The Beer Nerd - what are you drinking / brewing thread

It's ok going down, but I don't enjoy the aftertaste.

 

Cucapa Amber Ale

 

I can't find a reason to support the company that strategically thought buying Ballast Point for 1 Billion dollars is a company that I would want to support. There are 4000 breweries also making great beer that I'd rather support.

 

That being said. They make a good batch of beer and their restaurant did not dosapoint. Too many people try to bash these places for "selling out" but they've always made a quality product and until that changes I'll try their new shit. I look forward to my journey through the 4000 other breweries.

 

I went down to San Diego to visit the Ballast Point brewery and it didn't disappoint. Not drinking their beer because they "sold out" is pretty silly. Another of my favorites Saint Archer also sold their company and I still enjoy their beer. As long as the beer still tastes good I really don't care who owns it. In the mean time I visit all the local to me micro breweries weekly.

 

That's the spirit!

 

I aint here to argue business decisions I just want to drink good beer!

Cheers from Barcelona, Spain

 

Nice!!!! Viva Espainia!!!

 

Viva!! Found a cool brewery.. most places in Barcelona just have lagers or pilsners in a bottle but craft is catching on appqrently! Imperial stout on nitro has some cocoa flavors but very mild.

 

Nice

 

This was amazing though reminiscent of deschuttes fresh squeeze but more citrus with a nice hoppy finish

 

Has a good kick to it.



Also solid IPA

 

Dogfish.. megusta

 

Then I'm just silly. Too many other good beers to try, I've had my fill of Ballast Point in the past, no reason to continue to support the new owners that paid too much. One Billion is just crazy, a quarter of that is still paying too much.

 

Hi. Sorry for the lengthy first post, but I work in the beer industry and thought I would provide some info on how the big brands operate. I've included some excerpts from an article written by Christopher Barnes. The whole article is here: https://ithinkaboutbeer.com/2015/01/27/ab-inbev-why-it-matters-who-owns-the-brewery/

AB-INBEV: WHY IT MATTERS WHO OWNS THE BREWERY

AB-InBev isn’t acquiring craft brands because it believes in the segment’s quality. They’re buying out craft breweries to capture shelf space and profits. Big Red is down and continuing to slide in sales. Coors Light is gaining market share on Bud Light and even out sells it in Oregon. AB-InBev’s former imports are in a steep decline. AB-InBev is losing valuable shelf real-estate. It needs some way to stem the flow; so they’re picking up brands they can take to stores and bars to capture their lost business. That business has to come from somewhere: the competition.

The more brands AB-InBev has to take before retailers; the easier it is for them to decide against smaller and independent brands. And let’s face it, retailers don’t really want to deal with a million different vendors so if someone can bring them a whole host of products that will fulfill their needs, why should they care if they’re only supplied by one mega-conglomeration. Each brand AB-InBev can present is tap or shelf space they’re denying an independent competitor. Distributors and breweries are in a state of constant war when it comes to beer sets and tap handles; and the more weapons you have the more territory you can conquer.

I’m not denying that this is a bad deal for AB-InBev or for Elysian/10 Barrel/Blue Point/Goose Island/Widmer/Red Hook/Kona/the next brand acquired. It is a bad deal for beer consumers. Especially beer consumers in less developed beer markets where the average beer purchaser is just transitioning to craft. Especially when AB-InBev can come in, undercut the competition, and offer half priced kegs of craft beer through the distributors they own, like they did here in Oregon with Goose Island and Shock Top.

“Who cares who owns the brewery if the beer is still good?”

You should. Yes, Goose Island’s Bourbon County is still great. Elysian Space Dust probably isn’t going to change. 10 Barrel Brewing still employs several famed brewers. Right now, the quality/flavor of these brands is what AB-InBev needs to keep its profits growing. But invariably, something will shift and Carlos Brito will bring out the carving knife. You can already see glimpses of this with Goose Island’s main beers and their movement to AB’s breweries. Yeah, the beer is good now, but for how long?

And each dollar that goes to buying those “good” beers goes toward the acquisition of another brand. Each bottle of Bourbon County purchased helps fund the effort to tip the scale in AB-InBev’s favor by helping them fund their fleet of lobbying lawyers.

Do any Google search on “AB-Inbev lobbying” and you’ll be inundated with a massive list of examples not just from the United States but from around the world. So when I say AB-InBev is trying to destroy craft beer, it’s not just a philosophical debate but a real existential concern. Each brand acquired is another nail AB-InBev hopes to put in the coffin of its competition. Why help fund them just because they have a few products people consider “good?”

The great thing about the craft beer world is the amount of good beer options available. As craft beer devotees, we claim to support craft beer because we wanted a flavorful alternative to BMC. We wanted to spend money on a great tasting product that would help fund independent small businesses that actually stood for something. Now it’s time to reaffirm that stance when it actually matters. It was easy to say no to Bud because it was Bud. But now that Bud is Bourbon County, it’s not so easy to pass on what used to be a white whale. Now that you can buy a cheap pint of Goose Island because AB-Inbev is trying to undercut everyone, it’s a little harder to shell out a few extra dollars to support the craft ethos.

It does matter how you spend your money. When you buy an AB-InBev beer you not only fund their continued expansion through brewery and distributor acquisition, you validate retailers’s choice to carry their products. Each ring at a larger store shows up in the data surveys which in turn is used to make presentations to retailers proving the selling ability of the products. This helps AB-InBev squeeze the competition off the shelves, increasing their sales and furthering the cycle.

To Avoid:

• Bud/Bud Light
• Busch
• Natty Light
• Leffe
• Stella Artois
• Blue Point
• Elysian
• 10 Barrel
• Widmer
• Omission
• Red Hook
• Kona
• Becks
• Bass
• Boddingtons
• Spaten
• Franziskaner
• Labatts
• Kokanee
• Michelob
• Goose Island
• Belle-Vue
• Brahma
• Lowenbrau
• Oranjeboom
• Rolling Rock
• Red Bridge
• Shock Top
• St Pauli Girl
• Alexander Keith’s
• Corona/Pacifico/Modelo – In the US, these brands are brewed in a facility owned by Constellation, their US importer. This is due to anti-trust laws. I’m not sure if there’s any sort of kick back or licensing arrangement that might funnel money back to ABInBev. Outside the US, these brands are brewed in ABInBev owned breweries.

 

I only drink local craft beers, and if I am at a bar that doesnt serve any, I wont drink it. I support the little guy in the world of big beer

 

Sam Adams is the biggest brewer I buy from.

Edit- Although I will occasonally buy a Red Hook mix pack

 

....and since the beer list above was made in early 2015, there have been a lot of acquisitions since then:

Ballast Point
Saint Archer
4 Peaks
Golden Road

just to name a few