Lennie
Well-Known Member
Good point, although just having the craft breweries pick it up in a big way that caused the shortage this year ought to be enough to bring a little more into production.
A dank, citrusy Bud would be interesting though.
If only we could get rid of the big 3
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A dank, citrusy Bud would be interesting though.
Gosh dang you hate subway heh.
rico567
Well-Known Member
If all the BMC beer vanished overnight, who would we complain about? Maybe all the collegiality and friendliness in the craft brew industry and among homebrewers generally would go straight into the tank, and we'd all be at each other's throats. It may be that we need a bête noir, and fizzy pale astringent lager is it.
i don't understand the money that they do spend on advertising.. i do love their commercials (even though they have nothing to do with their product) but does a funny commercial really make you choose that brand? i would think that if it was a new brand that people had never heard of maybe it would stick in the front of the consumer's mind, but EVERYBODY knows Bud, Miller, Coors.. a funny commercial isn't going to change which brand you drink..
When you move the volume that BMC do and only three brands make up the vast majority of sales (craft is slowly gaining ground, but I believe they're collectively still a single digit percentage of total beer sales) you need to constantly try to project an image of your product being better than your competitors. When all three products taste so similar you need to resort to fancy lingo ("triple hops brewed") and funny, memorable commercials (everyone remember the Budweiser frogs?) to try to prod the consumers into buying your beer rather than the other two very similar options.
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rico567
Well-Known Member
It isn't going to change which brand YOU drink.
I'm thinking it isn't going to change what I drink.
But do you seriously think that Budweiser (or McDonalds, GM, anyone else) spends billions on advertising without the hard cold facts that prove that it works? The fact is, for the majority of people, yeah- it works just fine.
yeah, but their products are basically identical and their advertising is basically identical.. i would love to see one of those brands actually try something new in the way of advertising.. at least that would be more interesting.. still wouldn't sway me though, just get a different sort of chuckle while i'm watching the game
The thing is is that most people don't care what the big 3 do or sell. Well the fact is they control the beer industry. There's nothing more abolishing to the American brewer than making an acceptional product and being bought out by bud. Wheres the originality? If they're so great why don't they make all the beer they sell? Makes me wonder where the original styles came from. They all taste the same
They make beer to fit the tastes of the masses. I give Inbev a little credit for not interfering to much with Goose Island, Michelob and others they have bought up. SAB and Inbev also know enough not to let it out that they are backing brands like Blue Moon, Shock Top and others.
So just to humor you for a moment, what exactly would you propose to "get rid" of them?
If you were an Omnipotent Beer Deity and could wave your Magic Beer Stein through the air making civilizations quiver at the sound of your burps, rain rivers of beer foam on the unwashed masses, and bury the unbelievers in mountains of rotten hops, how would you go about doing this?
evrose said:
It's not about me. It's about loosening the tight governing of the industry. I'm not saying in a hundred years I could do what they have done. I'm saying there's a lot of great brewers and home brewers that with a vision can't make it in the industry. Those that do don't stand a chance but to sell out. So there you are.
My Mash Paddle of Power trumps your Magic Beer Stein. I win. May the Burps be with you.
jsv1204
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johnsma22 said:
Dunno - have heard this before and I am not sure I buy it. I understand the point but personal reflection leads me in the opposite direction. Consistency isn't anywhere near the top of my list when I brew a beer or when I drink one.
As far as BMC goes, someone has to be biggest, but Ambev? Yuck. I won't drink it just because it irks me to put money in their coffers. Of course, that's kind of minefield because they own just about everything. I will put 2 bucks in anyone else's hand than put 1 into Ambev's? Nah.
1 guys opinion!
Grinnan5150
Well-Known Member
wubears71 said:
+1,000 - but just switch "Cardinals" and "Busch Stadium" with "Cubs" and "Wrigley Field".
What's wrong with the two coexisting? I'm at the beach right now. Temps near 100. I can tell you this, an ice cold High Life sure does the job. And at 7.50 per 12, the economics of it all are favorable as well.
We are all here because we appreciate great beer. I submit that a light lager can be a great beer, given the right circumstances.
We are all here because we appreciate great beer. I submit that a light lager can be a great beer, given the right circumstances.
If you'd like, I could start listing the breweries in my area who are doing quite well, making wonderful beer that's highly imaginative and top-quality, none of whom have had to sell out... If that list were expanded throughout the country, it would get rather long rather fast. I just visited Port Brewing/Lost Abbey last weekend, which is right down the street from a little place called Stone, maybe you've heard of it. PB/LA was packed to the gills with people and had every fermenter in the place running day and night.
In reality, we're in something of a Golden Age of craft beer. Never in history has there been better availability of high quality beer than there is now. I can drive down to the BevMo right now and take my pick from a selection of about 300 (or more) high quality craft beers. Woot!
The existence of The Big 3 is not doing as much damage as you think. Now, if you want to help the little guy, let's talk about getting rid of some of the silly regulations and laws than make it prohibitively expensive to start a micro-brewery. (Yes, I know the BMC guys lobby to keep those barriers up, but ultimately we vote for our lawmakers, and to be honest, this issue is something like #493,398,381 on a list of important issues for voters.)
evrose said:
Do you even understand how a local brewery stands agains a corporate brewery. You sound ridiculous. Sure if you say so. I'm sure compared to a corporate they make equivalent to 0.0001/2. Not even that. I'll day 0 all together.
As I see it, the big three weren't big when they started. They were home brewers who made a go of it. They were sucsesful in creating a recipe that was favorable to people so they grew.
They must have consistency to keep people loyal to their brand. Even if we like trying different brews, most people don't like to experiment they want what they want. Examples: most cigarette smokers are loyal to a brand; some people are loyal to a make of automobile( ford, chevy, etc.) . All of us know people( possibly ourselves) that only drink a certain brand of light beer. Due to preference of the taste, yes you can tell the diffference between B , M, AND C.
I would venture to say that neerly everyone here was a beer drinker prior to getting into homebrewing and craft beers. I think the average homebrewer begins drinking BMC, then tries craft beers, then gets the fever to try it themselves. So why turn on BMC now, why be a beer snob. If they weren't doing something right we may not be here.
Lastly, without the big three's volumes of needed ingredients, we as homebrewers may not have access to the quality ingredients that we do, let's be honest. The volume needed for our self consumption is not enough to sustain the industry suppliers. Supply and demand goes both ways, without the demand the suppply will go away. As the supply dwindles the prices will go up.
They must have consistency to keep people loyal to their brand. Even if we like trying different brews, most people don't like to experiment they want what they want. Examples: most cigarette smokers are loyal to a brand; some people are loyal to a make of automobile( ford, chevy, etc.) . All of us know people( possibly ourselves) that only drink a certain brand of light beer. Due to preference of the taste, yes you can tell the diffference between B , M, AND C.
I would venture to say that neerly everyone here was a beer drinker prior to getting into homebrewing and craft beers. I think the average homebrewer begins drinking BMC, then tries craft beers, then gets the fever to try it themselves. So why turn on BMC now, why be a beer snob. If they weren't doing something right we may not be here.
Lastly, without the big three's volumes of needed ingredients, we as homebrewers may not have access to the quality ingredients that we do, let's be honest. The volume needed for our self consumption is not enough to sustain the industry suppliers. Supply and demand goes both ways, without the demand the suppply will go away. As the supply dwindles the prices will go up.
fluidmechanics
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As a home brewer I respect what big beer does. Consistency over that much volume is extremely hard to do. That said what I dislike about them is how they lobby in DC to uphold laws that favor them and hold down smaller breweries I.e. the 3 tier system for distributing. Also I dislike how they slap frivolous law suits on their smaller competition. Fighting such a suit can drain small breweries to the point of going out of business. So if big beer would get back to the beer community, and be less adversarial they may win people back. I also like supporting the local guy who is part of my community, not buy a CEO who lives in another country his 5th vacation home.
Seriously, what language is this written in? It resembles English in some vague way, but I have no idea what you're talking about.
What does total production volume have to do with this? Of course the Big 3 make most of the beer... that's why they are the Big 3. But that has nothing to do with the availability of craft/micro brews. How it is at all relevant to my beer drinking experience that my favorite craft breweries only account for some tiny fraction of all beer brewed in the US? Who cares (well, besides you)?
Local and small breweries are enormously popular right now, and are doing very well even given the size and political power of the Big Guys. I'm not sure how you can deny this (or if you're even trying to, given that I can't really figure out your objections).
evrose said:
Great! That's awesome a local brewery makes beer you like! Your not getting the point. This thread is about the threshold the big3 have on the beer industry. They regulate everything. Do you all honestly think if the big 3 were gone the industry would collapse?! You all are crazy. They pay enormous amounts of money to be the biggest. Otherwise they would of been gone long ago. It's about the influence of politics. I don't think they should have the last word in everything to do with the brewing industry.
spearko520
Well-Known Member
no they don't.
Unfortuantly or not the people with the most money usually have the last word.Thats the way the system works.People wouldnt be buying it. Growth and gradual shifting is changing things,im shure it wont be the same in < 50 more years.
CBXBob
Well-Known Member
Seems to me that the big 3 already see the writing on the wall. More people are drinking better beer. And different beer, Brown, Irish, Scottish, Pale, Red and Amber Ale's, IPA's, Ports, Stouts, Etc. instead of light lagers. So they are buying the competition, and expanding their own lines.
people who drink the flagships of the big 3 to me are just like people who drink coffee but douse it in sugar and cream.. you can't really say you like coffee or are an actual coffee drinker if you do that, so why can you really say you like beer when all you drink are those items? and for the argument that the big 3 are good as lawnmower beers or that they are great for drinking in the hot weather.. no beer is good for drinking in that weather, you should be drinking water or gatorade or something of that nature.. then when you get inside in the air conditioning you can grab a real beer with some actual flavor.. i could care less about their consistency, they spend millions upon millions of dollars to make it consistent, of course they can do it well its not something to be in awe of..
ok done ranting now.. time to go grab a good non big three beer.. i think i still have a newcastle brown left
ok done ranting now.. time to go grab a good non big three beer.. i think i still have a newcastle brown left
krenshaw said:people who drink the flagships of the big 3 to me are just like people who drink coffee but douse it in sugar and cream.. you can't really say you like coffee or are an actual coffee drinker if you do that, so why can you really say you like beer when all you drink are those items? and for the argument that the big 3 are good as lawnmower beers or that they are great for drinking in the hot weather.. no beer is good for drinking in that weather, you should be drinking water or gatorade or something of that nature.. then when you get inside in the air conditioning you can grab a real beer with some actual flavor.. i could care less about their consistency, they spend millions upon millions of dollars to make it consistent, of course they can do it well its not something to be in awe of..
ok done ranting now.. time to go grab a good non big three beer.. i think i still have a newcastle brown left
Finally someone who agrees instead of whining cuz I'm dissing there favorite beers. Maybe they should look into it. The funniest comment I've gotten yet was someone saying the 3 don't taste the same lol.
spearko520
Well-Known Member
just because you can't taste the difference, doesn't mean something tastes the same. They might be the same style beer, but their ingredients, procedures, water, and yeasts are all different. If you think that leads to three different beers that somehow taste the same, then you can think that. You can preach it from the highest mountain- it doesn't mean that it's true. They do not taste the same.
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