Another brand under A-B's Porfolio, say goodbye to Blue Point Brewing

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Johnnyhitch1

Johnnyhitch1

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The next company to get gobbled up by A-B...Blue Point Brewing in Patchogue, Long island.

While I see that A-B did great things with Goose island (upping production, wider disto, more marketing and overall keeping the BCS line safe.

I don't think blue point has much to offer in the sense of becoming a "larger" brand. We will see where this goes...

http://www.stltoday.com/business/lo...cle_e26eec01-3093-5e2f-97d6-4dd7f0b54c42.html
 
I'm really sad. I was local to this brewery in college, and it is basically what got me into craft brewing. I feel really bad for the guys working there.
 
Congrats to the owners. They built a successful brand and now have a whole lot of money to show for it. I hope that they enjoy it. :mug: I am 100% serious. I do not understand why it is a bad thing for an owner to do what he or she wants with their business. AB would not want it if it is not successful. They did not become one of the world's largest businesses by loosing money. Maybe through their distribution system it will now be available in the midwest so I can try it.
 
I absolutely love their Toasted Lager. It is sad to see they will be losing their craft status. Hope the quality stays high.
 
upsetting. been living on long island my whole life and their beers are everywhere around here. The locals around here are already bashing them for the move.

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if anything the money AB will invest will make the quality a little better because of more consistent beers. They have a nice lineup overall with the toasted being a staple but a few really nice IPA's as well.
Like I said in another post the crew there, especially the girls behind the bar in the tasting room are aces. Shouldn't mean too much right now but I'm sure they'll be some big changes down the road a few years.
 
i have been listening to BS about goose for so long now, it seems as if people just don't want to actually look at reality (must interfere with whatever "AB is the enemy" narrative is running in their heads). it isn't hard, just take a glance over at gooses website to see their current lineup of beers. yep, behold the corporate takeover in action, forcing them to release umm Kisetsu - "Our version of an experimental Sake Saision is an ale with Köji and sake yeast"??? i'm sure they're cashing in on that one, it's the next bud light! the truth is, goose has gotten much more experimental/crazy since AB partnered with them. why? because they can now. they have the extra cash to allow them to make whatever the hell appeals to them, they don't just have to devote all their production to honkers ale to keep in business. AB is not buying craft beer brewers trying to make them change their beers, why would they do that? to hurt sales? maybe this brewery will actually make better beers now, like goose is.
 
The trend started when the craft beer revolution started to get big & profitable enough for the MBC combines to take notice. The first step was to bring out their own lines of "ersatz-craft" beers, the Shock Tops and the like, then the acquisitions started, Blue Moon, Goose Island, etc., and they won't stop.
Will this mean that the acquired breweries' beers will suffer? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know.
For me, the answer is simple. We visited the New Glarus Brewery two years ago, and I was struck by their philosophy that they will not expand beyond Wisconsin, and believe in local beer.
I can live with that, and will increasingly support our local micros (of which we now have three), and of course drink my own, and abjure the Bigs.
 
rico567 said:
The trend started when the craft beer revolution started to get big & profitable enough for the MBC combines to take notice. The first step was to bring out their own lines of "ersatz-craft" beers, the Shock Tops and the like, then the acquisitions started, Blue Moon, Goose Island, etc., and they won't stop.
Will this mean that the acquired breweries' beers will suffer? Maybe, maybe not, I don't know.
For me, the answer is simple. We visited the New Glarus Brewery two years ago, and I was struck by their philosophy that they will not expand beyond Wisconsin, and believe in local beer.
I can live with that, and will increasingly support our local micros (of which we now have three), and of course drink my own, and abjure the Bigs.
Click to expand...

sure, that's cool. that's their business model. other breweries might want to expand more. which is cool too. but everyone saying "bye bye" to this brewery before they have even brewed a bottle of beer under the new partnership is ridiculous.
 
From a drinkers perspective it could be bad, from a business perspective it's great and on a more personal note, let's hope they keep the location and staff on that have their lively hood tied to the brewery. Change can be scary when you're not the one sitting at the top.
 
InBev's business practices has soured me to them. It's quite greedy.

I will buy beer's under the Miller/Coors label as they don't have quite the nefarious business practices.

Watching Beer Wars really put a sour taste in my mouth, as well as what I've read about what they've done to some of their bought companies, not to mention how they took over AB in the first place.

Beck's is no longer German, their brewery closed and workers sent home, Bud/BL isn't made the same way, and the one hop supplier done with all to make more money, which wasn't to improve the beer, but to pocket more money.

And then AB's commercial trying to state their recipe is the same and the ingredients are local, which isn't true. Same with labeling a beer craft made by mom and pop's brewery, which is actually a Budweiser brewery.

But you cannot fault these big businesses for buying out these small guys. It's the small guys who took the money and ran for whatever reason(s).
 
Hello said:
Hmm fair or easy enough to claim.

Like I said in the other thread, I don't think this means BP is going away.
Click to expand...

I was just being a butthead... but i was never impressed with bluepoint..so either way it will not matter to me..the day i find out stone or russian river sold to AB i will crap my mash tun
 
Blue Point has been a staple of the long island "craft scene" for a while now.

Just sux to see them "sellout" I guess...

Aslong as quality/small batch remains then I guess this a good news for them to get farther into the US with larger distribution
That places also needs a serious remodeling, as well as a legit parking lot.

Maybe this is exactly what Blue Point needs afterall...
 
ChuBru said:
I was just being a butthead... but i was never impressed with bluepoint..so either way it will not matter to me..the day i find out stone or russian river sold to AB i will crap my mash tun
Click to expand...

They don't make many WOW beers but they still package in 6packs AND they are under 9$....compared to some 10$ bombers
 
Johnnyhitch1 said:
Just sux to see them "sellout" I guess...
Click to expand...

How is this "selling out?" Unless they were AB bashers, which I have no idea if they were or were not, then they are not selling out. The idea of a small business selling itself to a larger business for a nice profit is not wrong or selling out, it is in a way part of the American dream. Take a big risk, work real hard - harder than others, work long hours, and after many many years have a nice payout and be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. If any of the employees do not like working for AB non of them will be forced too. But how many of them took the risks and worked the hours that the business owner did?

And this whole craft/crafty/big boy thing is getting outright stupid too. Go look up how many times the Brewers Association, the representative body of "craft" brewers, has formally increased their annual barrel production limit to keep Sam Adams as a member? What wasn't craft because it is too big the next year all of a sudden is craft. What changed?

And why does our opinion matter anything what someone else does with their business as long as it is legal?

Now if Blue Point was bashing AB before then they would be worse than a sellout, they would be hypocrites.
 
I don't hate on non craft beer as I often drink Sam Adams and Blue Moon when I'm out and don't have anything not BMC.

And about 1/4 (ten 12 packs, and various 6 packs) of my beer bottles are Sam Adams. They aren't my favorite, but they are good, and rarely disappointing.
 
cfrazier77 said:
How is this "selling out?" Unless they were AB bashers, which I have no idea if they were or were not, then they are not selling out. The idea of a small business selling itself to a larger business for a nice profit is not wrong or selling out, it is in a way part of the American dream. Take a big risk, work real hard - harder than others, work long hours, and after many many years have a nice payout and be able to enjoy the fruits of your labor. If any of the employees do not like working for AB non of them will be forced too. But how many of them took the risks and worked the hours that the business owner did?

And this whole craft/crafty/big boy thing is getting outright stupid too. Go look up how many times the Brewers Association, the representative body of "craft" brewers, has formally increased their annual barrel production limit to keep Sam Adams as a member? What wasn't craft because it is too big the next year all of a sudden is craft. What changed?

And why does our opinion matter anything what someone else does with their business as long as it is legal?

Now if Blue Point was bashing AB before then they would be worse than a sellout, they would be hypocrites.
Click to expand...

right. wouldn't want to be for capitalism after all. or for the little guy making it big through hard work and talent. i have a real big feeling that most people who are offended by this aren't offended by a worry that the product will suffer (it isn't even out yet) or that the "little guy" is being somehow swallowed up or hurt by this (try asking the little guy how it feels to have a huge cash influx and distribution). i have a sneaky suspicion that its a bunch of hipsters who are rubbed the wrong way because it's "not cool" to like any corporate anything. except beard wax.
 
It's really hard to say what goes through the owner of a small operation's head, and what made them decide to sell.

Money can be hard to turn down when there's a lot of it.

Maybe they found they've lost the motivation. What was a fun hobby turned into a pain in the hind end job.

Maybe it gave them the money they wished they had to open up something else.

Maybe they were tired of working. And maybe what they had wasn't so easy to deal with.

It's easy to condemn them, and easier to condemn the big guy.

I don't have a problem with the big guy, unless we are talking about InBev. But it's still just business...
 
I can say this since I know quite a few small business owners. Often here is there business plan. Pay yourself almost nothing and work you rear end off. Redirect all extra money back into your business to grow it and make it bigger. Have no retirement account. One day then sell it and that is your payoff and retirement account in one.

It is not that one day they were approached to sell and gave into the money. Often is was always part of the plan.
 
Hmmm…. Never considered that, which makes sense.

I figured it was a passion for what you wanted to do, or just something you knew enough about and thought you had a niche to fill.
 
itsratso said:
sure, that's cool. that's their business model. other breweries might want to expand more. which is cool too. but everyone saying "bye bye" to this brewery before they have even brewed a bottle of beer under the new partnership is ridiculous.
Click to expand...

Why is it ridiculous? Some people support craft breweries because they want to support small businesses. Why should I give money to AB-Inbev when I can direct money I was spending on Blue Point to an actual small business?

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app
 
You can do what ever you want with you money but your comment implies that small businesses are better than big ones. Where would we be as a country if everyone had that opinion? Half the country would be laid off and where do you go to get your small business craft car?

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cfrazier77 said:
You can do what ever you want with you money but your comment implies that small businesses are better than big ones. Where would we be as a country if everyone had that opinion? Half the country would be laid off and where do you go to get your small business craft car?

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Click to expand...

You may want to check your reading comprehension if you think my quote implies that small businesses are better than big ones.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Home Brew mobile app
 
Then why do you not want your business to go to a big company, so much so it change your buying of a product you like?

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cfrazier77 said:
Then why do you not want your business to go to a company, so much so ti change your buying of a product you like?

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Click to expand...

Because I feel more of a connection with small brewers. It's not always about the product.

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Well, ok, I and my family make our buying decisions based upon the product. If we like it we buy it, if not we don't.

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cfrazier77 said:
Well, ok, I and my family make our buying decisions based upon the product. If we like it we buy it, if not we don't.

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Click to expand...

With most things, my family is the same. Beer is an exception.

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Maybe it would be easier to deal if they didn't have an April's fools joke in 2011 saying they were bought by miller coors. After the backlash they got, they said " we are independently owned. With no corporate ties. Ever".
That's why so many local long islanders are upset with them and won't continue to support them.
It's also not about " big business" sucking. It's InBev that sucks. They have terrible business practices that hurt craft beer.


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It's in bicycling distance from my house so I'll be sad if the local community participation goes away. They hold home brewing events and have hosted local home brew clubs. It's great walking around the brewery, talking to the brewers and trying some of the more experimental batches.

Having said that, good for them if the built and sold a successful business. If the beer stays the same (at least the staples) and they remain part of the local beer scene, I have no problems with AB ownership. It's not like there isn't another 20 craft brewers on LI that will provide competition and some may make a similar move some day.

The fact that Goose Island is actually now distributed far and wide and IMO still produces a good product gives me hope. I'll certainly take a Toasted lager over the standard BMC swill any day. If I can do that outside of the region, so much the better.
 
downtown3641 said:
With most things, my family is the same. Beer is an exception.

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Click to expand...


I wanted to apologize to you, I misunderstood your posting that you were against big companies. Will you please forgive me.

If I can leave a helpful hint. There are a lot of people who are anti big business in all things, which I think is a very wrong position to have. Many people against big beer fall into this, they are against big anything. It really helps people like me understand you and where you are coming from better if you let us know that you are not against all big companies receiving your money just InBev. I will still disagree with you but now it is just a matter of opinion.

Anyway, the main reason for this is to apologize for misreading you and labeling you as something you are not.
Craig
 
Good for Blue Point. They scored a big financial win. But it is the very definition of "selling out", whether that has negative connotations for you or not. Personally I don't begrudge Blue Point the opportunity to cash in. They started, built and sold a business. Kudos. As to the likelihood that the beer will change, it probably will. AB's real expertise isn't in brewing beer, it's in marketing beer to the masses who have no real discerning taste for beer. As they face the choice of spending a dollar on process or ingredients or spending a dollar on marketing, they will choose the latter. And that may well be the best choice for their bottom line. Kudos to them. I don't care. AB was attracted to Blue Point because Blue Point is on the "shoulder" between macro yellow fizz beers and quality craft beers. That which made AB interested in the brand makes me uninterested in the brand. Good luck to all of them. They have little to do with me and my interest in great beer.
 
I'm somewhat in that boat myself (as is SWMBO) in that we don't like some of the big business practices, and those who don't seem to care much about anything except themselves just don't get our business.

We'd much rather spend our money with a mom and pop store doing what they can than to support a company that believes in stifling small businesses.

InBev and WalMart are the only ones I know of by name that have extremely bad business practices. Not to say that we buy from ones we aren't aware of.

But we still shop in big stores. It takes a lot to get big, but doesn't mean you did everything wrong to get there.
 
The whole corporations = evil mentality is a little short-sighted. Take Walmart. The main complaint is low wages and a practice to keep workers hours low enough to qualify for benefits. Yet thousands of companies do this, including mom and pop stores! If a mom and pop stores doesn't grow, than most likely they can not afford to give decent, cost-of-living, wage increases each year. In other words, many small companies have the unfortunate and often unspoken rule that " we can hire you for x dollars but don't expect a raise...unless we expand or have a good year."

My buddy was a beer manager and a mom and pop liquor store for 6 years and left after they couldn't pay him hire than $15/hour! They physically could not expand in their store and had no plans on moving. Their is often a glass ceiling with smaller companies that will not satisfy a middle class worker who has been very loyal to the company.

Finally, I call shenanigans on the whole mom and pop = community. Walmart has been the largest charitable company in america every year, for nearly a decade. They donate more than exxon and apple, even though these companies have 3 times the profits. I've never heard someone say they can't get gas here because they don't support Exxon. And if there is any reason to hate apple its because of this "anti-hipster" stance and not because their solution to suicides in Chinese factories is to install nets to catch them.

Big businesses have big issues, but they can also accomplish a lot more things. Small businesses have issues too. They can often solve them by expanding. More money, means higher wages, more benefits and more employees, therefore supporting the community. There is just this strange American "goldilocks" zone we unconsciously have about business growth. We say, "yay" when our local brewery expands, and get excited about their new beer offerings, their events for the town, and that they highered your buddy. But at some magical, unwritten point, we subjectively say "oh, you sold out, your just a big company, or you shouldn't have merged with x brewery."

Its rather disingenuous....
 

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