AB acquires Four Peaks, looks to New Belgium next

http://draftmag.com/ab-four-peaks-new-belgium-sale/

And they keep rolling in

 

The article doesn't say anything about ABInbev looking at New Belgium.

New Belgium is employee owned. The ridiculous price paid for Ballast Point had to make them think.

 

This. But if it does choose to sell to Ab-Inbev ... Fan fvcking tastic!

Only thing these sales mean to me is that beers that were previously unavailable to me locally may very well be available soon.

 

Edit: deleted, necesito mas cafe this morning

 

Meh. Decent beers, but what I've been able to get here were not extra special.

What concerns me most about this is that AB buying up craft makes it more challenging to purchase beers that don't contribute to the monster. A lot of people don't care, but the big breweries bully distributors and retailers to stock their own beer and the smaller breweries get pushed out.

I tend to try beers from further away, but regularly purchase more local beers than anything. Hopefully AB doesn't change the recipes, but focuses on getting more of those beers out to those who can't otherwise get them. Best case, anyway.

 

It's less about changing recipes and more about shelf space on supermarket shelves.

 

Yup, vote with your wallet, I try not to buy AB products and support the little guys instead. I am not a fan of how they are going after the craft breweries, but as a believer in capitalism, it is the way it goes.

 

So, who wants to start a successful microbrew with me here in central NC, so we can sell it off for way more than it's worth?

 

NB is shopping a buyer.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-newbelgium-m-a-exclusive-idUSKBN0U11ZM20151218

 

^^ yep, I jumped the gun associating it with AB, mostly cause I got it through a chain email and couldn't read well this morning. The company they are working with is Lazard and wasnt mentioned as having brokered deals with AB in the past either.

Focus on the beer.com got this quote from Kim:

 

For now. Ask die hard Bass consumers what happened to their beer after they were bought by InBev.

I don't think it's pure coincidence that the head brewer of previously craft beer company left after the merger. It's happened at Goose Island, Lagunitas and others.

InBev has shareholders. Therefore they will always choose profit over quality of beer in the long run.

 

I am in.

 

I may be wrong, but I thought I saw somewhere that InBev wasn't in play for NB because it would never pass anti-trust muster. Interesting that NB is shopping itself, though, given their obvious pride in being employee-owned.

 

I'm not saying no recipes will be changed, I just think they want the distribution over growing the brand.

 

A little rice here, a little corn there, maybe a touch less hops ......... no-one will ever know!!!!!!

Cheaper beer at the higher prices, and the Yuppies will still buy it (because the name is well known and it's fashionable). ....... they just took a chunk out of the Craft Beer market leaving less room for the independents.


Yes, you can say it helps with making the beers have a wider distribution network, but in my mind it makes less room for the entrepreneurs, will put many of the small guys out of business, and is overall bad for the craft beer industry.

 

@cyanmonkey
@Homercidal
@Newsman
@iijakii
@bbohanon

First, I am gonna need some money...

 

Well I WAS saving up for a house downpayment but what the hell, in for 55k...

 

2.945 million to go!

 

Not saying it doesn't happen (because it does; there used to be a lovely Pilsner called Rolling Rock out there), but the focus on craft beer brand acquisition now is largely driven by prestige and legacy. The difference being that the majority of people who buy boutique beers are relatively well informed, and will react to a perceived change in beer quality.

The really attractive aspect of premium craft beer brands to BMC is they can charge the same price for a product that cost substantially less to put on the shelf.

 

Finding the company could be worth north of 1 Billion would make one reconsider that.

Per the FAQ on their web page, they had 591 "coworkers" at December 31, 2014 so that's an average of $1,692,047 each.

 

That hasn't been their pattern in the past. Generally the recipes do change.
That said, the 10 Barrel brewpub in Portland still makes some great beers and is a great place to grab something to eat after the AB InBev acquisition.

 

THIS!!!

Michelob Amber Bock/Michelob Dark were my `gateway beers (before Guinness)
but i will go out of my way to NOT buy them nowadays(any AB/Inbev)
and will allways choose the local brewery products first.

 

I can spare a couple bucks...where do I send the money? Note... I meant that literally... a couple bucks! :cross:

 

If there is one thing InBev doesn't need is distribution. They are buying well-regarded craft brew brands to put into their distribution.

 

What they are really after is shelf/tap space, after all without that you can't sell beer.

 

By distribution I mean getting their beers in place so that smaller brewers can't get a share of the market.

 

Breckenridge was the next to be sold to AB/InBev:

http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_29298392/breckenridge-brewery-sold-giant-anheuser-buschs-high-end

Here in Wisconsin, you don't see it that commonly...I assume that will be changing.

 

Take a check ... ...

 

Jeebus!

 

I would say judging from all of the breweries opening around here you aren't the first person with the idea. Although competing with some of their offerings probably wouldn't be too hard

 

I agree! Lots of breweries, lots of sub-par beer coming from many of them.

I'd just use BierMuncher's & Yooper's recipes in my brew-pub. Couldn't go wrong that way.

 

It is really a shame some of the beers they put out. An HBT recipe brewery would blow most of them out of the water.

Give me a call when all those checks clear, and I'll head your way to help get things started

 

Whats really scary about all this, is how much political power they will have in cities and such. Now, more than ever, another massive corporation will be able to lobby harder to get what they want, and will continue to put the little guys out of business.

 

Sure, but you've got a mean/median problem here. The mean may be a valuation of $1.69M, but I'm guessing the median employee would be unlikely to clear 6 figures...

 

Yikes. This is why I've avoided any ABI beer purchases for at least the last 3 years or so, since I became aware of their impact on the industry.

Yeah, I don't see how NB employess could really go that way, unless a few upper end 'employees' had the power and desire to make it go their way for a pay-off. It's got to be a similar deal to the noise about a possible Bell's sell-out a couple years ago. They got some attention and have continued to keep it in the family, with no real signs of deviation. I expect the same from New Belgium. That new blackberry barleywine is not exactly a major sell-out brew.

 

AB-Inbev is a Monster Conglomerate! They use many tactics to strong arm the competition, from pay to play, to buying up the competition (craft brewers), to buying up distributors. It is ludicrous that they are not already defendants in several anti-trust law suits. Because of their "bully attitude", I am boycotting anything that I know is a product of AB-Inbev. Viva la Craft brewer!

 

And I'm buying stock.

HBT'ers might be all about the underdog, but if more regular people get access to drink good craft beers, it's gonna be huge (er).

 

Craft beer is all about creativity in brewing; the anti-establishment if you want.

AB is not creating anything. It is buying up market share in the craft market, locking up distribution with these established products and stifling the whole craft beer movement. If anything it will 'cheapen' or 'dilute' the beers it owns for increased profits.

Yes, they may help with wider distribution of the craft beers they own, but they are trying to lock-out the small creative breweries, and in an attempt to maximize profit.

Unless something changes, I think it is the start of the end of the craft beer revolution. Just hope that SA and SN stay true to their origins as they may be the only ones big enough to still be around when this is all over.

I'm all for a boycott of AB beers. Probably will not get very far, but could be the start of a revolution. Anyone have a list of AB owned brands?

 

Here is another AB acquisition... http://draftmag.com/breckenridge-brewery-becomes-the-latest-ab-inbev-acquistion/

I for one am not a follower of Inbev brews as I only drink my (or friends) home brew now...

 

All these deals are really about distribution and the power that brings. The local bar/ restaurant will always carry "craft beer". Certainly a good possibility that the offerings will be Ballast Point, Goose Island, Elysian, Golden Road, etc. Of course all owned by big beer. They will squeeze out small brewers by cutting the price to retailers so much that they can't compete and stay in business.