[BrewBama]

...or to control the market. Yes. They are smart businesses. The three tier system guards against tied houses or we'll end up like Britain with six breweries. Plus three tiers offer more opportunities for taxation. They can't own all three tiers. They can own the brewery and a distributor or a retail shop. But control two and you can influence the third.


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[HoosierBrew]

Are you saying they buy with the intention of removing the brand from shelves?

Not necessarily. Sure, maybe their goal is total commitment to produce beer equally as good as the seller's beer, thereby controlling the share of beer sales that they've lost over the years. I just having a hard time taking them at face value given their history of negativity toward craft beer (silly 'peach pumpkin'/brewed the hard way ads among others, litigation against Sam Adams, etc, etc.) 

[Visor]

  That probably is a large part of their plan, and sadly it is working better for them than some of would like. BMC can't buy up every popular, quality craft brewery in the country, even if they had the cash reserves to do so, it would take very little time after no crafts were left for a whole new crop to spring up, for them it would be like cutting off Medusa's head. What they can have some level of success at is, though controlling the distribution and retail chains, limit how much Medusa's children can grow.
   If I, at some point actually do make it to the place where I'm brewing for profit instead of for giggles, I would sell out in a hot second for something North of 7 figures. Yes, selling to BMC would leave a really nasty taste in my mouth, but a bazillion dollars will buy lots of mouthwash. Furthermore, why should any businessperson be expected to make their business decisions on a higher plane of principle than their customers do? American consumers have a tendency to be very principled, until being so starts to interfere with their consumption.

[BrewBama]

Absolutely.  Another example is the Texas's three-tier system exemption for "marine mammal attractions." Anheuser-Busch InBev owned SeaWorld until 2009. They are smart businesses.


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[Phil_M]

Honestly, the current three-tiered system needs to be completely gutted, and revamped. Deep pocketed distributors are the common scapegoat for the recent beer law issues we've had in MD.

Distributors should be independent, and that needs to be enforceable. No brewery, no matter how big or small, should be able to "pay to play" or offer incentives. I've heard that ABI buys the beer trucks for one of our local distributors. (Though Sweetwater did supposedly buy them a van.) True or not, it's got to stop.

I don't want tied houses, though I see no reason to limit an on-site taproom at all. (Here in MD, you can only own one brewery.) But the way most distributors work, a state-wide "tied house" seems to be what's coming.

[BrewBama]

Only in Washington can retailers purchase directly from producers.

https://consumerist.com/2015/12/10/anheuser-busch-distributor-incentive-program-raises-more-concerns-of-a-stifled-craft-beer-market/

"In October [2015], the Justice Department, along with California regulators, announced they were investigating allegations by craft brewers that AB InBev pushes its recently acquired distributors in California, New York and Colorado to sever ties with the smaller beer companies.

Sources close to the matter say the investigation, which is in early stages, was initiated after smaller brewers raised concerns that AB InBev’s purchase of distributors made it more difficult for them to distribute their brews, leading to stalling sales."

It's a classic business move. Check 1996. http://allaboutbeer.com/anheuser-busch-100-percent-share-of-mind/

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[majorvices]

Well this certainly made my day! lol

[santoch]

They are buying portfolios to fill up grocery store shelves and restaurant taps to squeeze local breweries out. Obviously that is the only game they are playing.

^^^This
Walking down the aisle at Safeway now is a wall of Elysian, 10 Barrel, Goose Island, Stella, Hoegaarten, and the myriad of the Bud/Busch brands.  I refuse to buy any of them (the old standbys) now.

I heard they don't even brew Space Dust here in Seattle anymore.  What a shame.

[ethinson]

My wife and I went to their brew pub location a couple years ago and the Funkatorium last fall.  We had a great time and enjoyed all of their great beers.  The evening we were at the brew pub they were selling Pernicious for $2.50 a draft.  That said, I find this incredibly disappointing.

I don't begrudge any business owner from making a business decision and I understand the sale of Wicked Weed is ultimately a business decision.  Good for the owners for building a successful business and selling it for  what I presume is a massive windfall.

This still feels like a punch in the gut, however.  I'm also sure the City of Asheville is just thrilled to have ABI in the heart of their downtown right now.  I will not be purchasing any more Wicked Weed products going forward.  There is a plethora of great, GREAT craft breweries in North Carolina that aren't owned by ABI.  Jade IPA by Foothills is just as good if not better than Pernicious.

This is almost exactly how I feel as well.  I haven't even had a chance to try a lot of WW beer.  I've had one or two of their beers, but I was super excited to try more the next time I was visiting North Carolina.  It does feel like a punch in the gut.  Reaction very much like "Aaaah man... seriously? Dammit"

None of us (save those who are business owners) know how we will respond when someone walks in with a suitcase full of cash.  So I don't begrudge the small breweries as much as I do grumble at ABInbev for poaching them.  They have enough money they can buy any brewery on the planet, just point a finger and say "that one..."  That's the part that's infuriating. (That and the whole market domination monopoly thing)

Second the vote for Foothills, they are great.  Their pub in Greensboro is awesome, I haven't been yet to the big production brewery but that looks great, and they have stuff in bottles available most places (as far west as Charlotte I can confirm).

[MDixon]

FWIW - Foothills is in Winston-Salem, both the pub (downtown) and the production facility (near the mall). If you went to a pub in Greensboro it was most likely Natty Greenes although there are now several breweries in GSO. Foothills bottles are available in NC, SC, Tenn, VA, GA, and Washington D.C.

Since I'm now off topic. Foothills has a beer named Sexual Chocolate which is almost impossible to get in a bottle unless you go the yearly release party. You can find it on draft, but not in a bottle. I was in Charleston, SC recently and stopped into a Total Wine and they literally had cases of bombers. I bought a bomber to take home. I have not been lucky enough to grab a bottle of Sexual Chocolate in at least 5 years, but a Total Wine in Charleston, SC has it in the store in three different locations.

[Visor]

Well this certainly made my day! lol

  Was that the "cha-ching" of the ultimate cash machine we just heard? Whaddayagonna do with all the money when BMC shows up with that suitcase full of cash, and how much would it take [don't answer that]?
   I always wondered why the REALLY big outfits seem to be obsessed with only getting bigger, and eliminating all competition along the way. Okay, so I do understand why, but it seems more than a little sick, I mean, how much money do they require? At what point can a person or corporation step back a decide, okay, that's enough?

[pete b]

At what point can a person or corporation step back a decide, okay, that's enough?

A person can say enough at any time. A corporation can never say that, because shareholders. This is one of the many ways a corporation is not a person.

[Visor]

At what point can a person or corporation step back a decide, okay, that's enough?

A person can say enough at any time. A corporation can never say that, because shareholders. This is one of the many ways a corporation is not a person.

   The question, with regards to corporations at least, was rhetorical. Publicly trades corporations can make strategic decisions, but they can never decide they have enough wealth. Privately held corporations can, and sometimes do make that decision.

[hopfenundmalz]

...or to control the market. Yes. They are smart businesses. The three tier system guards against tied houses or we'll end up like Britain with six breweries. Plus three tiers offer more opportunities for taxation. They can't own all three tiers. They can own the brewery and a distributor or a retail shop. But control two and you can influence the third.


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There are more breweries per capita in Britain than in the US.

[reverseapachemaster]

It's a classic business move. Check 1996. http://allaboutbeer.com/anheuser-busch-100-percent-share-of-mind/

ABI's goal for as long as it has lost meaningful share to craft (and this applies to Miller, albeit to a lesser extent) has been to create a portfolio of products it can sell to any retail point that fills their need for any breadth of diversity. They haven't done a good job manufacturing illusory craft breweries which is why they have turned to buying out craft breweries with a genuine reputation. Beer geeks might eschew the breweries after an acquisition but if you're a casual drinker looking up WW beers online to see what people say about them you'll find a long history of positive comments.

WW gives ABI's portfolio a southeast brewery, an entry point into Asheville, a brewery known for IPAs and sour beer. That's a lot of boxes checked with one purchase.