"Micro" brew/BMC conspiracy?

I'm now halfway through my second manhattan this evening and it's amazing how much clearer I seem to be thinking... so, anyways, I was at a local liquor store this afternoon, and while I was there I was very impressed by their very nice selection of beers. They had a whole bunch of belgians, the usual Wisconsin micro-brew suspects, other notable U.S. brews, like Dogfish Head, Rogue, Anchor, Sierra Nevada, just to name a few, German stuff, anyway, you get the picture.

Later, though, I got to wondering. This is not the only store in my town that has lots of different beers like that. In fact, there are several places that I know of, just within a few miles from my house that have that. Now, when you read the label on, say, a Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA (not to pick on them in particular-- I happen to like their beer) they say that they are a really small brewer from Delaware. That got me to thinking-- if they're so small, how can they have their beer all over the place? I mean, the U.S. of A. is a big place. Big doesn't even begin to describe it. If they put their stuff in stores everywhere, wouldn't they have to make an awful lot of beer?

There's only one explanation for this: BMC. We all know that the huge international brewers want nothing less than world dominance. They want everyone to drink BMC. Everyone. Even your dog. So, what I'm thinkin' is this: Dogfish Head is BMC. So is Smuttynose, Anchor, New Glarus... etc. They are all BMC.

Now, I know what you're thinkin'-- those beers certainly taste nothing like BMC. They've got it all figured out, though. They know that if it said Miller or Bud, or Coors on the bottle You Wouldn't Drink It. They also (now this is where they're really clever) now know that if it tasted like BMC You Wouldn't Drink It.

So, what they do it they hire consultants (who are paid hundreds of thousands a year) to figure out how to make BMC taste like good beer. Then they hire other consultants to make up brand names and labels that sound like nice, local, folksy brands from nice, craft-made micro-breweries. Then, they make so much of it that it's everywhere. So, just as they want us to, every time we go to the store and buy a micro-brew, we're actually drinking BMC.

Sound depressing? It should be. It guess worse. Because I know what you're thinking now: I make homebrew. I don't drink BMC. Well, that may be true for now (maybe). But with BMC, sooner or later you will realize that you can't run and you can't hide. They have been working on the technology for awhile now, and for all we know they may already have it in place, to deal with homebrewers. If it has not already happened (and we won't even know it when it does) we will eventually all be homebrewing zombies. Homebrewing WHAT, you say? Zombies who brew for BMC. Oh, we will continue to think we are brewing awesome homebrew. And it will (at least for now) continue to taste like homebrew. But, in reality we will simply be brewing BMC at home.

Once this happens, everyone in the world will drink BMC.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.... WTF!! Was I dreaming!? Jeez, what a nightmare....

Rdwhahb!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dude this realization has come across me as well. Companies just want to make some bloody money! This is the product of that.

The alternative is communism. I'd say we have the best of the worst.

Dont go looking into beer distirbuters . . . You may not be able to handle it

Miller did it with Plank Road Brewery which makes Ice House and made something "dog" beer. AB make Ziegen Bock just to compete with Shiner in Texas (it tastes just like Michelobe Amber Bock) BMC's will invent names & buy breweries just like they did before. It's not new, it's business.

I'm glad Fritz Maytag of Anchor won't sell out!

yeah they may make a lot of beer, but does that matter? Not to me, it's the taste. And when was the last time a micro cost the same as bmc? Yeah they make it in bulk but they use quality ingredients that should be in beer, and that costs a bit more.

"Resistance is futile!"

Seriously, while I still buy BMC occasionally, I do gladly pay $7 or $8 a six-pack for micro-brews all the time.

Even though I have read here that Goose Island is owned by one of the biggies it still tastes good.

Really, compared to what we could buy just a few years ago, it is nirvana out there in the stores now. If this keeps up, pretty soon the beer department will be as big as the wine department. I think it's great.

Lala land is what that is. DFH is NOT BMC. Stone is NOT BMC. And the list goes on.

Soon you'll see A-B buy even more craft breweries to get into the market. They have some of the best bremasters in the world--yet the marketing company won't allow them to make "good" beer. Know why? Too small of a market share. But the more little breweries that A-B buys up, soon they'll control that market too.

I know you were just shooting the ****....but thank goodness it isn't true!!!!!

Goose Island is owned by BMC. However, their brewpubs haven't changed and you only see house beers, brewed on premises, on tap there. As long as the beer is good, who cares? If you can make something better yourself, then by all means, do it!

Due to Oregon's three tier distribution laws, the only way for most micros to get out there is to sign on with a major.

[Got to love this one: distributors can restrict what brands of cans & bottles their recycling machines accept.]

EdWort said:

Miller did it with Plank Road Brewery which makes Ice House and made something "dog" beer.

Click to expand...

Miller was actually named the Plank Road Brewery in the beginning. It was actually started by Phillip Best son of Jacob Best (founder of the Pabst Brewery) comma Miller bought it from Best. The picture shown on the package is actually of picture of the original Miller brewery.

Side note comma did you know the reason why Miller survived prohibition was that they were heavily invested in real estate? They weren't a big player until after prohibition.

Many micro breweries have distribution agreements with others too help get their product out. In colorado for example, many of the breweries all have their beer distributed by the same distributers because they are all so close to each other, which is why you can find them all together. Breweries like Red Hook have distribution agreements with BMC, but are NOT owned by them, this just allows them too more easily get their product out to a larger market.

And it isn't in stores everywhere trust me, you just must be a lucky one that has it around you. Come to Texas and see how hard it is to find anything decent (damn TABC).

Check out American Beer on DVD, it's all about american craft breweries, some pretty cool stuff, including interviews with several head brewers and brewmasters including, DFH, New Belgium, New Glarus and about 15-20 others.

So i'm reading the ramble, and this music from "Star Wars" starts playing. The tune when Vader enters the scene, and then before I know it I hear this funny whap-whap sound. I look out the window and there it is...a black helicopter with no markings!
Y'know, IMHO BMC are just brewers who appeal to the masses. Their own "quality" is there for those who don't brew there own, and want the convenience of large amounts of cheap beer. WE on the other hand prefer the creating and sharing. It's OUR version of "comfort food". It makes us happy and proud, and we don't expect to get rich off it. I don't fault the big boys, they just found a niche and filled it. Lots of history there. Fascinating stuff.....for me, anyway.
BTW, beer makes me think clearer, as well.

I'm sure that some of the craft brewers are BMC owned. As someone stated earlier, AB will probably start buying them up left and right over the next couple of years.

As for how craft brewers get such wide distribution - I think that also comes down to BMC intervention. They are money whores with huge facilities. If I had enough money and a recipie that I thought was killer, I'm sure that the AB brewery 40 miles from me in Columbus would happily brew a monster sized batch of it for me if I was willing to meet their price.

We do the same thing where I work except it's with snack foods, not beer. We don't have any of our own brands. People come to us with their recipe for a tortilla chip or a potato chip or a cheese puff and want us to make them because we have the technology and the expertise to get it done in mass quantities. Obviously you lose control over the manufacturing process by doing this, but if you trust the people who you contract and your goal is mass distribution it's a very economical way to get your product to market.

I've thought the same exact things. This past year, I've spent more of my money on growlers filled from my favorite micro-brew. I would much rather plunk down 8 bucks for a growler of ESB, then a sixer of something "micro" at the store.


loop

I looked up Goose Island, and sadly AB has a hand in them. AB owns 39.5% of Widmer Brothers, and Widmer has a minority stake in Goose Island (also Kona Brewing for that matter.) So AB does indirectly have a share in Goose Island, the benefit for them being that Goose Island gets to ride AB's coattails on distribution.

Damn the Man.

blue moon comes to mind....what are they now...Molson/Coors??

Companies like Sam Adams brought craft beer back into main stream. America forgot what real beer tasted like with the whole beer can and lager era. These days is all about choice, and people choose to drink something that tastes good

I personally detest Blue Moon. Blue Moon has been owned by Coors for quite awhile and brewed at their Memphis brewery.
And to any bar owner who calls Blue Moon an 'import,' remember that Memphis, Tennessee is in the USA.

its a money thing... BMC is losing market share to craft brewers. When you cant beat them, BUY THEM!!!