Does it matter who makes the beer you buy?

Beer Examiner: Does it matter who makes the beer you buy?

This is an interesting poll on if it really matters who makes the beer you buy.

Discussion continues about whether beer drinkers really care about where their beer comes from.

• Does it really matter that Blue Moon is made by MillerCoors?
• Does it matter that Pilsner Urquell is made by SABMiller?
• Does it matter the beers like the following are owned by the Belgian/Brazilian global brewing corporation called Inbev:
  • German brewed Becks and Diebels Altbier,
  • Belgian brewed Hoegarden and Leffe,
  • English brewed Bass and Boddington,
  • Australian brewed Castlemaine XXXX,
  • Irish brewed Murphy's Stout
  • Canadian brewed Labatt,
  • and likely soon Budweiser?

As beer drinkers we all have our reasons for choosing the beer we love to enjoy. Whether we realize it or not, we all think about it in one way or another. At the very least we owe it to ourselves to be knowledgeable about the beer we spend good money to buy.

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It does matter a little. However, looking at that list, this has no bearing on my life whatsoever.

You know, at the risk of sounding like a snob, it really does matter to me. Now, I know what I like, and Pilsner Urquell is a nice beer. But it also matters to me about ALL the things I buy. I don't shop Wal-mart (let's NOT start that- I know how you all feel), I don't buy Kraft's package foods with "corn syrup anything" added, and I don't buy fruits and vegetables from big companies, either. I don't buy ultra-pasteurized milk, etc. I don't buy meat from corn-fed cows. Those are choices I make as a consumer who pays for the items I do buy.

For someone like me, it makes sense to buy local craft items, from maple syrup that my friend makes to goat milk from a friend's farm. The same goes for beer. I WILL buy a Sierra Nevada beer, or a Sam Adams, but if I have a choice, I will always buy the most local and/or environmentally friendly choice. Still, I enjoy imports once in a while, and many of the wines I enjoy are imported.

If I'm faced with only big name beers while out, though, I will usually (but not always) make the choice to have one.

It certainly matters to me, but it's been a long time (4-5 years) since I've had any of those beers.

I did have a Hamm's Light two years ago while I was helping a neighbor rustle some trees, but it was very hot and dusty.

Your list does not particularly impact me. My commercial beer dollars go to mostly to two companies which I believe are still family owned - Yuengling and Samuel Smiths. I guess I have a rock art in the fridge and I do buy Newcastle and long trail from time to time. But even if they have been swooped up, so long as the beer is still made correctly and tastes good, it's likely OK to buy. Contraiwise, if the company is bought and production methods change in ways that impact the quality of the beer, boycott city.

On the other hand, nothing in your list scares me much. Chinese beer on the other hand, well, you kinda have to expect that they'd find (or already have found) a way to incorporate melamine or other industrial waste into the stuff, given several years of recent history with food and China, with the latest round ongoing despite the "fixing" of things last time.

Food conglomerates are nothing new, nor are food conglomerates producing two products which give the appearance of competing - does anyone else remember when Beatrice uncloaked?

Definitely. I'd rather support a company that treats it's employees well, and gives back to the local community.

A good example of this is New Belgian. After working for NB for a number of years (I can't remember the exact number), you get a free beer touring trip to Belgian with the company's founder for a week. They provide great health care and ownership in the company. They support social and environmental causes by providing grants. They power their brewery with solar panels and methane from spent grains.

I'd much rather support a company like that than one that only cares about the bottom line.

It doesn't matter to me who makes it. If I like it, I like it. If I don't, I don't.

I should add that I really didn't have anything to do with the linked page, it just seemed on topic.

Although it doesn't really matter to me who makes the beer, I tend to naturally gravitate towards craftbrews, mainly because that is where the flavor lies.

I'm very much in the same line of thinking as Yooper- it does matter to me, and I will always support the small craft producers over the food/beverage conglomerates because that is my choice as a consumer. I want to know where my food comes from. I garden extensively during the summer months and shop farmer's markets and small groceries whenever I can. I don't support Walmart- never have.

Not at all. If Budweiser made an ale worth drinking, I'd drink it. Unless they're evil like the blood diamond people, I'll support their quality product with my money. As consumers we vote with our dollars. If we want them to make a better product, we shouldn't be too proud to buy it when they do.

I don't have a problem buying a mass produced beer if that's what was available, but generally I buy beer that I have not tried yet, or a craft brew that I really like. I'd much prefer to buy local grown produce and meats and dairy and whatnot, and would even pay a little bit more for it, but it's also kind of difficult to find some of that sometimes.

I still like Bass Ale, and Blue Moon, but don't care as much for Heogarden or Bud. I will easily drink a Labatt's as a light beer and because friends of mine prefer it, so it's easy to please us all that way. It's the beer I am buying, not the company.

I've got to say YES IT DOES!
I'm not as philosophical as yooper on the subject, but it's more of a preference thing for me. Take the light American Lager. Budweiser makes one that I can't choke down. Coors makes one that I dearly love! I have purchased the new Bud Ale...and will likely do it again.
Most of the beer I buy though is in search of my next style. I might get a few different brands of porter or IPA, but it really is just research for what I want to brew next.

It matters to me for the same reason that I patronize my local hardware store chain (5 locations in the Seattle area), and only go to Lowes of Home Depot if I absolutely have to. It has to do with service, selection, competition... It has to do with having choices available. If we don't support the little guys, we will only have the choices available to us that the big guys feel like making available.

There is also the simple fact, and it seems to apply to others on here, that I just don't like any of those beers. I will have the occasional (1 a year or so) Blue Moon. I downed 3 Hoegaardens a few weeks back, that was pretty good. I have not had a Bass in years, and most of the others I have not even tried.

i'm with yoop on this. i'll drink any of those beers if i like them. but if there's a more interesting option i'll probably take it.

i used to drink a bit of rolling rock, and now i don't touch it because, i think, it tastes terrible since budweiser bought it out and moved it to st louis. but it could be that my taste has broadened since those days and rock has always been fizzy water.

If I enjoy a particular beer and it's available, I'll buy it regardless of who makes it. I usually start with the best craft beer and work backwards till I hit Sam Adams before ordering ice tea.

I have thought about this a couple of times since yesterday. I almost exclusively buy craft beer and even more specifically local beer (even though I am a huge fan of Belgian beer), and the biggest macros I've been known to buy are Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada. I am not even a big fan of most of what Sam Adams does, but they have occasional hits and I support them for a couple of reasons.

I think what it comes down to is that they support the craft brew communities which in turn support the homebrew communities. The SA Longshot competition is a fun one and it is always nice to see that sort of thing from such a large company. Additionally, they sold their surplus hops supply at cost to smaller breweries. They didn't have to do that. When you support companies that support the little guy, it in turn supports us. We all want to make the perfect porter or IPA and a lot of times the recipes for these beers come straight from the brewers.

I believe in small business and I believe in the pride and quality that comes in a craft product. Sure, we're all interested to see if Bud can make an ale, but in the end there's no way it is going to compete with the beer we all love. Sure, not every small brewer is great at what they do and you just have to figure that out one beer at a time, which I am more than willing to do.

We're all part of the same community. Supporting that community can only make things better for the homebrewer.

eddie said:

It doesn't matter to me who makes it. If I like it, I like it. If I don't, I don't.

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+1.

If the product is good, I get it. However, if I have the choice between two beers I like, but one is made by a smaller brewery/company, then I choose that.

rabidgerbil said:

It matters to me for the same reason that I patronize my local hardware store chain (5 locations in the Seattle area), and only go to Lowes of Home Depot if I absolutely have to. It has to do with service, selection, competition... It has to do with having choices available. If we don't support the little guys, we will only have the choices available to us that the big guys feel like making available.

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+1 Exactly. I have to drive 20 minutes to get to a lumber yard because Menards and Lowes put my local store out of business. Now I make sure to stop in to the hardware store to get my stuff because I don't want to lose them too.

Plus, as I said, I really like trying different beers, and that usually means craft brews, not mass brews (although I AM trying a BAA right after work!)

Since branching out into the world of hombrew and becoming a bit of a beer snob it DOES have some bearing but not to the point of ignoring good beer cuz it's ultimately linked to BMC.

I've never really had a taste for Bud...when I was a kid and I drank for mass cosumption I'd have to say I drank alot of Heineken and occasionally slummin @ a keg party or something but more recently before hombrew it was Amstel, Heiny, Newcastle and Corona

Now I'm mostly craft beer and diff imports...been diggin Rogues lately

But if I had a choice I would keep my buisness with the smaller guys absolutley...maybe some of the guys/gals here on these boards may be the little guy someday ...or maybe already are :rockin:

It certainly does matter to me. Some of those companies out there have gone through great lengths to keep my brewing activity to a minimum and make it as expensive as they possibly can. They also work to keep my brewing options as limited as possible. At the same time, they've worked tirelessly at limiting my choices in commercial beer. I cannot stand those operations, and I consciously go out of my way to avoid giving them ammo to fight me.

Yeah, we've been able to overcome much of their efforts, but we have a long, long way to go.


TL

harp is now 12.99 a twelve pack. that's become my fridge stocked beer these days. canadian lagers.