Nice article on how AB InBev is trying to destroy good beer for higher profits
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Damn companies and their desire to turn a profit!!! They should just give us beer for free!
I don't mind the profit. I mind letting the bean-counters make the decisions. There's a difference between turning a profit and letting avarice override everything else.
and yes, they should!
About the negative reaction from moving Becks and Bass to the US for production: "AB InBev doesn’t see what the fuss is about. Chibe says the company hasn’t altered the ingredients of either beer. So why are customers rebelling?"
That's the problem right there. It's pretty common knowledge here that local water, technique, and equipment has a huge impact on the end product, but the people in charge of the largest beer producer in the world have no idea that makes a difference. People are making decisions with no idea whatsoever of how the product they're selling is even made.
That's the problem right there. It's pretty common knowledge here that local water, technique, and equipment has a huge impact on the end product, but the people in charge of the largest beer producer in the world have no idea that makes a difference. People are making decisions with no idea whatsoever of how the product they're selling is even made.
The_Canmancan
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Exactly. I had the exact same reaction when I read that sentence. I don't mind a company making profit, but it has to stay true to itself. Clearly AB InBev isn't staying true to the brands it is acquiring. A company like AB InBev can't stay as profitable forever without acquiring more and more brands/companies, and this is one of the many reasons for the craft beer explosion in the U.S.
Makes me wonder if you read the whole article. Would you buy some ABInbev stock and hold it long term for your IRA/401k? He's burning the company from the inside out. He is selling all of the good will and marketing the Busch family built into their business over the years. What happens when there is nothing left to cut, like the article says, he may have to resort to brewing beer.
Another reason I will never drink another "Bud".
And they have scooped up so many brands: Stella, Jeffe, Hoegaarden, Whitbeer, Goose Island, etc, etc. It's really ashame and just makes me seek out the small craft guys even more.
Are we going to seriously imply that the hundreds of professional, career brewers that work for the world's largest most successful brewery aren't going to take water chemistry, malt statistics and hop provenance into account and obsessively analyze fermentation byproducts when trying to replicate an already mass-produced beer? What do you think they DO at AB, brewing identical beer in different cities all across the country?
you think they don't know? they do, they just don't care in the name of profits. As long as it makes'em money, they won't change a thing
daksin said:
I can attest that Becks and Bass do not taste like they used to. I noticed the difference before I knew they had moved production (I actually didn't even know Bass was owned by In Bev before reading that article). The brewers are not the ones making the decisions, career executives with no background in the actual brewing process are.
cval said:
I think the executives making these decisions don't know and don't care. Trimming costs and maximizing profits in itself is not a negative thing, but doing so at the expense of the quality of the product shows little respect for the customers. The sad thing is most of those customers won't notice or won't care.
My co-worker told me a few weeks back that he had a Beck's and instantly asked what the hell was wrong with it. He too looked over the bottle and noticed it was brewed not in Bremen but in St. Loius. I didn't believe he probably really noticed a difference thinking he probably knew ahead of time that it was no longer from Germany. I've had many beers that are brewed abroad and here, let's take Asahi who's cans come from Tokyo and the bottles from Canada, and I've never noticed a taste difference. Same goes for Fosters, they moved it from Canada to Texas and some other state and I never tasted a difference. But after reading that article and the cost cutting I'm curious to try a Beck's now since I am very familiar with the beer.
Gotta say, that article really disheartened me. I understand being profitable but it sounds like a company that was already profitable killed a lot of jobs and wealth spreading just to stick it all into the stock owners and executives pockets.
Rev.
Gotta say, that article really disheartened me. I understand being profitable but it sounds like a company that was already profitable killed a lot of jobs and wealth spreading just to stick it all into the stock owners and executives pockets.
Rev.
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I had a Redhook Longhammer and Stone IPA recently and they didn't taste anything like they used to.
InBev isn't the only company that looks at profit margins and tries to cut costs where they can.
InBev isn't the only company that looks at profit margins and tries to cut costs where they can.
Monster Mash
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I noticed the difference when Fosters went from Australia to Canada and I stopped buying it. Lowenbrau used to be very popular but when Miller started making it here it was not he same and sales dropped.
There is no way to make a beer taste exactly the same when using water from another country no matter how you treat it. It is the main reason German beer tastes different then English beer, Canadian beer, Japanese beer...ect
What stuck out to me was the line about needing to take a few years off from buying hops because they had too much in stock? What? Can you have enough hops for years to come and still produce good beer that you expect to taste the same. I had a hard time believing that. And then the next paragraph made sense...
AZ_IPA said:
Redhook is terrible. All of their beers a light for the styles, IPAs have little hop flavor, oh yeah, and they made a deal with the devil (AB/Inbev). Its just for distribution, for now, but it really reflects on their MO. Now, when you buy Redhook at the grocery store, you're supporting AB/Inbev.
AB/Inbev is first an foremost a corporation, no different that Wal-Mart/Costco/etc, and i'd even compare them to the big pharmaceuticals, in the way of sponsoring laws that benefit them and hurt the little guy, back room deals, buying the competition instead of upping their product. They really are a bug bad company, but no one here should be surprised about that. All businesses want to make money, the difference here is craft breweries also want to make a fantastic product.
cheezydemon3
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Disgusting article.
I will seriously boycott anything Inbev.
Evidence that the BMC mindless masses will drink anything as long as it has less flavor and is less filling.
I will seriously boycott anything Inbev.
Evidence that the BMC mindless masses will drink anything as long as it has less flavor and is less filling.
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So why are there a post-prohibition record number of breweries in this country?
AZ_IPA said:
Bad way to say it. Lawsuits galore is better and truer to the point. AB actually filed a lawsuit against Inbev to try and stop them from 'convincing' board members to vote in favor of the acquisition they didnt want (more or less sued themselves!). Their business practices arent on the up and up and if you cant see that then keep supporting em.
Its scary to think the new management makes Anheuser Busch look good. They never scrimped on ingredients. They paid a premium for quality. They knew beer and they were geniuses in marketing. They were also ruthless and unethical, but InBev is making them look like Boy Scouts.
The new management is betting on their customer base not noticing the decline in quality. They might get away with it. Bud Light vs Coors Light? Really? Is it cold wet and gets you a buzz?
I wonder if they arent buying the competition just to kill it. Think Microsoft.
The new management is betting on their customer base not noticing the decline in quality. They might get away with it. Bud Light vs Coors Light? Really? Is it cold wet and gets you a buzz?
I wonder if they arent buying the competition just to kill it. Think Microsoft.
Gravedigger
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My thoughts exactly. Becks was a front line brand when they bought it, now they don't care about it. It sounds like they figure if they own everything and produce all of it as cheap as possible then it doesn't matter if consumers drop one brand for another because they own that one too.
I understand they need to make money and increase profits but it should never be at the expense of the quality of the product and that goes for every business.
I understand they need to make money and increase profits but it should never be at the expense of the quality of the product and that goes for every business.
What's going on is very sad. As long as they don't start making it difficult to buy barley, hops and yeast; take pleasure in the fact that a homebrewer can brew better beer than they are ever willing, or know how to!
Just gives us another reason to homebrew.
Just gives us another reason to homebrew.
I seem to remember many years ago when Lowenbrau began to be brewed in the US and it turned into a junk american beer and no longer the good German beer it use to be.
ElyIrishBrew
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Well no ****. I have put down many a Beck's and Bass Ale over the years, and noticed not long ago that the taste of both changed. Kept buying them for a bit and then gave up on it.
Not that they taste bad. They just taste different, and that makes all the difference, because when you pay $8-$10 for a 6-pack, you buy it because you prefer the taste over other beers, or at least on that given day. So you want the same taste you've been getting all along.
Now I understand why the taste changed. If it had stayed the same I'd have kept buying it no matter who brewed it.
Not that they taste bad. They just taste different, and that makes all the difference, because when you pay $8-$10 for a 6-pack, you buy it because you prefer the taste over other beers, or at least on that given day. So you want the same taste you've been getting all along.
Now I understand why the taste changed. If it had stayed the same I'd have kept buying it no matter who brewed it.
Beef_Supreme
Member
I'm right there with you, and have been since I watched the documentary "Beer Wars" in 2010. Watching that combined with some good ole google digging resulted in my boycotting of InBev products in 2010. I still won't touch anything made by them or Miller/Coors.
moviebrain
Well-Known Member
I could see Stone IPA changing simply because they continually need to find complementary blends of slightly different hops since that is such a large component of that recipe.
Redhook, on the other hand, is part of the same small brewing conglomerate that Goose Island used to belong to (along with Widmer Bros and Kona brewing) Craft Brewers Alliance. I'm sure they're taking notes on how to maximize profits as well. When I last visited the Seattle Redhook brewery they were very proud of their new brewery "back east", but admitted that it would taste slightly different and as such would be packaged in slightly different bottles.
If you ask me, the process of blending and homogenizing the mass produced beer can only hurt the brand. Beer is EXTREMELY difficult to exactly replicate every time, and if your customers are willing to go months between purchases or the distributors take forever to sell through a batch then the changes are even more noticeable.
I don't agree with using lesser quality ingredients, I only mean to argue that making lots of delicately flavored beer with the same flavor consistently is one of those skills I'm constantly in awe of.
cheezydemon3
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all in all isn't real craft beer actually taking up a higher portion of market share as time goes on?
Watered down becks and other crappy premium beers can actually be a gateway to better beer for a lot of BMC people.
Watered down becks and other crappy premium beers can actually be a gateway to better beer for a lot of BMC people.
What bothers me is that our constitution has always had laws against monopolies. but it isn't being enforced anymore. It really needs to be enforced when outside companies come into this country bying things up. Including our land. We need to change this greedy crap.
I kinda got scammed a few days back. I have a monthly poker game at my house. I always hit a local brewpub for a keg of amber ale that my friends love. Its a bit of a haul and I didnt have time to make the trip this time.
I hit the local beer store for a 1/6 keg. All they had was IPAs and my friends wont drink it. They are mostly BMC drinkers. They had a special on Goose Island honkers ale. I'd heard of goose island, but never tried it. The keg was ridiculously cheap, so I bought it. Got it home and noticed A big ole AB eagle on the keg.
Got a little suspicious and googled goose island. Turns out I bought an InBev owned brewery product. It was definitely not marketed that way. I even spoke to the beer guy and he told me it was a high-end microbrewery in Chicago. He highly recommended it.
It was OK, not great. A little watery and kinda bland. Tasted like a malty budweiser. Its drinkable, but I feel a little duped.
The moral of the story is 'Be careful out there'. Make sure you know what you're buying.
I hit the local beer store for a 1/6 keg. All they had was IPAs and my friends wont drink it. They are mostly BMC drinkers. They had a special on Goose Island honkers ale. I'd heard of goose island, but never tried it. The keg was ridiculously cheap, so I bought it. Got it home and noticed A big ole AB eagle on the keg.
Got a little suspicious and googled goose island. Turns out I bought an InBev owned brewery product. It was definitely not marketed that way. I even spoke to the beer guy and he told me it was a high-end microbrewery in Chicago. He highly recommended it.
It was OK, not great. A little watery and kinda bland. Tasted like a malty budweiser. Its drinkable, but I feel a little duped.
The moral of the story is 'Be careful out there'. Make sure you know what you're buying.
tennesseean_87
Well-Known Member
Which part of the Constitution does this?
Gameface
Well-Known Member
I guess I'm not seeing the same tragedy in this article the rest of you are.
For one, InBev is delivering exactly what most of their customers want, an easy to drink, ultra clear beer. Go to a bar and ask an inbev customer if they liked it better when the budweiser was made with more Halletauer Mittelfruh and they'll likely shrug their shoulders. They aren't going to feel let down. And lets face it, folks, Budweiser doesn't have a discernible hop flavor or aroma, so we're talking about a very lightly bittered beer using a different bittering hop (or at least a smaller ratio of the original bittering hop). Was Budweiser "good" before InBev bought them? Right, so what's changed really?
On the bright side. The continued degradation of mass market commercial beer is driving huge increases in craft brewing and home brewing. I think eventually there will be a tipping point at which time most consumers will demand more from their beer than InBev will be able to provide.
For one, InBev is delivering exactly what most of their customers want, an easy to drink, ultra clear beer. Go to a bar and ask an inbev customer if they liked it better when the budweiser was made with more Halletauer Mittelfruh and they'll likely shrug their shoulders. They aren't going to feel let down. And lets face it, folks, Budweiser doesn't have a discernible hop flavor or aroma, so we're talking about a very lightly bittered beer using a different bittering hop (or at least a smaller ratio of the original bittering hop). Was Budweiser "good" before InBev bought them? Right, so what's changed really?
On the bright side. The continued degradation of mass market commercial beer is driving huge increases in craft brewing and home brewing. I think eventually there will be a tipping point at which time most consumers will demand more from their beer than InBev will be able to provide.
They will keep cutting on process and quality until their main constituency starts crying. Unfortunately that may be too late. I think it sucks that there are companies that operate this way, but part of me is relieved. As an aspiring pro brewer I say let them screw it up and drive those drinkers to me.
It was either 2011 or maybe even this year that the craft brew industry sales topped five percent of the overall US beer market.
If the starting point corresponded with, say, the emergence of Samuel Adams Boston Lager on the national scene in 1985 (not saying "cause/effect", just chronology, as there were many hundreds of microbreweries by the end of that decade) it's taken 25 years to get to "5".
While The Bigs are clearly hedging their bets by snapping up some micros, I doubt they have all that much to worry about....
Cheers!
If the starting point corresponded with, say, the emergence of Samuel Adams Boston Lager on the national scene in 1985 (not saying "cause/effect", just chronology, as there were many hundreds of microbreweries by the end of that decade) it's taken 25 years to get to "5".
While The Bigs are clearly hedging their bets by snapping up some micros, I doubt they have all that much to worry about....
Cheers!
Gameface
Well-Known Member
Sure, I agree. They'll continue to give a large portion of the population the beer they want to drink while the craft brew industry (no better or worse than the macro brew industry) gains larger and larger percentages of the market share. Good beer will become more available, home brewing ingredients, equipment and knowledge will expand. Life will be really good!
I don't agree about Costco being compared with InBev or Walmart. From my own experience of the store wares and from what I have read about the way they run their business. There is a lot of material on the subject, including this one that calls Costco the anti-walmart. http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2005/07/costco-business-philosophy.html
In my own experience, Costco evidently cares about the quality of what it sells. It's not just a bottom line distributor.
I guess by proxy, I'm saying that inBev doesn't care about what it sells. Which is the article summarized, maybe.
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