Well, we can finally put this one to bed. The Inbev take-over of Anheuser-Busch was settled yesterday. Now it’s up to the lawyers to work out the details. Anheuser-Busch Inbev will be the new company making Budweiser when it’s said and done. (If you want to get an in-depth look at the brewery that was Anheuser-Busch check out American Originals: Budweiser this Thursday on CNBC.)
The sun came up this morning. There were no earthquakes in St. Louis – I know because I live near enough to have felt them. Babies are being born and yeast still makes beer. The world moves on and I’ll wager that most beer drinkers won’t even really notice the transition.
Oh, there might be a bit of wailing and people swearing that they’re never going to drink “that crap” again. There are even going to be some that declare Budweiser is now undrinkable even though Inbev will have done nothing to alter the recipe. But these folks are going to be in the minority. Americans will continue buying Bud at its market leading pace and most will forget that this even happened.
But if you drink beer in the US and are determined to never drink beer brewed by a company beholden to foreign masters your choices have suddenly changed dramatically. By my estimation the biggest American owned beer maker is now Boston Beer Company. Yep, the makers of Samuel Adams!
Better yet if you really want to keep your money at home how about buying from the local brewpub? You can pop in and buy about half a gallon of beer for a reasonable price, especially when you factor in the returnable growler. And the chances that an overseas company will come in and buy your new favorite brewer out from under you are remarkably thin.
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Name five craft beer brewers. If you live in the US, chances are Sam Adams or the Boston Beer Company was on that list. Like ‘em or not, no beer lover in the US doesn’t know ‘em. If you live outside of the US you probably thought, “When the hell will these damn Americans stop talking about ‘craft’ beer? There’s no such thing!” Well, you’re right but that’s a different issue.
Here’s why I’m thinking about this: I stopped in at my local convenience store yesterday to pick up a 6-pack of Bully! Porter from Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City of which I’m particularly fond. They usually have it but not yesterday. In fact there wasn’t a drop of good dark beer to be had! Don’t they know that its winter and the beer nerds need our porters and stouts? Oh, they had Guinness Draught in a bottle (Brilliant!) but I said GOOD dark beer.
So I settled for a 6-pack of Sam Adams Boston Lager, always a decent fall-back. I was amused to find an adhesive gift tag in it. I’ve been going on this season about how the perfect gift for a beer lover is some of his favorite beer. And now Sam Adams is making such a gift that much easier.
Jim Koch gets something that few other craft brewers in the US get. He understands marketing. He knows how to identify an audience and then craft messages to that audience. Although they make relatively few truly great beers and there are other brewers out there that are making beer that is far superior, Sam Adams remains the most successful craft brewer because Jim Koch understands that making good beer is only part of the equation.
I visited one of my favorite beer makers some time ago. I was talking to one of the brewers and he blissfully told me that their brewing philosophy is to make the kind of beer that they want to drink, then they drink as much of it as they can and sell the rest. There is a truth to this and it’s easy to admire a brewer like this that refuses to make beer designed to have mass appeal. And they are successful. They far from the best selling beer company but they make some truly great beer and have develop a loyal following over the years.
So who’s the superior brewer; the one that makes great beer and almost accidently sells it or the good-enough brewer that knows how to market his beer? I don’t know. One makes great beer and the other spreads the message of great beer. These are just my mid-December beer thoughts.
And, damn it, I still want that porter!
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I hate to start this blog off on a bitter note but I can’t deny that I’m a little miffed that I wasn’t picked as Four Points Sheraton’s CBO (Chief Beer Officer). I mean, not only am I insanely qualified because I really, really like beer but, I wanted this job because I really, really like beer.
OK, so Scott Kerkmans, the guy picked for the position, seems to have a passing interest in the stuff, too. He’s a homebrewer, he is a certified beer judge and he is part of the new beer magazine, Draft, that launched last year. He seems able to speak eloquently about beer and he received more votes than the other three finalists in an open election. On the other hand, I should have been picked because I really, really like beer; or did I say that already?
As CBO Scott will be Four Points Sheraton’s ambassador for beer. Why does a hotel chain need such a thing? Well, it’s part of their Best Brews campaign that they launched in 2006. The hotel chain is featuring a wide selection of beer including global and national favorites such as Guinness, Pilsner Urquel, Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams and others. Each hotel will offer a unique selection as they reach out to regional brewers.
So, good luck with the new gig, Scott, but don’t get too comfortable. I’ve got my eye on that position and if you fail to perform your duties I’ll be right there to snatch it up!
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