Anheuser Busch and their deceptive marketing

[bobbrewedit]

I like supporting the small guy, i want our economy to grow, that matters to me. So it may seem like i'm being a d!ck to BMC, but i don't care about Canada or Belgium's profit,

This is the part I agree with wholeheartedly...I enjoy bud light on a hot a$$ day, but have stopped buying it since they got bought up...its just my thing. I buy Red Wing boots and anything else I can prove to myself is somehow going to benefit another American...hell, I still only buy American cars and lord knows what a stretch it is to still call them American made.

 

[CityOChampBrew]

This is the part I agree with wholeheartedly...I enjoy bud light on a hot a$$ day, but have stopped buying it since they got bought up...its just my thing. I buy Red Wing boots and anything else I can prove to myself is somehow going to benefit another American...hell, I still only buy American cars and lord knows what a stretch it is to still call them American made.

Can someone PLEASE Define an american made car to me?? You buy ford or GM or whatever... and what you get is components that are built in China or Mexico and just assembled here?? Nothing is truely american made... it sucks..

 

[McMalty]

just because you don't like BMC doesn't mean other people don't really like it.

maybe instead of bashing BMC all the time, appreciate the fact they bothered to come out with a beer that has a little flavor and might be enjoyable to more craft drinkers.

i'm not hating on people who like BMC, that's fine. I appreciate people like your buddy who has tried them and prefers beer with "less flavor", that's totally fine, i wouldn't try to dictate anyone's personal preference. And it's not that I have a problem with BMC making beers with more flavor. I'm not bashing them for that. What i have a problem with is them claiming they are "in partnership with craft breweries" when they actually own the "craft" breweries they are referring to, but refuse to put their name on. Why? b/c it damages that product. Sure, that may make business sense, but if simply associating your name with something is damaging....there's something wrong with what you're doing in the first place. And I am bashing them for all their efforts to abolish their craft competition and their overall condescending attitude towards craft as merely a fad. I may be speaking rashly, but i'm well informed.

 

[Hulud]

Yeah and I can find more craft beer in my grocery store or even drug store than I can find an AHB-inbev product. They're really squezing out the craft breweries.

Funny, but where I live even our chain grocery stores carry more craft beer than they do macro beers. kroger's, Meijer's, even the local IGAs carry a huge selection of craft and imported beers, and devote more shelf space to said beers. Than they do to domestic light lagers these day. Even the most "Ghetto" of the liquor stores in Detroit have some alternatives to those beers.

My first "special" beer was Double Diamond Burton ale, bought in the kind of inner-city party store where the also kept the "chore boy" scrubbies and sold plastic roses in little glass test tubes at the front counter (if you don't know chore boy and little glass test tubes can be used to smoke crack with, they're quite popular in inner city stores.)

We also have 100 micro breweries in Michigan.

In fact I've been trying to find the Budweiser Brew Masters series that we've been talking about in other threads, and I JUST CAN'T FIND IT ANYWHERE.....I can find any craft, imported and micro beer that are distributed in my state, especially those brewed in Michigan easier than I can find the Budweiser product.

I've been buying imported and craft beers since 1986, and more of it every year. I just don't buy that they have as much power as you think they do. The genie is out of the bottle, the distributors, and the store owners know which side the bread is buttered, they have the real power. They know beer culture is here to stay and they know that a decent amount of the population nowadays is more interested in pay 17 dollars for a bottle of x craft beer. They know that they have to nowadays sell 2 cases of budlight, for every 12 dollar 4 pack of Founder's Breakfast Stout that a large segment of the population is clamoring for.

Or 1 Utopias for every 12 cases of Bush lite?

They're not going to allow the macro breweries to dictate to them how they have to make their money these days.....they're going to cover all bases.

The market drives things, not the producers.

So, from where I'm looking, where I can buy more craft beers, and attend beer tastings everyweek in my local pharmacy I find those "beerwars" arguments about how much power the "evil empire" has over beer distribution anymore about as believable as most 9-11 conspiracies.

This is a DRUGSTORE, where I buy my condoms and heart medication, not one of the dozen beer stores in a mile radious from there that have great beer selections, this is my PHARMACY.....They have three "Beer experts" on staff.

Here's a list....

You might notice they list 8 BMC type beers, and 70 craft, micros, imported, ciders, and meads.

And that's just one store.....If this is the result of a three tier system, than it's fine by me.

I think those arguments are just more looking for a reason to hate, than they're having that much of a stanglehold these days. There's room for it all.

These beersnob arguments are so tiring..... And just silly. Craft beer an endangered species, and bmc the evil empire...*yawn*

revvy i respect you but what you see up there is not the norm (atleast not dow here...unfortunately)

at the store i work at BMC has 1/2 the aisle for beer because of selling purposes.


I love craft beer and have tried everything we offer which is why i dont buy beer from my store anymore

 

[bob1852]

This is the part I agree with wholeheartedly...I enjoy bud light on a hot a$$ day, but have stopped buying it since they got bought up...its just my thing. I buy Red Wing boots and anything else I can prove to myself is somehow going to benefit another American...hell, I still only buy American cars and lord knows what a stretch it is to still call them American made.

Think of the 10s of thousands of jobs InBev provides to American citizens, either directly or indirectly. Farmers, maltsters, brewers, aluminium companies, truck drivers, sales reps, distributors, promotors, regulators, bar/restaurant owners, etc.

InBev is good for the American economy.

Can someone PLEASE Define an american made car to me?? You buy ford or GM or whatever... and what you get is components that are built in China or Mexico and just assembled here?? Nothing is truely american made... it sucks..

What, say it ain't so???

 

[McMalty]

revvy i respect you but what you see up there is not the norm (atleast not dow here...unfortunately)

at the store i work at BMC has 1/2 the aisle for beer because of selling purposes.


I love craft beer and have tried everything we offer which is why i dont buy beer from my store anymore

thank you

 

[SpentGrains]

I'm glad people like OP are passionate about beer, without people like him there would be no craft beer, no beer movement. Hell if we all loved light lager so much when why are we homebrewing everything but?

BMC is the fast food joints of beer and operate on the same principles. They are available, reasonably priced, and taste the same everywhere you buy it. McDonalds sells more burgers than any other joint; can anyone in this thread honestly tell me that they make the best hamburger? Market share doesn't mean they sell the best product, only that they are the best at selling product.

I eat McDonalds more than I care to admit, but I don't go out of my way to try their new fancy pants burger, or try to tell people that they have a stick up their hole if they don't eat it. I also don't blame someone for boycotting McDonalds because of their ingredients or poor wages.

 

[Hulud]

thank you

you are welcome....? lol

yea it sucks having to go support a competitor rather than my employer because they want profits

 

[Hulud]

I'm glad people like OP are passionate about beer, without people like him there would be no craft beer, no beer movement. Hell if we all loved light lager so much when why are we homebrewing everything but?

BMC is the fast food joints of beer and operate on the same principles. They are available, reasonably priced, and taste the same everywhere you buy it. McDonalds sells more burgers than any other joint; can anyone in this thread honestly tell me that they make the best hamburger? Market share doesn't mean they sell the best product, only that they are the best at selling product.

I eat McDonalds more than I care to admit, but I don't go out of my way to try their new fancy pants burger, or try to tell people that they have a stick up their hole if they don't eat it.

so it comes down to convience rather than quality? cause CA has some quality FFburger joints

 

[CityOChampBrew]

I wouldn't be caught dead eating McD's but if you handed me a free bud I would drink the h@@@ out of it.. Difference is I love beer, but I'm not going to poison myself with some cr@ppy tasting burger or whatever. Would I buy bud.. no but I'm not going to turn a free one down.

 

[bob1852]

I'm glad people like OP are passionate about beer, without people like him there would be no craft beer, no beer movement. Hell if we all loved light lager so much when why are we homebrewing everything but?

Light lager won Best of Show at 2102 NHC. The largest homebrew competition in the world, with the best judges in the world. Lots of people are brewing light lagers.

The reason I don't brew light lagers is because it's hard to do, and exceptional quality commercial versions of the style are readily available and pretty cheap. To get my light lager fix, I'm not gonna bother attempting to brew one.

 

[SpentGrains]

I wouldn't be caught dead eating McD's but if you handed me a free bud I would drink the h@@@ out of it.. Difference is I love beer, but I'm not going to poison myself with some cr@ppy tasting burger or whatever. Would I buy bud.. no but I'm not going to turn a free one down.

OKAY. I think you missed my point.

And for the record if you handed me a free MCD burger I would eat the hell out of it, two if you had em.

 

[CityOChampBrew]

OKAY. I think you missed my point.

And for the record if you handed me a free MCD burger I would eat the hell out of it, two if you had em.

I think you missed the point out of my post... bud might not be the best beer in the world but it is a consistant product that isn't going to kill you... Drinking a few buds a day is just as healthy as drinking a few any other beers a day... but if you eat that Poison they serve a McD's every day you will most likely suffer hardcore health problems within a few years if not sooner..

Bud might not be the beer of choice but it is what it is.. At least you never hear about getting a bad/disappointing case of bud if thats what you want, but I have bought cases of craft beer, specifically nugget nectar last year that were well below the quality I was used to/expecting

 

[Hulud]

I wouldn't be caught dead eating McD's but if you handed me a free bud I would drink the h@@@ out of it.. Difference is I love beer, but I'm not going to poison myself with some cr@ppy tasting burger or whatever. Would I buy bud.. no but I'm not going to turn a free one down.

Poison is poison, it's all about what poison you prefer at the moment

 

[SpentGrains]

I think you missed the point out of my post... bud might not be the best beer in the world but it is a consistant product that isn't going to kill you... Drinking a few buds a day is just as healthy as drinking a few any other beers a day... but if you eat that Poison they serve a McD's every day you will most likely suffer hardcore health problems within a few years if not sooner..

Bud might not be the beer of choice but it is what it is.. At least you never hear about getting a bad/disappointing case of bud if thats what you want, but I have bought cases of craft beer, specifically nugget nectar last year that were well below the quality I was used to/expecting

You have more than proven my point: that what the masses consume the most isn't "the best." Beer or hamburgers or anything else.

Also, since we are going way off topic here your reasoning is flawed. You compare beer to beer, but compare burgers to... eating nothing. If you eat ANY MEAL in excess calories every day you will suffer health problems, half of America has already proven that...

Poison is poison, it's all about what poison you prefer at the moment

Yup, moderation is key, but we all die in the end.

 

[CityOChampBrew]

You have more than proven my point: that what the masses consume the most isn't "the best." Beer or hamburgers or anything else.

Also, since we are going way off topic here your reasoning is flawed. You compare beer to beer, but compare burgers to... eating nothing. If you eat ANY MEAL in excess calories every day you will suffer health problems, half of America has already proven that...



Yup, moderation is key, but we all die in the end.

Thats not the point at all.. not all calories are equal, what McD's does to the food WILL kill you even if you eat a "normal caloric diet" Have you ever just left McD's food out without putting it in the refridge or wrapping it up... It doesn't decay... for years...

 

[thatjonguy]

Thats not the point at all.. not all calories are equal, what McD's does to the food WILL kill you even if you eat a "normal caloric diet" Have you ever just left McD's food out without putting it in the refridge or wrapping it up... It doesn't decay... for years...

Neither do homemade burgers:
http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives...f-the-12-year-old-burger-testing-results.html





Or honey.

 

[CityOChampBrew]

I'm not here to defend bud and their conglomerate but you are here acting as if they are the enemy forcing people to do everything AHB wants, yet they are providing a service that people want. Yes, they are after a profit and are delivering a very limited product to the massed, but the masses are gracefully accepting what they offer, their loss. If you don't like it you don't have to stick it to a salesman just trying to make a living; just drink his free beer and buy the good $hizzle

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Black Crown is one of the Project 12 beers, right? Have you tried the sampler? They're pretty good. They have a vanilla oaked on in there that's pretty tasty. Actually all three of the winners were worth trying. It's actually nice to see AHB doing something geared more to us craft beer drinkers.

Some guys from my brew club had a "raid the cellar" beer tasting today. Vertical 2009->2012 Black Tuesday, vertical 2010-2012 Parabola, Cantillon gueuze, Sucuba, a 2006->2008 vertical of the Trader Joe's "Vintage Ale", and a few other choice bottles.

Partly as a joke (i.e. "I'm bringing something I'm pretty sure *none* of you have tasted!") and partly because I honestly wanted to try it, I brought Black Crown. The general response was along the lines of "yeah, it's pretty good, definitely a lot more flavor than standard Bud, and not a bad beer." (Interestingly, shortly thereafter a couple beer geeks who aren't homebrewers showed up, and acted all elitist about it. I thought it interesting that the brewers had a completely different take on it than the non-brewers.) Then we went back to the heavy hitters.

What was interesting is what happened when the guy who organized the event pulled out lunch. He cooks, so he made a nice spicy dry-rubbed pulled pork, cole slaw, and from-scratch rolls. Nice spread. You know what question I got?

"Hey Brad, where's the rest of that Black Crown?"

It paired perfectly with lunch. Far better than cracking a bottle of Black Tuesday!

It's a good beer. It's not as flavorful as much of what I drink on a daily basis, so it's something that would be more likely for me to drink at an airport bar than actually buy more of for home, but it's still a good beer.

I posted up a quick review on Google+ today:

I've actually been wanting to try this for a bit. I'd heard good reviews from people whose opinion I trust on beer, and I try not to be a hater and let the source poison my opinion.

This isn't an exciting beer. But much like Bud's [now-defunct] American Ale, it's very well executed and it's a technically solid offering. And, in my opinion, it's a cut above their usual offerings, flavor-wise. There's an actual malt presence!

When evaluating beers like this, there are better craft lagers available and I generally look for more flavor in the store. So the question is where this falls in my "macro-lager airport beer" list. I'd probably take this over a Stella or a Boston Lager. It would fall behind something like an Amber Bock (which aren't common in airports anyway). So if Bud starts pushing this out to a lot of tap handles, I might have it again. If it remains a store shelf beer, not so much.

 

[CityOChampBrew]

I'm going to a beer tasting next saturday and from this thread alone I may just buy a 6er of this beer and take the time to remove any labels from that beer just to see what happens. if it's possible to remove anything that identifies it

 

[brewbobaggins]

Wow. This guy's really heated.

InBev makes what people want. Supply and demand. If people wanted chocolate stouts, then budweiser would make chocolate stouts.

People want light American lagers. If you can convince everyone in America to like double IPAs, then Budweiser will probably start making double IPAs.

It starts at the homebrew level.

 

[boisebrewer53]

OK, First post guys. I'm with the OP, screw the big time 40,000 gallons @ a time spend millions in ad space brewers. I support with my dollars only breweries I would want to visit because their beer is that good, & I could drive there in a day more or less. I am lucky enough to live in the Great NorthWest and can drive to hundreds of breweries and beer pubs and craft breweries. Plenty'o'brewhaus here in town too.

 

[Hulud]

Yup, moderation is key, but we all die in the end.

Yea most don't know that unfortunately.

 

[woknblues]

I too believe the market dictates what people are drinking. All of the grocery/liquor/pharmacy's I go to are about 50/50 in offering commercial and "craft". Obviously, the BMC's are pulling more market share. They got big by providing exactly what people want. In general, I believe (presently( that the majority of people on this earth want a light, affordable buzz and to a good portion of them, they want to be acceptable to their peer group and are also likely to follow a certain familial or regional tradition. That is Bud, becks, PBR, rolling rock, sapporo, labatts blue, san miguel, heineken, corona, singha etc. These beers offer mostly what you would call, "refreshment". Refreshment is important in beer drinking, because, as Revvy stated earlier, we have already moved from requiring beer to fortify or nourish us, to save excess grain crops, etc.. We have our calories in our abundant food supply already.

I love craft beer. I love a good cold lawnmower beer from any of the above listed "BMC" style beers as well. Conversely, I hate drinking a big heavy beer after a large heavy meal, or on a particularly hot day. There is a time and place for everything.

Example: You can't expect the average Joe to reach for a berliner weisse as an after meal digestif because they are hard to find, hard to pronounce and if though unlikely he was a homebrewer, somewhat tricky to brew correctly, even with the right equipment and yeast strains/bacterias not to mention time consuming to ferment completely. No beer would do it better in my opinion, yet I, a not so average "beer Joe" could not find a single berliner weisse to drink, and I am within 5 miles of three extraordinarily "well stocked in beer" liquor type stores.

 

[julioardz]

I find it interesting how a chain of grocery stores in my area caters to the demands of the different communities they serve. My grocery store has a wide selection of beer with half or more being craft, micro, private, independent, or whatever you prefer to call it. This includes a good selection of locally made beer as well. The remainder of the beer are different varieties owned by or associated with SABMiller and AB-InBev, which they put further back and away from the high flow of traffic, so you don't even have to see those brands if you don't want to.

Now, if you drive a few miles down the road to a different community and visit that location of the same grocery store, you'll find, up front and center for all shoppers to see, that half the beer selection is Bud Light. The other half is divided up between Budweiser, Coors, Miller, a handful of their craft cousins, and maybe a New Belgium Fat Tire or SNPA.

Point being, around these parts, we the community decide what's popular and what's not. Sure, you have distributors promoting, store managers deciding what goes into inventory, and all other behind the scenes things that go on, but ultimately the consumers decide what they want to buy and not buy. If my grocery store doesn't have beer that I find interesting, I just walk over to the liquor store next door, politely smile at the promo girl giving out samples, say no thank you, and head to their beer section.

 

[Yuri_Rage]

I'm not sure how accurate the analogy will be, but let's examine an industry in which we have less emotion invested: bread.

(admittedly, my research was brief, and my knowledge of the baking industry is quite limited)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grupo_Bimbo

Grupo Bimbo (best name ever) is the world's largest baking company. In the US, they own Arnold, Boboli, Entenmann's, Friehofer's, Mrs Baird's, Orowheat, Stroehmann's, and Thomas (and perhaps others). They own many other brands throughout the world. It appears that they are the InBev/Anheuser Busch of the baking industry. If I go to the grocery store for a loaf of bread, I'm quite likely to walk out with a Grupo Bimbo brand product. It's likely to be inexpensive, taste decent (and consistent), and suit the bulk of my sandwich-making desires. However, I can still go to a local bakery and grab an artisan loaf anytime I want. In fact, it's not even very expensive to buy something a little more unique and/or tastier. It doesn't appear that Grupo Bimbo is putting local bakers or grocery store brands out of business, despite what appears to be a stranglehold on big baking industry. If anything, most people I know are more inclined to blame big discount stores like Walmart for threatening local businesses, rather than their suppliers. Even so, I can still get a locally baked loaf of bread in nearly any town I've ever visited.

I don't hate Grupo Bimbo. They make bread, most of which is inexpensive - which is convenient because I eat bread, and I don't want to pay much for it. Sometimes I eat better bread and pay a little extra for it. Sometimes I even make bread. My needs and desires are satisfied, and I don't feel like any of them are particularly threatened by capitalism.

 

[WeimBrew]

...
So, from where I'm looking, where I can buy more craft beers, and attend beer tastings everyweek in my local pharmacy I find those "beerwars" arguments about how much power the "evil empire" has over beer distribution anymore about as believable as most 9-11 conspiracies.

This is a DRUGSTORE, where I buy my condoms and heart medication, not one of the dozen beer stores in a mile radious from there that have great beer selections, this is my PHARMACY.....They have three "Beer experts" on staff.

Here's a list....

You might notice they list 8 BMC type beers, and 70 craft, micros, imported, ciders, and meads.
...

I just stumbled across this place last week in my search for Black Note. Amazing selection but alas no Black Note left.

 

[Channel66]

I don't drink Budweiser simply because I don't like it, I don't care for very many beers with rice adjunct, and that is the only reason, am I impressed with their beer? Absolutely, you go try to make a batch. Better yet make millions, all identical, crystal clear, perfectly balanced... get my point?

The new stuff Budweiser is doing with project 12 is exciting, what that is going to do is help bridge the gap, get more people to try craft style beers. They will see the Budweiser logo and think well yup I like me some yellow beer. Crack them open and fall in love with the depth and the craftsmanship, maybe even turning them on to the smaller companies in the long run. If in bev wants to take over the craft market they are certainly going about it the wrong way. They could easily flood the market with brands wash out all of the little guys. They haven't. Yes they have done market research through their craft brands, but have you noticed an influx of shock top? Blue moon? No. The production levels have stayed much the same.

They may not even take any more of the market share with project 12. People who drink BMC now will buy it to try it. Craft drinkers will always be such, sure we will buy it to try it as well, and pick up the occasional 6er or more. But how often do most of us drink the same beer over and over? I know as a home brewer that I like variety in my beer. Victory hop devil today, dfh tomorrow. Variety is the spice of life. BMC are finally offering variety.

 

[doctorRobert]

beer snob... there, i said it.

 

[Stevo2569]

Well to say that Bud makes what people want is true but by spending millions on ads to help dictate "What people want" kinda construes the argument. People by Bud because they are told to, much like millions of other non beer mass marketed products.
Although I hate En-Bev not only for there beer but because they fired my plant manager uncle when they took over to give his long time job to a younger cheaper employee. I would still drink one if it was free and there were nothin better around. Another way to look at it is that En-Bev is helping the craft beer market by exposing the BMC loyals to new styles that would not normally been trusted from some Craft brewery they never heard of. In turn they might just try that style from a Craft brewery next time.