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InBev wants to be bigger


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#21 MyaCullen

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Posted 20 September 2015 - 07:14 PM

Yeah it was american pale ale. It was lame and tailored as a crossover beer rather than really going for a great pale ale.

and somehow managed to taste like Bud

#22 3rd party JKor

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Posted 20 September 2015 - 10:13 PM

They had several 'microbrews' including the Amber Bock, which i think might still be made. They were all terrible and an attempt to appeal to bud drinkers. If they went in with an attempt to appeal to beer geeks they could actually make something good, i'm sure. I agree that dropping the stigma would be the toughest hurdle to sales, but actually making an appealing beer shouldn't be much issue. I'd drink budweiser IPA if it was good quality.

#23 Brauer

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 02:50 AM

Maybe they did go for a great pale ale and just failed.

I've really come to believe that this is true. They've made multiple attempts at pseudo-craft products, under multiple false brands, and they have all been mediocre, at best.  Their big, high profile attempt, Budweiser American Ale managed to be both bland and tannic. They certainly know how to run a consistent industrial process, but every attempts at creativity has been a failure (as a beer, anyway; their flavored malt beverages are probably quite profitable.) Another feature I have found striking is how many of their products are identifiable by their flaws - acetaldehyde in Bud and tannin in the Ale. They may have rigid process and quality controls that make for a consistent industrial process, but if their target is a broken product, then I don't think much of their vaunted brewing skills.



#24 positiveContact

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 03:26 AM

I guess I have no idea what acetaldehyde tastes like.  people say green apple in bud but I don't really get that.



#25 matt6150

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 04:14 AM

I've really come to believe that this is true. They've made multiple attempts at pseudo-craft products, under multiple false brands, and they have all been mediocre, at best. Their big, high profile attempt, Budweiser American Ale managed to be both bland and tannic. They certainly know how to run a consistent industrial process, but every attempts at creativity has been a failure (as a beer, anyway; their flavored malt beverages are probably quite profitable.) Another feature I have found striking is how many of their products are identifiable by their flaws - acetaldehyde in Bud and tannin in the Ale. They may have rigid process and quality controls that make for a consistent industrial process, but if their target is a broken product, then I don't think much of their vaunted brewing skills.

Agreed. I think if they wanted to make a awesome craft beer they would have by now.

#26 3rd party JKor

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 04:18 AM

I've never got green apple in bud either. Either way, it's the biggest beer brand in the world, so it's obviously not having any nengative effect on their target consumer.

The way i see it, brewing is brewing. Any one of us could go in there and lay down a good craft beer recipe and they could make it admirably. The process isn't the limitation. The limitation is the corporate decision making process.

#27 positiveContact

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 05:25 AM

that said I went to a new craft brewery in my area and wasn't really impressed with anything they were making.  I had high hopes.

 

they were in the realm of 603 (JKor and drez have been there) which is too bad.  more mediocre beer.



#28 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 05:28 AM

The reason why they don't brew a great IPA is because the business is run by the marketing department and the bankers, not brewers.



#29 neddles

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 07:31 AM

The process isn't the limitation. The limitation is the corporate decision making process.

 

 

The reason why they don't brew a great IPA is because the business is run by the marketing department and the bankers, not brewers.

Agree. See my earlier post on lack of creativity and risk aversion by large organizations. 

 

that said I went to a new craft brewery in my area and wasn't really impressed with anything they were making.  I had high hopes.

 

Yep. Been to plenty of these. Some of them seem to figure it out, many don't. 



#30 3rd party JKor

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 08:03 AM

The reason why they don't brew a great IPA is because the business is run by the marketing department and the bankers, not brewers.

 

 

It's run by executives whose goal is to maximize investor returns, not make good beer.  Making craft brew in the big brewery is easy to do, but it lowers margins and would look bad to The Street.

 

Now, someone with long-term vision and freedom to exercise it would say that the landscape of the beer industry is changing and it's worth it to take lower margins now to maintain and grow market share in a newer craft brew dominated market.  Unfortunately, public companies only make those decisions when they are run by fairly visionary execs.  By and large public companies are absolutely NOT run by visionaries.  They are run by people who are really good at corporate climbing and want to maximize their own earning potential, which is done by maximizing short-term investor return.

 

So, to appease investors and look like they are catching the craft brew wave, they take the half-ass approach of buying up craft breweries.  That way they don't have to take a margin hit on their current assets (WALL STREET RED FLAG!) and they can blame any kind of poor performance in their craft brew segment on low volume inefficiencies, or some other made up garbage.  Meanwhile, the craft breweries they are buying are almost certainly less efficient and profitable than if AB was to make the beers themselves.

 

And while stigma among beer geeks is a hurdle for a true AB craft beer, the fact is people who truly hold ill will against AB are a miniscule portion of the population.  Anheuser-Busch is an iconic American company (yeah, yeah, not anymore, whatever) and I'd bet heavily that they have strong positive image in the general populace.



#31 Brauer

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 09:23 AM

I'd bet heavily that they have strong positive image in the general populace.

Interesting. In my day, it seemed like they were mostly known for skillful marketing of a subpar product with a reputation for pushing the competition off the shelf through aggressive, quasi-legal interaction with small business owners. I would have thought that most people would have considered them as slightly above Reynolds tobacco- kind of a sleazier McDonalds.

#32 positiveContact

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 09:55 AM

Interesting. In my day, it seemed like they were mostly known for skillful marketing of a subpar product with a reputation for pushing the competition off the shelf through aggressive, quasi-legal interaction with small business owners. I would have thought that most people would have considered them as slightly above Reynolds tobacco- kind of a sleazier McDonalds.

 

we are talking general population here, not people that are really into craft beer and related issues of distribution.



#33 neddles

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 10:12 AM

we are talking general population here, not people that are really into craft beer and related issues of distribution.

Yeah, to vast swaths of rural and blue collar America BMC is the only beer that will be considered. And in many places if you order something crafty you will be openly chastised as if you just bought a Japanese car in Saginaw circa 1975.



#34 Brauer

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 02:48 PM

we are talking general population here, not people that are really into craft beer and related issues of distribution.

I was thinking more of the days before craft beer was really much of a thing, when AB and Miller actively pushed the original local brewers off the shelves and drove them out of business. Helping to kill once beloved and flavorful beers like Ballantine IPA.



#35 positiveContact

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Posted 21 September 2015 - 04:30 PM

I was thinking more of the days before craft beer was really much of a thing, when AB and Miller actively pushed the original local brewers off the shelves and drove them out of business. Helping to kill once beloved and flavorful beers like Ballantine IPA.

 

I'm not old enough to remember that :P



#36 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 22 September 2015 - 09:08 AM

It's run by executives whose goal is to maximize investor returns, not make good beer.  Making craft brew in the big brewery is easy to do, but it lowers margins and would look bad to The Street.

 

Now, someone with long-term vision and freedom to exercise it would say that the landscape of the beer industry is changing and it's worth it to take lower margins now to maintain and grow market share in a newer craft brew dominated market.  Unfortunately, public companies only make those decisions when they are run by fairly visionary execs.  By and large public companies are absolutely NOT run by visionaries.  They are run by people who are really good at corporate climbing and want to maximize their own earning potential, which is done by maximizing short-term investor return.

 

So, to appease investors and look like they are catching the craft brew wave, they take the half-ass approach of buying up craft breweries.  That way they don't have to take a margin hit on their current assets (WALL STREET RED FLAG!) and they can blame any kind of poor performance in their craft brew segment on low volume inefficiencies, or some other made up garbage.  Meanwhile, the craft breweries they are buying are almost certainly less efficient and profitable than if AB was to make the beers themselves.

 

And while stigma among beer geeks is a hurdle for a true AB craft beer, the fact is people who truly hold ill will against AB are a miniscule portion of the population.  Anheuser-Busch is an iconic American company (yeah, yeah, not anymore, whatever) and I'd bet heavily that they have strong positive image in the general populace.

 

Boy that was a long winded way of agreeing with me! :D



#37 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 23 September 2015 - 11:09 AM

This just in, ABInBev just aquired with Golden Road Brewing.

 

I'm not gonna lie, if I grew over 100% every year for 5 or 6 years and several million bucks was dangled in my face I'd have a hard time saying no.



#38 MyaCullen

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Posted 23 September 2015 - 11:30 AM

never heard of them

 

agreed, heartbeat



#39 3rd party JKor

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Posted 23 September 2015 - 11:55 AM

I'm not gonna lie, if I grew over 100% every year for 5 or 6 years and several million bucks was dangled in my face I'd have a hard time saying no.


Hellz yeah!

#40 SchwanzBrewer

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Posted 23 September 2015 - 12:11 PM

Hellz yeah!

 

If it meant the rat race was over and I could more than comfortably live off interest for the rest of my life I'd probably do it.


If it meant the rat race was over and I could more than comfortably live off interest for the rest of my life I'd probably do it.

 

Caveat - a lot of these places still have the same teams in tow after the acquisition. I'd only do that if I got stock swaps and some incentive money. 




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