average "beer Joe" could not find a single berliner weisse to drink, and I am within 5 miles of three extraordinarily "well stocked in beer" liquor type stores.

25% pils, 25% acid malt, 50% wheat for an OG about 1.044
Hop to 7 IBU w/ 60 min addition of Saaz
.75 oz sea salt, tsp coriander (per 5 gallons)
Ferment with a neutral ale yeast

There ya go, you've got a Gose. Perfect for a hot summer day!
 
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