Editor’s Notes: If you’re a regular reader, you know I’m not a fan of AB-InBev and their business practices. I feel, and with ample evidence, that they’re not good for Craft Beer or Craft Beer Drinkers. This is an excellent piece by Jim Vorel at Paste Magazine that looks at all the claims AB-InBev and their newly purchased breweries make. It’s well argued with good evidentiary back up. It’s a longer read, but enjoyable and worth your time if you care about Craft Beer. Enjoy!
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Let me tell you who I care about, in the world of beer: I care about the craft beer industry as a whole. I care about selection and availability of great craft beer, and at night I dream of a world where great beer from independent breweries can be accessed just about anywhere.
That dream is currently under attack, primarily by so-called “Big Beer,” but not entirely. For all of the wrangling and shady dealing that AB-InBev and MillerCoors are conducting in the American beer market, equally disturbing is the propensity of beer geeks and even food & drink publications to rationalize and apologize for the buyouts and practices that are currently driving craft beer into the most dangerous situation it’s faced in more than a decade. In some cases, would-be allies are willingly parroting back the exact marketing copy that AB-InBev would love… (Click here to go to Paste Magazine and read the rest of this great piece).