Lawsuit Against Anheuser-Busch

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This as gotta be the best news to real beer enthusiasts, like myself and the many others on this site. The balls on those people! On top of selling bland beer here's a great idea, lets water it down !!
Cracks me up.....
 
IL1kebeer said:
Maybe it can best described as going from "a full bodied urine taste" to a "not so overbearing urine taste"
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I don't know.. It might bring out the more sour aromas from the urine, and maybe give it a bit less salty flavor.. Who knows. They don't call it butt-weiser for nothing.
 
ab inbev says that it meets the labeling laws. Now if I remember correctly and I may be wrong (just ask SWMBO) I believe that the avb has to be within .3% of what is put on the label here in the U.S. of A. compared to the .5% in Europe (source Brew Like a Monk, I think that is where I read it). Which is why large breweries blend their batches to achieve a more uniform product (source Bitter Brew). So it is possible that ab inbev is watering down their product yet still within the requirements of the law.
 
If I were AB-Inbev, I'd be watering it down to hit exactly the legally mandated .3% variance below the labeled value. That way AB lowers the overall cost of the ingredients while moving more liquid volume.
 
The news will hurt them more than the lawsuit, this kind of news spreads and people will try other beer instead now.
 
AB is not a brewery. It is in fact a profit driven Multi-national Corporation. By definition A corporation is in business to maximize profits at any expense. Simply, AB will do anything and everything to make a buck. They just bought out Goose Island in Chicago. They are buying out smaller craft breweries as fast as they can. Buying up breweries all over the world is what the practice AB is engaging in at the moment. In fact if you order an AB prospectus I am sure you can see their whole list of acquisitions. It free if you ask for it from AB or a brokerage house. In fact they have to give it to you as required by full disclosure. Buying Goose Island and watering down their beer is nothing compared to how they really run a business? Are people going to stop drinking Goose Island? It’s doubtful. AB is doing nothing unusual here that other corporations have done and will continue to do in the future. The world is not run by governments, but my THE corporations. Remember the midis rule? He who has the gold makes the rules.

If they are found guilty or not guilty it does not matter for them, because its simply the cost of doing business, and who can complain with Spuds Mackenzie or a talking frog? It is an interesting news story, but I am not surprised by it in the least.
 
johns said:
AB is not a brewery. It is in fact a profit driven Multi-national Corporation. By definition A corporation is in business to maximize profits at any expense. Simply, AB will do anything and everything to make a buck. They just bought out Goose Island in Chicago. They are buying out smaller craft breweries as fast as they can. Buying up breweries all over the world is what the practice AB is engaging in at the moment. In fact if you order an AB prospectus I am sure you can see their whole list of acquisitions. It free if you ask for it from AB or a brokerage house. In fact they have to give it to you as required by full disclosure. Buying Goose Island and watering down their beer is nothing compared to how they really run a business? Are people going to stop drinking Goose Island? It’s doubtful. AB is doing nothing unusual here that other corporations have done and will continue to do in the future. The world is not run by governments, but my THE corporations. Remember the midis rule? He who has the gold makes the rules.

If they are found guilty or not guilty it does not matter for them, because its simply the cost of doing business, and who can complain with Spuds Mackenzie or a talking frog? It is an interesting news story, but I am not surprised by it in the least.
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Every professional brewery is a profit driven business. Professional brewers are not "artists" they are businessmen and women. If they fail to make a profit, then their brewery goes out of business. They do not make beer solely out of love for it, they're doing it to make money. If they didn't care about a profit, they would be home brewers like the rest of us.
 
I did the Beer Master tour at AB just this Monday. When you drink Bud Light right out of the beechwood aging tank it is 8%, hazy, and flavorful. Later on the tour we drank Bud and Becks Sapphire right out of the finishing tank before bottling. It was good and makes one wonder what they do to ruin it on the way to the bottling house. Now I wouldn't be surprised if they brewed at a higher gravity and cut it down at bottling to get the most out of their brewhouse, but the question is are they watering it down below the stated ABV on the packaging in a nefarious attempt to maximize profits. And is that variance more than the margin of error in the equipment used for any analysis that may be performed. And is there a "smoking gun" email or memo floating around instructing employees to water down past the stated ABV. This could be interesting.
 
i saw this story in a different article and was going to post it, but already found this one up.. i too am going to be following it to see how it all pans out.. i don't think this will fall into the category that all press is good press
 
So honestly, part of me wonders if the people doing the suing heard about how AB brews at high gravity and then waters down the finished product to hit final specs, and interpreted that as them "watering down the product." I hope they wouldn't file a lawsuit based just on that, but I also have little faith in the average american when it comes to what one considers the basis for a lawsuit. ;) The only way this lawsuit makes much sense is if there's lab analysis somewhere showing a low ABV in finished product. Maybe that exists in this case.
 
Never ceases to amaze me how childish, foolish, elitist, and just flat out ignorant much of this "Craft Beer" community can be.

How many products, at how many varied levels of ABV do you think AB-InBev produce?

I find much of the foolishness in this thread more of a controversy than the accusations set against AB-InBev. I'd expect a community of craft breweres to recognize SOP to brew a batch of beer to one set of numbers and then dilute said batch to desired finished state. IIRC, that is the core principle of partial volume extract brewing and is where most of "us" started.

Makes perfect sense that AB-InBev would dilute a higher ABV product down to varied ABV for varied markets and/or blending for consistency.

Much of this thread however, makes no sense.

If however, AB-InBev is guilty of over diluting and not producing within the stated parameters then THAT is the controversy given the "state of the art quality controls" we ALL know they employ. Merely diluting should come as no surprise to anyone here.
 
Test the beer, does it meet label guidelines for stated ABV? Yes? STFU. How they achieve the end product has never been the concern of the people who drink that stuff, why now? Idiots.

I agree with Gila also. You can't have any tangent conversation about a macro beer company without the expert beer snobs coming out of the woodwork. That level of elitist snobbery is embarrassing to the entire craft beer community.
 
Darwin18 said:
Every professional brewery is a profit driven business. Professional brewers are not "artists" they are businessmen and women. If they fail to make a profit, then their brewery goes out of business. They do not make beer solely out of love for it, they're doing it to make money. If they didn't care about a profit, they would be home brewers like the rest of us.
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There is a little bit of a difference though. I think most of your craft breweries try to make their money by producing the best product possible and rely more on good taste, quality and word of mouth to sell their product. Companies like ABInbev rely on clever advertising and saturating the market to sell their beer. Yes, both groups are trying to make a profit, that's for sure, but how you go about making that profit can be wildly different.

Although, I'm not really one for the bashing of ABI. It's not really their fault people still buy their beer. I know a lot of people that, if Bud Light didn't exist, probably wouldn't drink beer.
 
#1-
ab inbev says that it meets the labeling laws. Now if I remember correctly and I may be wrong (just ask SWMBO) I believe that the avb has to be within .3% of what is put on the label here in the U.S. of A. compared to the .5% in Europe (source Brew Like a Monk, I think that is where I read it). Which is why large breweries blend their batches to achieve a more uniform product (source Bitter Brew). So it is possible that ab inbev is watering down their product yet still within the requirements of the law.
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This^^^^^^^^^

#2-
Test the beer, does it meet label guidelines for stated ABV? Yes? STFU. How they achieve the end product has never been the concern of the people who drink that stuff, why now? Idiots.
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This^^^^^^^^

#3-
AB is not a brewery. It is in fact a profit driven Multi-national Corporation. By definition A corporation is in business to maximize profits at any expense. Simply, AB will do anything and everything to make a buck. They just bought out Goose Island in Chicago. They are buying out smaller craft breweries as fast as they can. Buying up breweries all over the world is what the practice AB is engaging in at the moment. In fact if you order an AB prospectus I am sure you can see their whole list of acquisitions. It free if you ask for it from AB or a brokerage house. In fact they have to give it to you as required by full disclosure. Buying Goose Island and watering down their beer is nothing compared to how they really run a business? Are people going to stop drinking Goose Island? It’s doubtful. AB is doing nothing unusual here that other corporations have done and will continue to do in the future. The world is not run by governments, but my THE corporations. Remember the midis rule? He who has the gold makes the rules.

If they are found guilty or not guilty it does not matter for them, because its simply the cost of doing business, and who can complain with Spuds Mackenzie or a talking frog? It is an interesting news story, but I am not surprised by it in the least.
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So, if you don't have a job, investments, and you live in the woods in a stick hut, you can get up on your soapbox. If you do have a job, investments, a house, a COMPTER, then you have no leg to stand on and your argument against THE corporations doesn't hold water. You have personally benefited from these corporations financially and standard of living wise. Next time you want to rail against BIG corporations, try mining your own copper, nickel, iron, etc and building your own computer from scratch to use to rail against these corporations. If not, please refer back to #2.
 
In my opinion, “Class Action Lawsuits” are designed by big law firms with the sole intent of shaking down businesses. Whether you like or dislike the beer, what are the real damages here? If the quality suffered, people would simply move to another brand. This is all about Lawyers looking for free money.
 
martiniw2olives said:
In my opinion, “Class Action Lawsuits” are designed by big law firms with the sole intent of shaking down businesses. Whether you like or dislike the beer, what are the real damages here? If the quality suffered, people would simply move to another brand. This is all about Lawyers looking for free money.
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Modern day Mafia.....
 
MachineShopBrewing said:
So, if you don't have a job, investments, and you live in the woods in a stick hut, you can get up on your soapbox. If you do have a job, investments, a house, a COMPTER, then you have no leg to stand on and your argument against THE corporations doesn't hold water. You have personally benefited from these corporations financially and standard of living wise. Next time you want to rail against BIG corporations, try mining your own copper, nickel, iron, etc and building your own computer from scratch to use to rail against these corporations. If not, please refer back to #2.
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Please also edumacate this fellow with regard to how aquisitions take place. I think he/she forgets that in order for something to be bought, it has to have a price, and a person or entity offering that thing for that price.

Shame on AB-InBev for buying that Goose Island Brewry that those Goose Island people decided to sell. There should be laws against such foolishness. You can't be letting just anybody go all buying and selling things at will.
 
Clonefan94 said:
There is a little bit of a difference though. I think most of your craft breweries try to make their money by producing the best product possible and rely more on good taste, quality and word of mouth to sell their product. Companies like ABInbev rely on clever advertising and saturating the market to sell their beer. Yes, both groups are trying to make a profit, that's for sure, but how you go about making that profit can be wildly different.
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Do you wear Levi's? Drive a Chevy, Yota, Lex, Benze, Bimmer, Honda? Do you drink Pepsi, Coke, Dr Pepper? Use Colgate? OralB? Listerine? Buy Pennzoil?

How about them Footlong coneys? Ever eat one of those? How about chihuahua and a burrito, that ring any bells?

Bet you bought minimum coverage from a Lizard didn't you.

Cookies made by Elves? Count the hours on a Timex, Rolex?

Cook yer dinner on a T-Fal? Wash yer Levis in a whirlpool?

Shall I continue?
 
Interesting - sounds like there may be something to this after all. I can't find the original source at "Alcohol Beverage Testing News", but this was posted at Beervana:
http://beervana.blogspot.com/
Update. With a hat tip to Stan, let me direct your attention to Alcohol Beverage Testing News, an independent lab run by Gary Spedding--a former director of laboratories at Siebel--who's been doing those labs I wondered about. Because of A-B's famously rigorous standards, Spedding has used Bud as his control beer. He writes:

Also for calibrating our alcohol instruments Bud goes in after calibration to see hopefully 5.00% abv. pretty much on the nose. Not so recently. Now as low as 4.94% after slipping from 4.98% earlier in the year.

and

The Bloomberg article talks of other acquired brand changes for ABInBev and we have also noticed this with other classic beers in the giants stable. The article may have hit the nail or the King fair and square on the head. They relied on sensory perceptions of patrons but analytical parameters can confirm their suspicions. I think, from our early findings that it already has.
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johns said:
. . By definition A corporation is in business to maximize profits at any expense. . .
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Except for when its not.

cor·po·ra·tion/ [kawr-puh-rey-shuhn]
noun
1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
2. ( initial capital letter ) the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.
3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.
 
jmf143 said:
Except for when its not.

cor·po·ra·tion/ [kawr-puh-rey-shuhn]
noun
1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
2. ( initial capital letter ) the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.
3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.
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He got it crossed with this one;

busi·ness/ˈbɪznɪs/ noun

1. an occupation, profession, or trade: His business is poultry farming.
2. the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit.
3. a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern.
4. volume of trade; patronage: Most of the store's business comes from local families.
5. a building or site where commercial work is carried on, as a factory, store, or office; place of work: His business is on the corner of Broadway and Elm Street.

;)
 
no one light a match in here, ignite a strawman conflagration

it's not about the way they're brewing. 5% ABV ± .3%? = 4.985% to 5.015%. a smart producer would shoot for the low side, save some costs.

hell.. they could go down to 4.900% and I wouldn't say, "boo"

IF they label it 5% ± .3% and it is actually 4.5%, then there's a problem.
 
krenshaw said:
i saw this story in a different article and was going to post it, but already found this one up.. i too am going to be following it to see how it all pans out.. i don't think this will fall into the category that all press is good press
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Agreed. Look what happened with Maker's Mark.
 
grognerd said:
no one light a match in here, ignite a strawman conflagration

it's not about the way they're brewing. 5% abv ± .3%? = 4.985% to 5.015%. A smart producer would shoot for the low side, save some costs.

Hell.. They could go down to 4.900% and i wouldn't say, "boo"

if they label it 5% ± .3% and it is actually 4.5%, then there's a problem.
Click to expand...

5% ± .3% = 4.7%-5.3%
 

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