PLEASE let the Northern Brewer buy-out be a hoax!

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Amateurbrewmaster said:
I would jump at the chance to brew for Budweiser or Coors. You still learn when you do that. For them, you'll learn quality control, efficiency, and consistence.
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I've visited the Fort Collins Budweiser brewery several times along with most microbreweries in Fort Collins. It just blows your mind seeing the scale at which Bud can brew. It's pretty awesome.
 
I think InBev will get a lot of insight into trends in the marketplace through this acquisition. The market has been fragmenting big time with most growth in craft - to stay relevant Inbev is going to have to chase those fragments.
 
Got my very first kit from Northern Brewer in 1998 and happy for Northern Brewer that they were able to grow their business enough for AnBev to (assume) purchase them. I just hope they do not sacrifice service and approachability for efficiency, but I'm not optimistic.
 
Im from MPLS. This is true, verified from inside source. MW supplies has went from one man's incarnation to Budweiser in about 6 yrs. Merica.
 
soccerdad said:
AB Inbev just bought the houses on either side of me. They are busy right now setting up large directional microphones and spy cams pointed right at me. I carried in a sack of 2 row this afternoon but I hid it in a dog food bag. This $hit is getting real!
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give up and head for the hills. pablo will hide you at his cousins donkey farm. your life as you knew it is over. i'll send a driver.
 
Todd J (Northern Brewer)
Oct 12, 14:05 CDT

Hi Bill,
Thanks for reaching out, but we cannot comment on any potential business partnerships. I can tell you that we are always exploring ways to grow Northern Brewer and the Homebrew Supply market. The homebrewing community is as diverse and passionate as ever and we are excited to continue supporting homebrewers excel at their craft and have the best beer experiences.

Cheers,
Todd J
 
wg_one said:
Todd J (Northern Brewer)
Oct 12, 14:05 CDT

Hi Bill,
Thanks for reaching out, but we cannot comment on any potential business partnerships. I can tell you that we are always exploring ways to grow Northern Brewer and the Homebrew Supply market. The homebrewing community is as diverse and passionate as ever and we are excited to continue supporting homebrewers excel at their craft and have the best beer experiences.

Cheers,
Todd J
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Very cryptic. Let the speculation begin! :tank:
 
If this is true then I am selling all my home brew equipment and giving up the hobby. My rotten luck, InBev will buy that, too. A guy just can't win in the beer business!

:)
 
talking to a local guy very familiar with the LHBS business about this, he stated that the guy who bought up MW/northern is a retired investment banker who was trying to corner the LHBS industry. He tried to acquire multiple other homebrew operations including LD Carlson. One could theorize that this was all to offload it as a larger operation to the highest bidder. Not confirming or denying. Just food for thought
 
GrayingNeophyte said:
Hops go first, then malted grains will be purchased in totality and fed to those fat horses of theirs.
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Apparently they've given up the horses as well. Dratted penny-pinchers have ruined every Superbowl Sunday into eternity. :(

nDub said:
$38 for grain and $38 for shipping for me. I must live in the black hole of shipping.
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Well, say where ya are. I'm sure there's someone, somewhere, in gold country that's selling by the sack. We just got a new place in Auburn recently. I'm all happy and <horse manure>. :D

thereverendmaynard said:
Farming them is the easy part - its the milking that's the killer....
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Jacks are easy. It's the jenny's that get grumpy with ya. :D:D
 
JonM said:
After the SAB/Miller-InBev merger, the rivers will turn to blood, there will be plagues of locusts, frogs and biting flies, boils, diseased livestock, and darkness. Better paint the doors with Budweiser.
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Well hell, I thought it was only good for rinsing out fermenters. You learn something every day.
 
wg_one said:
Todd J (Northern Brewer)
Oct 12, 14:05 CDT

Hi Bill,
Thanks for reaching out, but we cannot comment on any potential business partnerships. I can tell you that we are always exploring ways to grow Northern Brewer and the Homebrew Supply market. The homebrewing community is as diverse and passionate as ever and we are excited to continue supporting homebrewers excel at their craft and have the best beer experiences.

Cheers,
Todd J
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Definitely not a "No" and this is definitely also pretty carefully worded if that business partnership isn't "potential".
 
hunter_le five said:
Sounds like a general canned response to me. I wouldn't read so much into it
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It's definitely a canned response, and I'm definitely not reading "so much" into it. I'm just pointing out that a "No Comment" and a "No" are two entirely different things.

That being said even if it's true then it isn't necessarily going to be a bad thing for the market. It's a travesty when AB/InBev buys our favorite breweries because they screw up the wonderful, "small brewery mindset" beers that the breweries put out. But as far as cashing in on the massive market of homebrewers, I'd look at this as more of a "If you can't beat them, join them." kind of thing. They are selling ingredients, which are basic, they can't screw up your beers, they aren't telling you how to put them together. This will ultimately probably end up in a reduction in costs and an increase in all of the great things that go with a massive in house distribution system.
 
This thread included that someone close to NB said this was happening. But nothing else has surfaced? And the thread continues...
 
I too emailed Northern Brewer about this, and I got the same word-for-word canned response from Craig B.

If the answer to "are you now owned by AB-InBev?" Is "no", then they would be saying "no". I take their answer as a "yes".

On a separate, and probably related note, Northen Brewer has stopped their sponsorship of The Brewing Network.
 
I don't really think things would surface. Rumors are bad juju in acquisitions and mergers and you count on it that NB has a social media marketer who reads the forums. Somebody who works in the warehouse mentions something to a buddy, who posts it here, and you can all but guarantee there was a "hey, button your fricking yaps till the ink is dry" lickety split right after.

If it's true, they'll make it public when they decide to. Or maybe more rumor will come out as people bug everyone they know that works at NB or MWS. Till then...
 
I wonder if the customer service people just have a canned response to a number of questions. How do I handle a return? (Send this email.) My order was damaged (send this email). Are you owned by X or are you going to buy X? (Send this email.) Probably the same response they give to a lot of questions.
 
ericbw said:
I wonder if the customer service people just have a canned response to a number of questions. How do I handle a return? (Send this email.) My order was damaged (send this email). Are you owned by X or are you going to buy X? (Send this email.) Probably the same response they give to a lot of questions.
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Exactly.

It's not the place of customer service reps to comment about issues of ownership and management. I bet you could ask them if they had plans to buy the moon and you'd get the same response.

If you've ever worked in a lower-level public interfacing position for any large organization, you know there's a lot of things you're not really authorized to talk about. A lot of canned responses to a variety of topics.
 
someone should copy and paste the canned response and send it back to them.
that, or just ask random questions and see what the canned response is.
"should I go with casement windows or double hung windows in my kitchen renovation?"
 
DerCribben said:
It's definitely a canned response, and I'm definitely not reading "so much" into it. I'm just pointing out that a "No Comment" and a "No" are two entirely different things.

That being said even if it's true then it isn't necessarily going to be a bad thing for the market. It's a travesty when AB/InBev buys our favorite breweries because they screw up the wonderful, "small brewery mindset" beers that the breweries put out.
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Its ok here in STL we still have MANY small breweries that are doing fantastically well.

4hands
Schlafly
Urban Chesnut
Ofallon Brewery
Friendship brewery (just opened 8 weeks ago)
Perennial
Side Project
Civil Life

probably another half dozen that I cant think of right now.
 
BentBrewer said:
Well, say where ya are. I'm sure there's someone, somewhere, in gold country that's selling by the sack. We just got a new place in Auburn recently. I'm all happy and <horse manure>. :D

D
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I live in Sonora and Modesto has the closest homebrew store (Barley and Wine), which is about 50 miles/1 hour away.

I have a buddy who lives near the Morebeer Concord show room so I usually just make a trip of it and stock up on the necessities when I visit.

Now you know!

Auburn is nice. Have you been to Knee Deep? I'm still looking for an excuse to drive the 2 1/2 hours to check it out. Love Lupulin River when I can get it fresh.
 
If anyone really wanted to know about this. Perhaps they should look at the inbev. Since is a public company, they can't just secretly by other companys. I think they would need to report it.

I would look if I cared at all about any of this. I prefer more beer. They are cheaper and don't take forever to get to me my stuff.
 
mclaughlindw4 said:
If anyone really wanted to know about this. Perhaps they should look at the inbev. Since is a public company, they can't just secretly by other companys. I think they would need to report it.

I would look if I cared at all about any of this. I prefer more beer. They are cheaper and don't take forever to get to me my stuff.
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They can secretly try to buy other companies. Just because they're public doesn't mean they have to disclose their plans.

Usually they won't disclose until they are certain the deal will go through.
 
EDIT:

I just got a message from an employee at Craft Beer News that asked me to remove this since the full article is supposed to just go to their paid subscripition base. I asked for them to make it public and they're going to ask their boss.
 

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