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Well, it's official. I've been hearing rumors about this for a week or so, but now I know it's real. Belgian beer giant InBev has made an offer to buy American beer giant Anheuser-Busch.
InBev is offering $65 per share in their unsolicited bid. RealBeer.com reports that the Anheuser-Busch board of directors is carefully weighing all the options.
It's no secret that I'm a beer snob. While I would drink Budweiser if it were the only beverage being served, it's not my first, second, third, or fourth choice. However, it is an American institution. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, being taken over by a Belgian company could do wonders for the quality of the beer. On the other hand, Anheuser-Busch has played historically significant roles in American beer culture. Then again, InBev may decide to take a hands-off approach and simply own the company from a distance. How do you feel about InBev's offer to buy Anheuser-Busch?
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6-13-2008 @1:40PM Colin said... I doubt they'd change it all. Why would they? If anything they might introduce new beers to market to people that actually appreciate fine beverages. But for Joe American, Budweiser is good as-is.
I frankly don't care who owns the company. Or any company. Welcome to the global economy.
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6-13-2008 @1:42PM GL said... They certainly shouldn't change the product. New product, sure, but why screw with what sells.
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6-13-2008 @1:45PM Jason said... Honestly - I've never liked any Bud products. If I have to pick a "mainstream" product I'm going to go with Miller (whihc is owned by a S.African Company but still brewed in Milwaukee, WI).
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6-13-2008 @1:58PM jcurtis said... Well, I would like to start by saying that Bud makes more than just their namesake. They make many quality beers as well(I have always enjoyed Red Hook)But the quality will not change at all. See, you are thinking Belgian = better beer. Well Inbev is actually owned buy Brazilians. It was a big deal when belgium turned over it's staples like Stella to an outside company. In fact many people were let go (as it happens with take overs). So the quality of bud will remain the same. And by the way the quality of bud is good. You may not appreciate the style, but the way you have been bashing bud in this and posts past it makes you sound like a label whore.
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6-13-2008 @4:27PM nick said... With Coors and Miller already foreign-owned, there won't be any mainstream, domestically-owned macrobrews anymore if this deal goes through. Will the Bud-swilling, Ford-driving, God-Bless-the-USA types start drinking truly American beer instead? Maybe start with some Sam Adams? Some Sierra Nevada? Dare I suggest... something local? Probably not, unfortunately.
And I'm not a Budweiser fan, but then again, I don't look at it as beer. A Whopper's not a hamburger, it's a Whopper, and it's pretty good at being a Whopper. A Bud's not a beer, it's a Bud, and it's damn good at being a Bud, which means ice-cold and two bucks at happy hour.
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6-15-2008 @9:58AM Bob said... Shayna,
Wow!!! How little you know about beer... since a food writer (???) I would certainly expect more. Your quote, "On one hand, being taken over by a Belgian company could do wonders for the quality of the beer", truly demonstrates your ignorance and it offends me and your readers need to understand your errors.
Keep in mind that AB has been run by brewers since it was started in the mid 1800s. On the other hand, InBev is run by a bunch of accountants who buy and destroy, slash and burn breweries and it clearly their intention to cheapen the cost, and therefore the quality, of AB products... how else do you expect that they will pay for their new 50 billion dollars in debt? AB, with their beer quality focus, is an easy target for them.
Your error/ignorance is a common one in the marketplace. Lighter beer flavor (not necessarily "light beer"), such as Budweiser, does not equate with poor quality. It is a fact (and public info if one digs hard enough) that the cost to produce AB beers is substantially more then SABMIller, Coors, and all current InBev brands. The first thing InBev will do is slash this. At more them 110 million bbls produced, $8 dollars a bbl is a good savings to be had. Next comes the reduction in people that manage this quality. Also, Beechwood aging is not a marketing gimmick. It is an old world lager technique that few do anymore because it is too expensive... all these positive quality items go away once the "bean counting" Belgium/Brazilians take over.
Again, light beer flavor does not equal low quality. Anyone who cooks knows that it is real easy to hid flaws behind highly flavored, out of balance food... this can not be done with a beer like Budweiser. Do not make the mistake that high flavor = high quality... as one writing a food article, I expect more quality writing. Do your editors realize that you do not get it?
Please do your homework and stop the perpetuation of ignorance. There is enough false info out there.
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6-15-2008 @3:02PM Shayna Glick said... Bob:
In the first place, I know about food, not so much business.
Secondly, the thought did occur to me that what you explained may be one of the options. My purpose in stating things the way did was to say that I *don't know* what InBev might do.
I appreciate your well thought out comment. Thank you for keeping us all informed, and for stopping the spread of ignorance.
BTW, you can argue all you want that AB is quality beer. Everyone has different tastes, and I think that it is *not* very good quality beer. Also, if you think that corporate bean counters have nothing to do with how beer is made at AB, then I'm afraid you are the one who is perpetuating ignorance.
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6-17-2008 @12:28PM Quagmired said... Bob: All the beechwood in the world won't change the fact that Bud is not beer at all; or was the Reinheitsgebot changed to include the use of rice in the brewing process? I am originally from StL and the best decision I ever made was to move to the part of the world where beer was invented and still brewed according to the old recipe: barley, hops, malt and water.
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6-19-2008 @9:47PM shawn said... i know its not much but if AB is bought out i will never buy another AB product again and I hope the rest of america will follow suit
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