Beer Boycott

[subtlephilo]

I just finished watching the documentary, "Beer Wars." Being a young, idealistic college student (full of homebrew, mind you) I've decided to boycott all big three beers and subsidiaries. Who else is with me? As I'm in Canada, the problem is not as large here, but still formidable. Let's send these corporations a message by only buying craft beer (when we don't have any homebrew available, of course).

 

[scrambledegg81]

Calling for a boycot is a bit of a harsh way to go about it imo. Granted, their methods & desire to dominate may be pushing the definitions of corporate monopoly to new and different heights (not to mention I probably piss a better tasting product), but they're still American companies that rely on the American dollar to survive. In my opinion, they give thousands of people a steady income and provide an anchor for the communities they employ (i.e. the last of the "golden" era of the 50's & 60's where communities sprung up around the factories they filled).. My way of "protesting" the big 3 is by consistently supporting my local breweries and brewers both financially and philosophically. It's like Sam Calagione said, you know what you like. Just support what you like regardless of the advertising wars that say otherwise.

Wal-Mart on the other hand...

 

[z987k]

Well if you want to play the job game, think of the jobs that could be had if we had 5 times as many micros because BMC didn't exist and people drank good beer. (BTW, Evan's law on post #2.. nice)

I'm with you on the boycot, but only because I don't like their beer. Well and I do refuse to order Blue moon, anything Michalob, etc out of principle. Unlike a lot of people, I sure as hell don't need a beer, and if you don't serve one I'll enjoy, I'll have water.

 

[Houblon]

Calling for a boycot is a bit of a harsh way to go about it imo.
--SNIP---
Wal-Mart on the other hand...

I havent been inside a walmart for 5-6yrs
F`em

 

[caver95]

I havent been inside a walmart for 5-6yrs
F`em

Good for you sir. I wish I could say the same, but I got a new iron the other day and it was cheaper from walmart than GoodWill something is wrong with this business modle.

 

[ArcaneXor]

I don't usually buy BMC beers, simply because I don't particularly like most of them. Occasionally I'll pick up a pack if they have one of those mail-in rebate thingies because light lagers are excellent for serving-time blending if I end up with a beer that is too oaky, not sufficiently carbonated, etc.

Rather than boycott the big three (which aren't American companies any more), I just promote craft and home-brew whenever I can by sharing great beers with friends and family. I find that a much more effective tool to influence people's beer buying habits than just telling them that they shouldn't buy BMC because their business practices are unethical.

 

[goodgodilovebeer]

You guys read "No Logo"?

 

[remilard]

Its probably harder to avoid these breweries in Canada as the US has far more independent breweries.

Molson, Labatt's, Rickard's etc are all big 3.

 

[david_42]

Ahead of the curve by 14 years.

 

[Beernik]

The best message to send to the macrobrewries: drink what you like. I think I can count the number of BMC beers I've drank in the last decade on one hand. If I do drink something massed produced, it's usually German, Irish, Dutch, or Belgian.

 

[Steelers77]

I just watched the film also, and I must say the big three, well I guess mostly Bud are some scumbags. It was scary to see the Busch's talk about taking on their rivals, they likened it to war. The way they buy (bribe) space in bigger supermarkets, probuce beers under the name of other brewing companies to try and trick the people who like craft brerwed beers. Crazy, I said to myself that I will try my hardest to never drink another Budweiser product in my life.

 

[wonderbread23]

I don't drink them because there are more tasty options available to me. Its really just a matter of taste to me. If I had to spend my life avoiding big, scary multi-national corporations I'd never leave my house (then again, I got my mortgage from a large multi-national, so there you go).

 

[Munsoned]

American companies? Miller/Coors/AB?

South African/Canadian/Belgian?

I understand that they still employ some folks in the US, and generally give a pretty decent wage though...

 

[user 30639]

I would imagine a lot of us here more or less boycott BMC beers anyway. And quite frankly, even if every single HBT member never bought another BMC product, it wouldn't effect their bottom line one bit.

 

[Baldy_Beer_Brewery]

I would imagine a lot of us here more or less boycott BMC beers anyway. And quite frankly, even if every single HBT member never bought another BMC product, it wouldn't effect their bottom line one bit.

Exactly. Most likely home brewers the world over let alone HBT don't buy enough macro brew that it would make any difference.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I have not bought commercial beer BMC or craft for about four months. It would be a different story if I had a brewpub near me where they served a decent cask ale, but there is not. Put simply, I am already drinking what I like at the price i want to pay. I don't feel like throwing money down the drain for piss OR hops bombs.

 

[subtlephilo]

It's actually not that hard in Vancouver, because we're in the pacific northwest. Although the Molson plant is here (and Coors has bought out several of the mid-size breweries) we have a number of great craft breweries and plenty of bars that serve their beer. I personally like Phillips and Driftwood.

 

[gtpro]

I live within ten miles of a brewery. . . a bigass Anheuser Busch factory in Merrimack, NH. Good memories there as a kid, my parents used to take me to see the Clydesdales.

 

[Jersh]

My father-in-law is in upper management for a large supermarket chain in the SE US, and with that he interacts with a lot of the sales/marketing folks for the major beer distributors in his area. And because I'm his son-in-law, the two main beer reps (one for Bud, the other for Miller/Coors) essentially fight for my affection when I'm around (we attend a lot of charity functions where both are present). Thankfully they both also distribute some decent beers (one carries Sam Adams, the other has Dogfish Head) so I can at least drink good beer when I'm around them and not piss them off. The great thing is that I never have an empty beer when I'm around them, if I'm drinking a SA, the other rep will buy me one of his beers, bring it to me and take the competitors beer and toss, and then the other will do the same in a never ending rotation. It's a good problem to have. The moral of this story is both of the reps really do think that their respective swill beers are really the best beer that there is. I once had the Bud guy give me a 10 minute diatribe about how Bud Light is so delicious because of the fresh hops and other fresh ingredients that they use in it. Another benefit of knowing these guys is that they both attended my bachelor party last year, and they paid for our entire tab at the nudie bar... I lost count of the number of lap dances that they bought for me, I'd sit down from one, and another girl would walk by and they'd grab her and make her grab me for another dance. Again, no complaining from me!

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I want HIS problem!

 

[MeatyPortion]

Man, some guys have all the luck.

 

[Jud]

I don't boycot the big 3 I just don't buy thier beer. Well I haven't really had to buy any beer. For the reason since I started homebrewing I can make a better beer!!! I will try some new micros every now and then. But it is just hard to justify buying beer when you have 20 gals in you keezer. That is just me though.

 

[Ksosh]

Good for you sir. I wish I could say the same, but I got a new iron the other day and it was cheaper from walmart than GoodWill something is wrong with this business modle.

The Goodwill is it's own odd business model. Our local one(s) are selling used clothing at only 25% less (maybe) than brand new stuff. A nice jacket is damn near $60 there, when it's maybe $80 new. I'm not sure when this changed, but I seem to recall being able to buy pretty much anything at the Goodwill for less than $10 (furniture included), now that'll buy you a used, sweat stained T-shirt and a single tie from the 1960s, maybe.

Also, not to be all 'pro-Walmart' or anything, but they employ an ass-load more people (in America) than the big three beer companies ever would, either directly or through their supply-chain. You don't get to be a monopoly in something generic without a rock solid business model. The history channel biography of Sam Walton was actually pretty interesting, I recommend it for anyone who is in a business related field.

 

[mithion]

We now have 4 local brewries here in Reno. The newest one called Buckbean brewing company decided to go directly to retail so we've had their beer on the shelves for a couple of years now. My favorite of the 4 brewries is opening a new location this spring and they will have a small bottling line so I expect to see their stuff on the shelves soon. When I heard this news, I almost cried of joy. It means the smaller guys are starting to be succesful enough to compete in local markets. I do my best to avoid the typical BMC products but sometimes it's difficult. Many brands now are owned by the big guys. Although it's not my favorite beer, I do enjoy Bass and Stella Artois once in a while but both are owned by BMC companies. So although I try to avoid BMC, if I'm stuck buying some, I at least try to pick beers that will indicate to them that there is an interest in good beer that's not made with 50% rice or corn and contains more than 2 micrograms of hops.

 

[SteveM]

Well, my wife likes Coors Light so I buy that from time to time, but in Philly, there's no reason to buy anything but great local beers. I don't recall the last time I bought a BMC for myself. Not exactly a boycott, more of a consumer choice.

 

[Sockmonkey]

Just support what you like regardless of the advertising wars that say otherwise.

Well said.

A-B is imploding from the inside; it will be interesting to see what that company looks like in a couple years.

 

[niquejim]

So I take it that none of you buy from the major auto companies and instead buy Ferrari's, Bentley's and the like. No major appliance companies either, only the smaller really expensive( sub-zero, Viking etc) brands. Of course we all buy only Marc Levinson Audio home theaters systems.....right?

They are what they are....very popular. I don't understand why people who wouldn't think of having a LITE wine, will want a lite beer. Well I do understand, people think that beer is for getting drunk and wine is for fancy events

 

[subtlephilo]

Actually, I'm a college student and don't own a car (any more).

 

[mclane2003]

Yeah I typically have a lot of homebrew on hand but I still like trying different microbrews. I still drink BMC at some bars just because they don't carry anything else and if it $1 beer night. So yeeah they don't get much of my money.

As for Walmart, I like it. Cheap, they have everything I could want and it's just down the street. Economically it doesn't make sense for me to drive further to buy the same thing at a higher price.

 

[Moose777]

but they're still American companies that rely on the American dollar to survive.

They're not American Companies anymore, at least Bud isn't.