Lawsuit Against Anheuser-Busch

[GilaMinumBeer]

So, if you don't have a job, investments, and you live in the woods in a stick hut, you can get up on your soapbox. If you do have a job, investments, a house, a COMPTER, then you have no leg to stand on and your argument against THE corporations doesn't hold water. You have personally benefited from these corporations financially and standard of living wise. Next time you want to rail against BIG corporations, try mining your own copper, nickel, iron, etc and building your own computer from scratch to use to rail against these corporations. If not, please refer back to #2.

Please also edumacate this fellow with regard to how aquisitions take place. I think he/she forgets that in order for something to be bought, it has to have a price, and a person or entity offering that thing for that price.

Shame on AB-InBev for buying that Goose Island Brewry that those Goose Island people decided to sell. There should be laws against such foolishness. You can't be letting just anybody go all buying and selling things at will.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

There is a little bit of a difference though. I think most of your craft breweries try to make their money by producing the best product possible and rely more on good taste, quality and word of mouth to sell their product. Companies like ABInbev rely on clever advertising and saturating the market to sell their beer. Yes, both groups are trying to make a profit, that's for sure, but how you go about making that profit can be wildly different.

Do you wear Levi's? Drive a Chevy, Yota, Lex, Benze, Bimmer, Honda? Do you drink Pepsi, Coke, Dr Pepper? Use Colgate? OralB? Listerine? Buy Pennzoil?

How about them Footlong coneys? Ever eat one of those? How about chihuahua and a burrito, that ring any bells?

Bet you bought minimum coverage from a Lizard didn't you.

Cookies made by Elves? Count the hours on a Timex, Rolex?

Cook yer dinner on a T-Fal? Wash yer Levis in a whirlpool?

Shall I continue?

 

[Shooter]

You can't be letting just anybody go all buying and selling things at will.

Preach it brother!!

Can I get a witness from the congregation?

 

[cjb]

Interesting - sounds like there may be something to this after all. I can't find the original source at "Alcohol Beverage Testing News", but this was posted at Beervana:
http://beervana.blogspot.com/

Update. With a hat tip to Stan, let me direct your attention to Alcohol Beverage Testing News, an independent lab run by Gary Spedding--a former director of laboratories at Siebel--who's been doing those labs I wondered about. Because of A-B's famously rigorous standards, Spedding has used Bud as his control beer. He writes:

Also for calibrating our alcohol instruments Bud goes in after calibration to see hopefully 5.00% abv. pretty much on the nose. Not so recently. Now as low as 4.94% after slipping from 4.98% earlier in the year.

and

The Bloomberg article talks of other acquired brand changes for ABInBev and we have also noticed this with other classic beers in the giants stable. The article may have hit the nail or the King fair and square on the head. They relied on sensory perceptions of patrons but analytical parameters can confirm their suspicions. I think, from our early findings that it already has.

 

[jmf143]

. . By definition A corporation is in business to maximize profits at any expense. . .

Except for when its not.

cor·po·ra·tion/ [kawr-puh-rey-shuhn]
noun
1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
2. ( initial capital letter ) the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.
3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Except for when its not.

cor·po·ra·tion/ [kawr-puh-rey-shuhn]
noun
1. an association of individuals, created by law or under authority of law, having a continuous existence independent of the existences of its members, and powers and liabilities distinct from those of its members. See also municipal corporation, public corporation.
2. ( initial capital letter ) the group of principal officials of a borough or other municipal division in England.
3. any group of persons united or regarded as united in one body.

He got it crossed with this one;

busi·ness/ˈbɪznɪs/ noun

1. an occupation, profession, or trade: His business is poultry farming.
2. the purchase and sale of goods in an attempt to make a profit.
3. a person, partnership, or corporation engaged in commerce, manufacturing, or a service; profit-seeking enterprise or concern.
4. volume of trade; patronage: Most of the store's business comes from local families.
5. a building or site where commercial work is carried on, as a factory, store, or office; place of work: His business is on the corner of Broadway and Elm Street.

 

[GrogNerd]

no one light a match in here, ignite a strawman conflagration

it's not about the way they're brewing. 5% ABV ± .3%? = 4.985% to 5.015%. a smart producer would shoot for the low side, save some costs.

hell.. they could go down to 4.900% and I wouldn't say, "boo"

IF they label it 5% ± .3% and it is actually 4.5%, then there's a problem.

 

[justabrewin]

i saw this story in a different article and was going to post it, but already found this one up.. i too am going to be following it to see how it all pans out.. i don't think this will fall into the category that all press is good press

Agreed. Look what happened with Maker's Mark.

 

[The_Dog_42]

no one light a match in here, ignite a strawman conflagration

it's not about the way they're brewing. 5% abv ± .3%? = 4.985% to 5.015%. A smart producer would shoot for the low side, save some costs.

Hell.. They could go down to 4.900% and i wouldn't say, "boo"

if they label it 5% ± .3% and it is actually 4.5%, then there's a problem.

5% ± .3% = 4.7%-5.3%

 

[high5apparatus]

"Also for calibrating our alcohol instruments Bud goes in after calibration to see hopefully 5.00% abv. pretty much on the nose. Not so recently. Now as low as 4.94% after slipping from 4.98% earlier in the year."

Gaining its airs and losing its graces - a Tale of Two Buds.
http://alcbevtestingnews.blogspot.com/2012/10/gaining-its-airs-and-losing-its-graces.html

 

[GrogNerd]

5% ± .3% = 4.7%-5.3%

in Texas, I guess

in the rest of the known universe, .3 % of 5 is NOT .3

 

[TheBrewinator]

Its a 3% variance from label so 3% of 5 being 0.15, 4.85% to 5.15% would be the legally acceptable range.

 

[GrogNerd]

ab inbev says that it meets the labeling laws. Now if I remember correctly and I may be wrong (just ask SWMBO) I believe that the avb has to be within .3% of what is put on the label here in the U.S. of A. compared to the .5% in Europe (source Brew Like a Monk, I think that is where I read it). Which is why large breweries blend their batches to achieve a more uniform product (source Bitter Brew). So it is possible that ab inbev is watering down their product yet still within the requirements of the law.

If I were AB-Inbev, I'd be watering it down to hit exactly the legally mandated .3% variance below the labeled value. That way AB lowers the overall cost of the ingredients while moving more liquid volume.

Its a 3% variance from label so 3% of 5 being 0.15, 4.85% to 5.15% would be the legally acceptable range.

two previous posts mentioned POINT 3 %, that's what I based it off of

and it is POINT 3, according to TTB

 

[MachineShopBrewing]

I'm pretty sure that it's .3% ABV variance from the label. Thus 5% could be 4.7%-5.3%. But, I could be wrong.

 

[TheBrewinator]

I didn't catch the point, time for more coffee I guess.

 

[GrogNerd]

I'm pretty sure that it's .3% ABV variance from the label. Thus 5% could be 4.7%-5.3%. But, I could be wrong.

dangit, I'm an a$$... that's what it says

my apologies to you and the Republic of Texas, with the exception of Cowboy fans

 

[BrewKnurd]

Hmmm, federal regulation says "(1) For malt beverages containing 0.5 percent or more alcohol by volume, a tolerance of 0.3 percent will be permitted, either above or below the stated percentage of alcohol." - title 27 section 7.71

It is not entirely obvious if the 0.3 percent is meant to be 0.3 percent alcohol, or 0.3 percent of the stated ABV. I'm leaning towards the former, based on the regulation for distilled spirits, which is much clearer:


(b) Tolerances. The following tolerances shall be allowed (without affecting the labeled statement of alcohol content) for losses of alcohol content occurring during bottling:

(1) Not to exceed 0.25 percent alcohol by volume for spirits containing solids in excess of 600 mg per 100 ml; or

(2) Not to exceed 0.25 percent alcohol by volume for any spirits product bottled in 50 or 100 ml size bottles; or

(3) Not to exceed 0.15 percent alcohol by volume for all other spirits.
Title 27 section 5.37

 

[high5apparatus]

"It's not beer. It's Wharmpess."

 

[Clonefan94]

Do you wear Levi's? Drive a Chevy, Yota, Lex, Benze, Bimmer, Honda? Do you drink Pepsi, Coke, Dr Pepper? Use Colgate? OralB? Listerine? Buy Pennzoil?

How about them Footlong coneys? Ever eat one of those? How about chihuahua and a burrito, that ring any bells?

Bet you bought minimum coverage from a Lizard didn't you.

Cookies made by Elves? Count the hours on a Timex, Rolex?

Cook yer dinner on a T-Fal? Wash yer Levis in a whirlpool?

Shall I continue?

I didn't say it was wrong, just said it was different. If you deny the fact that ABInbevs main source for attracting customers is in their clever, multi-million dollar advertising, is different than say how Half Acer Brewing attracts customers, then your head is much higher in the clouds than mine is.

I guess my initial statement could come across as a Big Corporate hater with the way I listed things, but honestly, Quality, taste and word of mouth are different to a Craft brewery than they are to ABI.

I'm not some anti-corporate elitist either, even though you try to make me out as that, although I find it funny that, I don't use or eat most of the things you list there.

I guess what really gets me, is in the end, I defended ABI, yet you chose to eliminate that from my quote though, to suit your purposes. I am not in denial that any craft brewer would become the next Budweiser if they could. I would think most would love that level of success. To deny their business models are different though, makes you look as bad as anyone you are blasting on the boards here.

 

[cheezydemon3]

F**k Inbev. They are evil.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

I didn't say it was wrong, just said it was different. If you deny the fact that ABInbevs main source for attracting customers is in their clever, multi-million dollar advertising, is different than say how Half Acer Brewing attracts customers, then your head is much higher in the clouds than mine is.

I guess my initial statement could come across as a Big Corporate hater with the way I listed things, but honestly, Quality, taste and word of mouth are different to a Craft brewery than they are to ABI.

I'm not some anti-corporate elitist either, even though you try to make me out as that, although I find it funny that, I don't use or eat most of the things you list there.

I guess what really gets me, is in the end, I defended ABI, yet you chose to eliminate that from my quote though, to suit your purposes. I am not in denial that any craft brewer would become the next Budweiser if they could. I would think most would love that level of success. To deny their business models are different though, makes you look as bad as anyone you are blasting on the boards here.

Ha. So it's shameful for AB-InBev to spend their monies on creative adverts but all those others that I listed, that also use clever schemes like Polar Bears, Lizards, and little people with pointy hats, are exempted from their marketing transgressions?

Of course the buisiness models are different but the end game is still the same. Make money. You suggest that AB-InBev is focused on marketing forsaking product quality, how is that exactly? Millions of dollars spent in state of the art controls, facilities, on site laboratories, strict controls on raw materials ... the ability to produce one of the most difficult styles of beer consistently, around the world, with enough volume to pickle a community of baleen whale. How can that be construed as not having a focus on quality?

My argument is that they have a much higher focus on quality. Such a strong focus on quality that they are renowned for the result.

But oh, you don't "like" their product so that MUST mean they don't know what they are doing and therefore rely soley on convincing the masses that if the frog says buy it ... then who are we to deny the frog.

You don't like the product? That's fine. Leave it at that.

 

[Hulud]

i just hope its true.... although unfortunately it probably wont be proven in court

 

[Darwin18]

This whole discussion/argument is pointless without some laboratory data backing up this claim.

 

[Hulud]

This whole discussion/argument is pointless without some laboratory data backing up this claim.

yup which i figure these people claiming the suit dont have. after reading the article on cnn they were quite vague with how they derived there was less than 5% in Bud

 

[Epiphanic]

I thought it was funny that the gents that were bringing this claim were essentially saying, "how can we get drunk if they're watering it down?!" Somehow I doubt they were doing some sort of calculation of alcohol per dollar across varying beers and spirits. (Side note, if getting drunk is your goal, is beer the cheapest method? Or is it some other spirit?)

 

[chuckstout]

My argument is that they have a much higher focus on quality. Such a strong focus on quality that they are renowned for the result.

You work for In-Bev, cause if you dont you should ask for a job. I heard they pay good, just dont hire full time employees

 

[manco171]

Dang! foot-long subs are not really a foot long and 5% beer not really 5%. Come on now! Quit trying to scam and bring the quality back

 

[cheezydemon3]

This whole discussion/argument is pointless without some laboratory data backing up this claim.

I have results from 143 sealed lab tests and 4002 controlled tests, as well as a 1.3 million person poll.

the results are 100.5% conclusive with a .03% (by abv) differential.

The result: Inbev = pure EVIL.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

You work for In-Bev, cause if you dont you should ask for a job. I heard they pay good, just dont hire full time employees

No, no, no. No way in hades I'd work for a brewery. Already done my time of back breaking labor in teh construction trades.

Nor am I particularly fond of the product (between Bud, Kurz, and Sapporo i always choose Sapporo). I do, however, have the utmost respect for what it takes to produce it.

The ridicule that results from any mention of Bud is as ludicrous as accusing the makers of 7-Up for marketing and QC transgressions cause they don't have as much flavor as Jones soda.

And yet, AB-InBev employ more Americans per can of "piss lager" than many of these revered "Craft Breweries" ever dreamed of having, prior to getting bought.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

Dang! foot-long subs are not really a foot long and 5% beer not really 5%. Come on now! Quit trying to scam and bring the quality back

Wasn't it Toyota also that got busted for misrepresenting mileage stats?