The Plot to Destroy America's Beer

I find the whole thing distressing. I loved Goose Island. Now most of their brews are inbev. Sad.

You know; it really ticks me off when bussines forgets why there in bussiness…there own failure Down the road…I.brew my ow more often Thanks very much…Tank

Problem is that they won’t properly adapt, will lose market share and wonder why and then the government will deem them too big to fail and bail them out

I think the problem is that they control what makes it to the shelves, why not make the distibution of beer the same as distributing anything else in this country, i am not an economist and this may be a completly ignorant statemant, but i dislike when one company keeps another company from selling there goods, like monsanto trying to sue people who in effect dont grow there soy beans, that isnt free market that is big money, why not make a good product or get out of town. :cheers:

…but will they fail? Their approach seems to work, which is why they continue to do so. Their consumer base can’t tell the difference.

I think we’re lucky enough to be able to taste the difference and smart enough to realize that paying more for something that’s not at good is for the birds.

…but will they fail? Their approach seems to work, which is why they continue to do so. Their consumer base can’t tell the difference.

I think we’re lucky enough to be able to taste the difference and smart enough to realize that paying more for something that’s not at good is for the birds.[/quote]

Trust me, the big boys are losing market share! But, they have a LOT of Market Share they can lose.

In essence, the 3-tier system was set up precisely to prevent the big brewers from controlling what makes it to shelves. Before Prohibition, it was common for big brewers like Pabst to completely control the availability of beer in an area. Not just in the hyperbolic complaining-about-BMC sense we talk about them doing it nowadays. It was the norm for a tavern to only sell one brewery’s beer, and it was possible for a brewery to actually take over a neighborhood and shut out 100% of the competition.

No doubt the system is imperfect, but I think that there’s an argument to be made that craft brewing is so strong in the USA because of, rather than despite, its peculiar alcoholic beverage distribution laws. With the 3-tier system in place, as long as demand for craft beer remains strong then there’s really no way for the big brewers to shut craft brewers out of the market. Even in states with weaker versions of it where brewers are allowed to own distributors and it would theoretically be possible for them to buy up all the existing distributors, there would still be all the taverns and package stores with customers clamoring for craft beer. So all they’d really accomplish by doing that would be to create an enormous opportunity for someone else to get rich by starting their own distributor that controls 100% of that state’s market for the fastest-growing segment of the alcoholic beverage market.

And how! Budweiser off over 30% since 2005ish.

A lot of the reason why they’ve been consolidating so much in the past couple decades is to try and preserve profits in the face of declining sales.

…but will they fail? Their approach seems to work, which is why they continue to do so. Their consumer base can’t tell the difference.

I think we’re lucky enough to be able to taste the difference and smart enough to realize that paying more for something that’s not at good is for the birds.[/quote]
most people are sheep, they just follow whats popular so they can be popular. but not us homebrewers.

i do not buy any of their stuff - I make my own. I also started a vineyard and make my own wines too. rarely buy a special bottle or two or three.

I’ve never had Shiner but I want to try some of their beers because they took 3 gold medals from the Great American Beer Festival 2012 in Denver.

                         1. Octoberfest ( 69 entries in German style marzen)
                         2. Black Lager (32 entries in German style schwarzbier)
                         3. Bock (12 entries in the American style dark lager)

Isn’t the roll of business is to make money for the owner (shareholder)?

Unfortunately, with this practice the worker is the bottom man in the food chain. We cut workers, or workers benefits to in crease profits. Which then gives the CEO/CFO… bonuses.

Buy local and buy American when you can. There are many products out there still made in the USA that don’t cost an arm and a leg . Even clothing.

[quote=“Nighthawk”][quote=“tankie”]

Unfortunately, with this practice the worker is the bottom man in the food chain. We cut workers, or workers benefits to in crease profits. Which then gives the CEO/CFO… bonuses.

Buy local and buy American when you can. There are many products out there still made in the USA that don’t cost an arm and a leg . Even clothing.[/quote][/quote]
Amen to that brotha.

Take this with a grain of salt because my source is a $5 desktop daily “Beer” calendar, but here is what it says:

“Anheuser-Busch is the largerst American Brewery controlling more than 50% of the domestic beer market. Internationally they brew more than 150 Million barrels per year. Contrast that to America’s largest craft brewer, Boston Beer (Sam Adams) which produces 2 million barrels, or the average brewpub that brews less than 1,000 barrels per year”

[quote=“tankie”]

Unfortunately, with this practice the worker is the bottom man in the food chain. We cut workers, or workers benefits to in crease profits. Which then gives the CEO/CFO… bonuses.

Buy local and buy American when you can. There are many products out there still made in the USA that don’t cost an arm and a leg . Even clothing.[/quote]

Like Bud, Miller, and Coors?

[quote=“wallybeer”]
I’ve never had Shiner but I want to try some of their beers because they took 3 gold medals from the Great American Beer Festival 2012 in Denver.

                         1. Octoberfest ( 69 entries in German style marzen)
                         2. Black Lager (32 entries in German style schwarzbier)
                         3. Bock (12 entries in the American style dark lager)[/quote]

I haven’t had the octoberfest or black lager, so maybe they’re stepped up their game and are actually decent. But trust me the “bock” is nothing special. First of all, its not a bock, which is why you see it in the “american style dark lager” category. Its pretty low on flavor. I’m guessing they didn’t have much competition in that category, hence the medal.

I’m originally from Oklahoma, and Shiner Bock will always have a special place in my heart as being one of the first beers I ever tried that wasn’t yellow piss water. You have to give them credit for making “craft beer” before craft beer was cool. But now that American beer scene has exploded, there are many many superior options.

[quote=“560sdl”]Take this with a grain of salt because my source is a $5 desktop daily “Beer” calendar, but here is what it says:

“Anheuser-Busch is the largerst American Brewery controlling more than 50% of the domestic beer market. Internationally they brew more than 150 Million barrels per year. Contrast that to America’s largest craft brewer, Boston Beer (Sam Adams) which produces 2 million barrels, or the average brewpub that brews less than 1,000 barrels per year”[/quote]

AB technically is no longer an American brewery since they’re owned by InBev.

Technically there’s still an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis called Anheuser-Busch.

It’s just that they’re now a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Belgian/Brazilian multinational called Anheuser-Busch InBev.

[quote=“bunderbunder”]
In essence, the 3-tier system was set up precisely to prevent the big brewers from controlling what makes it to the shelves…

No doubt the system is imperfect, but I think that there’s an argument to be made that craft brewing is so strong in the USA because of, rather than despite, its peculiar alcoholic beverage distribution laws. With the 3-tier system in place, as long as demand for craft beer remains strong then there’s really no way for the big brewers to shut craft brewers out of the market…[/quote]

My impression has been that the big brewers lobby congress to keep the system in place. If you open a small brewery, I don’t think you can put the beer in your own truck and drive it over to the liquor store. The problem with ABInbev and SABMillerCoors is they are 800 lb gorillas that will put pressure on suppliers, distributors, stores, etc., and lobby for laws that help them and hurt the competition. We should all decide when a company has gotten so large that it can play these games that its time to spread our money around. Home brewers don’t need to worry, but as many micro-craft brewers come from the Homebrewing hobby, we should and do support those folks. When I watched “Beer Wars”, I thought Sam Caligione should rename his “Punkin Ale” to “F.A.B. Punkin Ale” to satisfy the AB lawyers. And when they complained again, just tell them it stands for “Fab” as in fabulous, and that it going on all their beers.

Like with all the other liquor laws, it depends on the state.

I tend to agree with the BA’s position on the subject: the three-tier system is important, but states should also allow small brewers to self-distribute. That way there’s an easy option for startup breweries who just need an easy and accessible way to develop a local presence. But it also true that when the time comes to try and expand to a wider audience, there’s going to be a distributor with wider reach who’s not just completely beholden to the megabreweries.