Silentdrinker
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Nov 7, 2014
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"I keep trying to sell out but no-one is buying"
- Al Jourgensen
I'm happy for them. They get to retire and enjoy the rest their life in style. The companies I know of that have been bought out by AB/ Inbev have been bought for an absolute fortune. If they really want to I'm sure they could open another brewery.
Maybe I'm a corporate tool, but I haven't seen life sucked out or quality suffer at Goose Island or Widmer. And listening to Mitch Steele in interviews or reading his blog, I never sense any ill sentiment towards AB/InBev. The Goose Island sale also enabled Virtue Cider to be founded by Greg Hall, which I love.
Evidence of the impending doom, please.
Evidence of the impending doom, please.
I never said I'm a supporter of them, and I'll always opt for the more local non-franchise restaurant for example. I'm just expressing my opinion that it's a bit of fear mongering to assume such an acquisition is the worst thing to happen to a brewery operation. It might result in improved benefits packages available to the workers, broader opportunities in their careers, and an infusion of resources to improve their process controls and product quality. But that's just as hard to definitively state as the opposite with dropping morale and quality without direct involvement in the situation.
Now whether or not this is good for the craft beer market or consumer, that's a completely different discussion than the earlier argument.
I'm forgetting there's a reason I steer clear of the Debate Forum. Apologies for turning this into one.
There's no debate. i understand the role of a Devils advocate, but if you think AB has the employees, or even customers, best interest at hand? You think half of the employees would have applied to work for this corporation vs the locally owned establishment they did sign up for?
If you think corporations like InBev has anybody but their investors interest in mind, you should check this article out: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/18/walmart_n_4466850.html
It's not a win for anyone but their investors.
Maybe I'm a corporate tool, but I haven't seen life sucked out or quality suffer at Goose Island or Widmer.
Evidence of the impending doom, please.
My problem with this one, is their obvious anti-corporate scheme they had going on. I don't normally call people sell outs for taking the money, but in this case, it's tough to not call them a sell out when it seems they built a brand on not being that.
You still have to sell a good product to make the profit.
Here's a story (happened last year) on the opposite side of all this: http://www.commonsbrewery.com/blog/ (second blog post)
They're another NW brewery here in PDX. Found out InBev bought out the distributor they were using, so they got out to go back to self distribution. He felt inbev's business model was different to his.
I hardly consider bud light a good product. But ok... I think another approach of profiting is to dominate the market and massive advertising. Look at Dr. Dre beats. They're garbage headphones with the most elaborate advertising. So no, it isn't about a good product. Some would argue beer has 5 main ingredients."water, malt, hops, yeast and advertising." Don't believe me? Watch the super bowl in feb.
Here's a story (happened last year) on the opposite side of all this: http://www.commonsbrewery.com/blog/ (second blog post)
Whether you, or I, personally think bud light, or Beats, are good products is inconsequential in the market. There are millions who believe it is, whether it be by marketing, or for some odd reason, they just like the product. Opinions are just that, opinions. It's a businessman's job to make a fool part with his money, whether a corporate business, or a privately held company. I know many non-corporate breweries whose beer I can't stand, yet they have customers.
They're another NW brewery here in PDX. Found out InBev bought out the distributor they were using, so they got out to go back to self distribution. He felt inbev's business model was different to his.
This is how business works. InBev bought the distributor because either the distributor couldn't make it in today's market, or they wanted to make a return on their investment and cash out. Brewery doesn't like their business model, so they decide to do it on their own. If ABInBev wants their business back, they have to introduce the model, or some other way to attract them back. The Commons Brewery now gets to distribute based on the model they want, and can pitch that model to other breweries, take on new customers, and grow until they are bought out by ABInBev and get to cash out as well. Sounds like how things are suppose to work to me, and definitely doesn't make ABI evil by any means.
They can't. They would have had to sign a non compete for the acquisition to go through. So they won't be able to do anything for a few years at best. The employees will be the ones to suffer in all this. Moral will decline as corporate ethics take over. The very essence of what a craft brewery is about will be sucked dry in efforts to maintain maximum profit.
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