WHY? Dear God Why? InBev plans takeover of SABMiller

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Should, however, an innkeeper in the country, city or markets buy two or three pails of beer (containing 60 Mass) and sell it again to the common peasantry, he alone shall be permitted to charge one Heller more for the Mass of the Kopf, than mentioned above.

Yep, we need beer laws like that.

It works for me.
Seriously, we've got way more silly laws on the books than that. Why not a law that makes no bones about discriminating against those with bad taste?

 

[sourceninja]

...

 

[ControlD]

Can't you? It's not even available in my state, so I was just assuming. I've had it before, and it's basically like Lone Star or Dixie Lager; generic macro lager from something other than the Big 3. If it demands a price premium over the basic InBev offerings, that would be incomprehensible to me.

I don't buy regular Yuengling too often except at bars, but I think it is probably closer to $1 a bottle but I could be mistaken. I generally get their seasonal beers which are quite good for the price. The Summer Wheat is a really good hefeweitzen style and is usually around $6.99 a six pack. The Octoberfest is pretty decent as well and goes for about the same price.

I just like it because I can drink a few not have a raging headache the next day like I would with the normal choices (Bud Lite, etc.). It seems to be a notch above those beers in taste and quality.

Now normally I just drink what I make at home, but if I am buying inexpensive beer I have no problem with Yuengling.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I vote for a tax on any beer that doesn't follow reinheitsgebot. We can use the money to subsidize good beer.

You realize that this would tax basically the entire American craft beer industry, right? Every single stout, porter, strong ale, ESB, lambic, weizen, Scotch ale, red ale, rye, and the vast majority of IPAs would run afoul of this law. Ironically, the beers that would have the easiest time converting would be the macro swill that could swap out corn for barley in their lagers (although they wouldn't because they could easily afford to pay such a tax). I'm curious why someone who is passionate about beer would suggest domestic implementation of a law that has retarded Germany's beer industry in the wake of the beer revolution of the last few decades?

 

[ControlD]

You realize that this would tax basically the entire American craft beer industry, right? Every single stout, porter, strong ale, ESB, lambic, weizen, Scotch ale, red ale, rye, and the vast majority of IPAs would run afoul of this law. Ironically, the beers that would have the easiest time converting would be the macro swill that could swap out corn for barley in their lagers (although they wouldn't because they could easily afford to pay such a tax). I'm curious why someone who is passionate about beer would suggest domestic implementation of a law that has retarded Germany's beer industry in the wake of the beer revolution of the last few decades?

I agree with your overall point, but a good number of the beer styles you have listed there don't violate the German purity laws unless it is something "special" that a brewer is adding. I have made porters, stouts, strong ales, red ales and IPAs that use nothing but barley, water, hops and yeast. I have no idea what goes into a Scotch ale.

I never thought about it before, but I guess weitzen must not actually be considered "beer" in Germany. Strange.

 

[Fingolfin269]

You can get Yuengling for less than $0.75 a can? Let me know where so I can stock up next time!

I want to say a 12-pack in the Nashville area is in the $10 range and maybe closer to $9. So that's either $0.83 or $0.75 per can. TBH, I don't drink Yuengling often so can't remember but that seems to be what I recall.

 

[ControlD]

I want to say a 12-pack in the Nashville area is in the $10 range and maybe closer to $9. So that's either $0.83 or $0.75 per can. TBH, I don't drink Yuengling often so can't remember but that seems to be what I recall.

Yeah, I just checked the local Walmart and they have it listed at $10.19 for a 12-pack which is close enough to $0.75 to make my estimate incorrect.

Hell, I didn't even realize Walmart sold beer. I need to get out more.

 

[ussfletcher]

anyhoo...I have now moved to Maryland, and have discovered something horrific and vile is afoot in this state: It seems that each county in the state limits beer/alcohol sales to one major supplier per county (say, grocery store). So, within each county, there is a single grocery store where one can go to purchase their booze. Everything else is limited to private liquor or beverage stores....and I'm talking very limited. selection and cost is effing insane, and I'm comparing this to costs in the previous 7 years living in CA, and also where the selection was ~98% godawful IPAs. For the first time in my life, I walked into a dry Costco. The horror! D:

Something must be done about this horseshit. Luckily, VA and the District are nearby, so there may be some avenues here, but I haven't yet had much time to explore.

Yeah, Maryland is pretty awful. Depending on where you live though there are some decent stores around. Near Baltimore there is Canton Crossing, in Columbia there is The Perfect Pour, and in Laurel there is Total Wine (like a bevmo) to name a few.

 

[preslove]

My local package store has a huge selection of craft beers, micro breweries and small imports. So does a package store the next town over and another one a few miles from that. Absolutely they're going to bully supermarkets and liquor warehouse stores, but they do that already. Instead of 2 behemoths trying to keep everyone else out it will be one larger behemoth trying to keep everyone else out. Not much changes, the places that can be bought/threatened will still be bought/threatened and the package stores that cater to people that don't want those brands will still get the same customers as before. Line your hat with more tinfoil, the sky isn't falling.

WTF are you talking about? Brands battling over shelfspace is a well known business tactic. Sure, I have a great liquor store that's a 5 minutes away from me that will continue to have a great beer selection. But, it closes at 9pm and isn't open on sundays. Around me, gas stations, smaller grocery stores, and walmart all tend to have a more limited selection, and this merger will probably make that worse, especially because both InBev and Sab are buying craft brewers. This is the sort of merger that will push Sam Adams out of smaller retailers and more corporate restaurants. Big bars&grill chains will be more inclined to just sign an exclusivity agreement with InBev/Sab, because they can have the big 2 macro brands and a selection of "craft" brands owned by the macros.

 

[zinfamous]

Yeah, Maryland is pretty awful. Depending on where you live though there are some decent stores around. Near Baltimore there is Canton Crossing, in Columbia there is The Perfect Pour, and in Laurel there is Total Wine (like a bevmo) to name a few.

OK, good to know. I assumed that warehouse distributors like Total Wine or BevMo would refuse to set up shop around here, due to this insanity. I'll have to see if there is one nearby. (I'm in Hyattsville/College Park).

I also just learned today that it is not only one grocery store, but only one store of one grocery store that is allowed to sell. So, in Prince George county, it's Shoppers (a very low-rent pseudo food-distribution establishment that, I can only assume, calls itself a "grocery store" ....OK, I'm horribly spoiled when it comes to food, having just moved away from Berkeley ). There is one Shoppers on the other side of UM campus from me, near the US 1 and 495 junction that sells booze. The other Shoppers that I have found, somewhat closer to me off of 410, does not sell any booze.

I just returned with a 6pack of Victory Tripel ($14!! D and a 12 of Yeungling cans: $9.99. I haven't bought shitty beer in a loooooooong time. ...and I don't outright disparage shitty beer (I do miss Yuengling for some reason), but I am adjusting to the realization that I will now have to rely on it for efficient cost/booze numbers.

Oh sweet! I found my only option, and it's really close!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/town-center-market-riverdale

not directly off of any of the main streets, so I haven't noticed it (basically, between the new house and Home Depot, which is my daily rotation the last 2 weeks...).

 

[BurnItDwn]

Inbev has actually invested in a number of good breweries too. Instead of crushing all microbrews the best they can by controlling the distribution network, they have purchased Goose Island, Elysium and several others.. and you know what, they have managed to expand capacity and distribution without ruining the recipes!

Lots of microbrews have sold stakes to investment groups, and I believe, some have sold stakes to the macros since it gets them access to distribution networks. Macro and Micro can work together...

 

[GagHalfrunt]

WTF are you talking about? Brands battling over shelfspace is a well known business tactic. Sure, I have a great liquor store that's a 5 minutes away from me that will continue to have a great beer selection. But, it closes at 9pm and isn't open on sundays. Around me, gas stations, smaller grocery stores, and walmart all tend to have a more limited selection, and this merger will probably make that worse, especially because both InBev and Sab are buying craft brewers. This is the sort of merger that will push Sam Adams out of smaller retailers and more corporate restaurants. Big bars&grill chains will be more inclined to just sign an exclusivity agreement with InBev/Sab, because they can have the big 2 macro brands and a selection of "craft" brands owned by the macros.

No shit Sherlock. That happens in every market segment. Soda companies, chip and snack vendors, beer distributors, bakeries, etc all pay for their shelf space. It's been happening since the dawn of time. Hell, even the companies that don't buy their space by the foot are buying warehouse slots just to get their products into the stores. WHAT HAS CHANGED? If the giants buy up smaller breweries that just creates the incentive for more people to get into the microbrew business. The beer companies have been consolidating and buying each other up for decades and a big 10 became a big 5 and the big 5 became the big 3, now there's a big 2 and there might eventually be a big one. Yet with all that, there has never been a better selection of quality beers available to any consumer with the common sense to shop somewhere other than 7-11. The past dozen mergers didn't kill the market, neither will another one. The behemoth will buy their shelf space in supermarkets and megastores just like they have done forever and the smaller brewers will be available a block down the street. SO WHAT?