User not logged in - login - register
Home Calendar Books School Tool Photo Gallery Message Boards Users Statistics Advertise Site Info
go to bottom | |
 Message Boards » » Wicked Weed sells out to AB INBEV Page 1 2 [3], Prev  
justinh524
Sprots Talk Mod
27194 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
" I left in December citing an increasingly corporate atmosphere and a declining quality of food. "


i mean that's why i would quit a job.

5/9/2017 11:18:29 AM

thegoodlife3
All American
38918 Posts
user info
edit post

he's talking about the food they serve at the restaurant

5/9/2017 11:19:48 AM

ncsuallday
Sink the Flagship
9817 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"I left in December citing an increasingly corporate atmosphere and a declining quality of food. The company I signed on to work for would not have tried to marginalize my health coverage for its bottom line. Ultimately this is why I left."


then he says later in the same letter paragraph that he left over a disagreement on the health benefits they provided.

[Edited on May 9, 2017 at 12:20 PM. Reason : .]

5/9/2017 12:18:58 PM

Bullet
All American
27862 Posts
user info
edit post

reducing health coverage can be a result of an increasingly corporate atmosphere that he mentions.

5/9/2017 12:49:59 PM

Punter16
All American
2021 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"they hit a level that didn't allow them to produce more beer, even though there is obvious demand

this deal allows them to produce more beer"


Wicked Weed signed with Mims Distributing in February of 2016 so they haven't been subjected to the self-distribution production cap for quite a while. Yes I agree that's a stupid law but it had absolutely nothing to do with this deal.

Wicked Weed was built from the beginning as a profit making venture. From day one it was pumped full of more money than most startup breweries could ever dream of by the Guthy family of Guthy-Renker. The Dickinson brothers were never more than minority owners. It was a business investment for the Guthy's, not a passion project, and since they were the majority owners business won out in the end.

5/9/2017 2:52:04 PM

thegoodlife3
All American
38918 Posts
user info
edit post

yep, I was wrong with what I originally posted, and then edited a few posts down from that after remembering they had signed on with Mims

5/9/2017 3:00:58 PM

Doss2k
All American
18474 Posts
user info
edit post

Again I dont care who you are there is a number that would have caused you to do the same thing. That number may differ from person to person but everyone has a number. Clearly they got something over theirs.

5/9/2017 3:47:38 PM

eleusis
All American
24527 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"I left in December citing an increasingly corporate atmosphere "


"You see, the corporations, they sit there in their corporation buildings, and they're all corporationy, and they make money."

When tech startups position themselves to be bought out by the giants of their industry, they're genius; but let a craft brewery do the same thing and they're ostracized by the community.

Quote :
"The company I signed on to work for would not have tried to marginalize my health coverage for its bottom line. Ultimately this is why I left"


Did this guy live in a bubble and think his company was the only company struggling with out of control health insurance costs?

5/9/2017 4:08:45 PM

jbrick83
All American
23447 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"When tech startups position themselves to be bought out by the giants of their industry, they're genius; but let a craft brewery do the same thing and they're ostracized by the community.
"


You can't really compare the two. Breweries don't normally start out thinking and hoping they're going to be bought out by AB-InBev/MillerCoors/Heineken/Constellation Brands. Yeah, they do it because they think they can make some money, but they're not like tech start-ups. And while I'm sure there is some animosity in Silicon Valley between the little guys and the Google/Microsoft/Apple giants...craft brewers don't like the big guys because their distribution strategy is to literally squeeze craft brewers off the shelves and tap handles....it's hatred because they have to fight these billionaires just to exist.

My only issue with a lot of the back-lash is that people aren't realizing that this is what Wicked Weed was going to do from the get-go. It's not that someone finally threw a magical number at them...it's that they were going to take a number at some point regardless of what it was.

Quote :
"Again I dont care who you are there is a number that would have caused you to do the same thing. That number may differ from person to person but everyone has a number."


I'm not saying that its not the case for some breweries...but I think you'd be surprised at the money most of these guys would turn down. DFH has had stupid money thrown at him in the past to the point where big companies won't even think of approaching him anymore. If he changed his tune, his buy-out would dwarf whatever Wicked Weed got. This is definitely an industry where it's not always about the money. There are a ton of guys out there that could be multi-multi-millionaires (some billionaires) tomorrow if they wanted to...but they respect their craft industry enough not to do it (and they're already pretty well off to begin with).

5/9/2017 5:05:34 PM

JT3bucky
All American
23142 Posts
user info
edit post

I'd wager a very small insignificant amount of beer drinkers really care they sold out.

5/9/2017 5:33:04 PM

ncsuallday
Sink the Flagship
9817 Posts
user info
edit post

^

it just appears that way because the few that do care are really vocal about it. maybe they won't get invited to festivals, and maybe breweries won't want to collaborate with them. hell, they may even shut down the restaurant in Asheville, but the brand name is established and entrenched and will soon be more so when it's carried nationally.

5/9/2017 5:43:18 PM

KeB
All American
9828 Posts
user info
edit post

^Yeah where it's going to hurt most is their local market share. I know they have plenty of beer tourists coming through Asheville but without backing from the community, it will be interesting to see if they can sustain the restaurant and Funkatorium. They have already stated that "some" production may be moved out of Asheville, so they are already setting themselves up to make that exit. The business plan has definitely changed now where they won't need to make money off of those side endevours, especially if they are losing AB INBEV $$$$.

5/9/2017 5:50:09 PM

JT3bucky
All American
23142 Posts
user info
edit post

If anything AB will exploit the hell out of Asheville now and that location there.

5/9/2017 6:17:21 PM

jbrick83
All American
23447 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"I'd wager a very small insignificant amount of beer drinkers really care they sold out.
"


I'm going back and forth on this.

Although popular, Wicked Weed still wasn't widely distributed (couldn't get it down here in SC). Most of the people that go to bottle shops and stand-in line to get their beers...definitely care about this. So a lot people who actually consume Wicked Weed, do care about this.

However, with AB-InBev distributing, WW will probably end up on shelves of Harris Teeters all over and those shoppers won't know/care.

So this initial back-lash is very legit...but in the long run, it won't matter to the people who don't know about it.

5/9/2017 6:23:37 PM

adultswim
Suspended
8379 Posts
user info
edit post

They'll end up in the Sam Adams "craft" section along with Lagunitas.

5/9/2017 6:37:12 PM

skankinande
All American
28213 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"
What else is good for sour/wild/cask/barrel-aged in Wilmington - I'd love to try more stuff around there."


Waterline has an amazing gose brewed with tomato's. Wilmington brewing usually has some good sours as well it's just a funky place. Flytrap does a lot with brettynomics and some fruity sours. New Anthem has some good stuff, no sours but their saison and golden ales are pretty tasty.

5/9/2017 10:42:53 PM

rwoody
Save TWW
37019 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"When tech startups position themselves to be bought out by the giants of their industry, they're genius;"


Aren't the geniuses the ones that stay independent and become Giants? The people that sellout become anonymous rich people at best, or ridiculed for getting out too early

I mean I'd love to be an anonymous rich person, but you seemed to be addressing respect and awe

5/9/2017 11:15:58 PM

KeB
All American
9828 Posts
user info
edit post

Funkatorium Invitational Cancelled

AB INBEV festival announced for September 16th

5/10/2017 1:02:13 AM

TKE-Teg
All American
43382 Posts
user info
edit post

wtf are tomato's?

5/10/2017 8:30:56 AM

synapse
play so hard
60908 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"If you want the "TL;DR", here it is... It's been a rough week, and for now, you'll still see Wicked Weed on our shelves. You might not care one way or another, but if you're about to grab a pitchfork, this is very long, but please hear us out.

Last week, like many of our friends, fans, and colleagues, we were all disheartened to hear the news of AB Inbev's acquisition of Wicked Weed. Immediately, our hearts told us we have to stop selling their beer.

In the past week, we've read statements from breweries and retailers all across the country, thoughts from industry experts, interviews with Walt, and social media commentary. We've also had countless conversations with sales reps for distributors and suppliers, industry peers, family, friends, and of course, our beloved Tastoids. To all of the beer drinkers who are hurt, or even angry, about this, we feel your pain.

I waited in line for Wicked Weed's first bottle release, and still have my signed bottle of Serenity, #51 out of 100. I "helped" brew our 3rd Anniversary beer with Marco on the brewpub system, which ended up being the first batch of Lusus Naturae. I've shared meals with Ryan Guthy, danced in a field with Walt Dickinson, and Rick saved us a lot of stress in opening our Asheville shop, a shop that has closed twice so our staff could attend the Funkatorium Invitational. Bryan and I partied hard at the Funkatorium for "Funk Asheville", not knowing one day we'd have a shop right across the street. We hosted the brewer's party for the Funkatorium Invitational in 2015, which left me completely starstruck and humbled. And of course, we've built incredible relationships with their staff, from their sales team, to bartenders, servers, tour guides and brewers, and they support us weekly. While this isn't the case anymore, we eventually would become Wicked Weed's largest account, and they would be our largest supplier. We couldn't be in a more awkward place in this situation.

The day the news came out, I didn't reach out to anybody at Wicked Weed. I trusted our relationship was important to them, but I wanted to give time for the dust to settle. The next day, I emailed Ryan, and Justin Crouch, their Head of Sales, basically saying, "I know you guys are busy, but I'd rather you hear it from us personally before Instagram or a blog. No rush, but please give me a call when you have time."

About 5 minutes later, I was surprised to see Ryan calling. I first offered my congratulations, but quickly turned to my disappointment. I've told him our stance on ABI, Goose Island, and more in the past. He assured me that he respects whatever we do, we'll still be friends, and that they'd be the same people producing the same beer. I was relieved that there wouldn't be hard feelings, but unfortunately, the quality and people weren't my biggest concerns. I know enough about the Guthy family, Walt, and Luke to know that they wouldn't act against the best interests of their employees, or the quality of their beer. I told him what hurts the most is that even a fraction of a cent, from every Wicked Weed beer sold moving forward, could be spent to ultimately hurt the craft beer industry, including Tasty. There wasn't anything he could have said to me to ease that concern, but of course, it had to be said, and we kept telling ourselves "Anybody but AB Inbev."

Before I even dreamt of one day operating a beer store, I'd heard of Anheuser-Busch's unethical practices in the marketplace, coupled with their lobbying, and how harmful that is to the industry I'd come to love. Since then, we've experienced and witnessed it first hand, and in ways that hit even closer to home. And of course, I didn't appreciate seeing the careers of myself, our staff and so many of my friends, insulted on a national stage during the Superbowl.

When Tasty in Raleigh opened up nearly six years ago, we made an effort to minimize our support of any BMC (Busch Miller Coors) products. This was an easy line to draw, and we did a pretty good job of sticking to it. Today, "BMC" doesn't mean as much, and drawing that line becomes more difficult every year. It's easy to say "Screw AB Inbev, they won't see a dime from us!", but we now have Constellation (Ballast Point), Tenth and Blake (Terrapin), Heineken (Lagunitas), and the list goes on. When kegs of Goose Island IPA are so cheap that other breweries can't compete, we can all agree that's bad for the industry as a whole. On the same token, since Duvel Moortgat acquired Boulevard, they've been able to produce barrel aged beers more often and much more affordably than before, and that has the same effect. Maybe that line also crosses Ommegang, Boulevard and Firestone Walker, along with the other import beers in their portfolio. As more private equity firms start acquiring brands we know and love, what makes us believe they're above acting unethically in the marketplace? Their peers become other private equity firms, not other craft brewers, and it seems optimistic that they're going to care about the industry as a whole. Maybe that line moves even further.

Certainly, these other entities don't hold much of a flame to ABI, but they all represent corporate beer, and are antithetical to the indepedent craft beer culture we all love. Personally, I don't think anybody should be boycotting Duvel Moortgat beers, but it's still worth noting any beverage conglomerate isn't going to care much about the success of North Carolina breweries, unless it's one they've bought. Luckily, this past week has also proven that there are a lot of respected breweries who are going to remain independent, and there are many beer enthusiasts that don't want to support corporate beer, and ultimately they have a lot of power in the market. Of the 55 breweries that have pulled out of the Funkatorium Invitational, there may be a Tony Magee or two in there, but despite what executives at AB Inbev, Constellation, and all would like, this industry isn't going away.

The concepts of core beliefs, values, and hypocrisy have been used a lot this past week. Like our friend Khris from Green Bench said, this is a "no-win game that was given to us, and we simply don't want to play." No matter what, moving forward, I'm a hypocrite, and I'm going to have to act contrary to my values. Our values and core beliefs tell us not to support AB Inbev and other corporate beer. They also tell us to respect our friends and neighbors, and to support those who support us. Tasty hosted a Migration Week event in Asheville and has had people lined up outside on a Black Friday for BCBS at both shops. We've since decided a little bit of Bourbon County wasn't worth supporting them year round, fiscally or morally. On the other hand, we have a keg of Unfiltered Sculpin on tap in Raleigh right now, we had a Terrapin event two weeks ago in Raleigh, and we have a Terrapin event in Asheville this week. Ballast Point, Lagunitas, and Terrapin are all on our shelves right now. We've come to the conclusion that this value, this core belief, of not bowing down to ABI, is still important, but maybe not as important as we thought, or as we'd like to believe it is. ABI may certainly be a soulless entity, but for right now, Wicked Weed doesn't feel soulless or gone to us. They're right there across the street, and while it may not be forever, and it may not be in the same capacity, we're going to keep working together.

- Johnny"


https://tastybeverageco.com/ww/

5/10/2017 1:38:20 PM

thegoodlife3
All American
38918 Posts
user info
edit post

good for them

I am a big fan of their informed, level-headed approach

5/10/2017 1:53:07 PM

KeB
All American
9828 Posts
user info
edit post

I love this "gonna be brewed at the same place by the same people" PR song and dance Wicked Weed is trying to spin

Meanwhile, the former owners know all about what's coming next...

Quote :
""Walt Dickinson also told the Associated Press that moving some production of Wicked Weed beers to Anheuser-Busch facilities outside of North Carolina is a “very real possibility.”"



https://www.brewbound.com/news/beer-industry-whacks-wicked-weed-deal

5/10/2017 3:37:09 PM

justinh524
Sprots Talk Mod
27194 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"When kegs of Goose Island IPA are so cheap that other breweries can't compete, we can all agree that's bad for the industry as a whole. On the same token, since Duvel Moortgat acquired Boulevard, they've been able to produce barrel aged beers more often and much more affordably than before, and that has the same effect."


i don't agree.

5/10/2017 6:16:26 PM

wdprice3
BinaryBuffonary
45908 Posts
user info
edit post

Regardless of that, no one can disagree that big beer and associated industries are determined to stifle competition, especially that from craft breweries. That is bad for the craft beer industry. And even on that one issue alone, any person who is a proponent of craft beers should not be supporting big beer.

5/10/2017 6:40:11 PM

Nighthawk
All American
19597 Posts
user info
edit post

^Yea that is some bullshit. I don't mind paying more for craft beer than some Bud Ice, but I disagree that cheaper beer is bad for the industry. Some folks can't drop $10-$12 for super high end beer and like the opportunity to try some of these if they are available. And many of the hipsters who by things like this on the regular are not going to suddenly jump ship because Wicked Weed has cheaper prices.

Also noticed Beer Study is dumping all of their Wicked Weed product. They are completely fucking silent on the fact that Lagunitas announced this week they are selling all remaining shares to Heineken.

5/10/2017 6:47:43 PM

eleusis
All American
24527 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"Regardless of that, no one can disagree that big beer and associated industries are determined to stifle competition, especially that from craft breweries."


I'll disagree with that. AB Inbev didn't buy Wicked Weed to drive them out of business; they bought them so they could expand them to other markets and increase sales volume. If they stifle a couple of shitty microbrews in the process, then more power to them.

5/10/2017 7:24:02 PM

wdprice3
BinaryBuffonary
45908 Posts
user info
edit post

See first reply to this thread, and then you'll understand.

5/10/2017 8:10:45 PM

KeB
All American
9828 Posts
user info
edit post



[Edited on May 11, 2017 at 1:15 AM. Reason : ...]

5/11/2017 1:09:37 AM

face
All American
8503 Posts
user info
edit post

I'd be interested to see if people really shun their beer now.

My guess is the drop off in sales is minor. But if people really did rally against wicked weed it could perhaps cause AB to rethink the prices they associate with future purchases.

5/11/2017 1:34:08 AM

jbrick83
All American
23447 Posts
user info
edit post

I think there will be plenty of people that shun their beer (I mean...look at the bottle shops that won't carry their beers and restaurants that won't put them on their taps)...but it will soon be extremely outweighed by people purchasing their beer in places where those people have never even heard of Wicked Weed.

And this is a good article on what AB-Inbev is doing with these acquisitions:

http://goodbeerhunting.com/blog/2017/5/5/watch-the-hands-not-the-cards-the-magic-of-megabrew

[Edited on May 11, 2017 at 6:37 AM. Reason : .]

5/11/2017 6:32:48 AM

dmspack
oh we back
25175 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"I think there will be plenty of people that shun their beer (I mean...look at the bottle shops that won't carry their beers and restaurants that won't put them on their taps)...but it will soon be extremely outweighed by people purchasing their beer in places where those people have never even heard of Wicked Weed."


yeah this seems pretty straightforward. sure, some hardcore folks and shops may quit buying. but way more people will start buying it.

5/11/2017 7:28:02 AM

Nighthawk
All American
19597 Posts
user info
edit post

Yea short term drop in demand followed by a big upswing as it gets established nationally.

And to the people surprised that they might not produce it all in Asheville, this seems like a no-brainer. For West Coast distribution it makes much more sense to make some product on that side of country rather than shipping it from Asheville. Especially when the owners company owns breweries all over the damn place. Sierra Nevada and Dale's did the same thing, although they are obviously independent, right in NC.

5/11/2017 8:46:13 AM

Jeepin4x4
#Pack9
35771 Posts
user info
edit post

i saw my first Goose Island beer commercial last night. It reeked of AB-Inbev

5/11/2017 9:19:18 AM

ncsuallday
Sink the Flagship
9817 Posts
user info
edit post

https://tastybeverageco.com/ww/

Tasty Bev wrote a treatise on the subject.

tl;dr - while we are anti-corporate and pro-local on the outside, Wicked Weed makes us too much money to stop carrying so we told the guys we're disappointed in them but nothing will change in practice.

Goose Island has always been a shitty beer. I had assumed it always was a grocery store "micro". Not too big on Ballast Point or Lagunitas either. At least with ABI buying Wicked Weed there will be some decent beer in most grocery stores.

[Edited on May 11, 2017 at 10:13 AM. Reason : please bring down WW price point ]

5/11/2017 10:11:56 AM

jbrick83
All American
23447 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"please bring down WW price point"


Will be interesting to see what is does on that price point. WW's prices were ridiculous to begin with. Lagunitas dropped down significantly when they were acquired, but Ballast Point is still high.

I like them both...but I can't consistently buy BP 6-packs at $15 a pop.

5/11/2017 10:19:33 AM

Jeepin4x4
#Pack9
35771 Posts
user info
edit post

^^did you not read any of the posts above yours?

5/11/2017 10:24:24 AM

Nighthawk
All American
19597 Posts
user info
edit post

^^^Literally posted like 12 posts up on this very same page.

5/11/2017 10:45:11 AM

Dynasty2004
Bawls
5812 Posts
user info
edit post

Not only that. Its pasted in the thread.

5/11/2017 11:00:41 AM

ncsuallday
Sink the Flagship
9817 Posts
user info
edit post

haha my b guys

5/11/2017 11:13:30 AM

jbrick83
All American
23447 Posts
user info
edit post

[ncsuallday]Hey...did you guys hear that Wicked Weed sold out to AB In-Bev?!?!?[/ncsuallday]

[Edited on May 11, 2017 at 11:19 AM. Reason : .]

5/11/2017 11:18:37 AM

TKE-Teg
All American
43382 Posts
user info
edit post

lol

5/11/2017 1:08:10 PM

KeB
All American
9828 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"AB-InBev Just "Commandeered" the Entire South African Hops Market
By Jim Vorel | May 10, 2017 | 4:28pm

AB-InBev Just "Commandeered" the Entire South African Hops Market
If you’re one of the craft beer fans out there who has been defending last week’s acquisition of Wicked Weed by Anheuser Busch-InBev, then this is the story you need to be reading. You want direct illustration of how InBev’s business practices hurt the entire craft beer industry as a whole? They’ve just presented the best possible example, by more or less cutting off the entire South African hops market from independent American craft brewers. Those hops, which include some of the most sought-after new aroma varietals on the market today, will instead be earmarked for the breweries owned by InBev’s “The High End” division, including the likes of the just-purchased Wicked Weed.

Multiple breweries have weighed in this afternoon to break the news, including Rhode Island’s Proclamation Ale Company, which Paste previously praised in the finals of our pale ale blind tasting. Here’s the entire post that Proclamation shared on Facebook only hours ago.

For anyone wondering how AB InBev acquiring craft breweries effects the brewers, suppliers, growers and consumers of the market, here’s an example of the things that many craft brewers are scared of…

To set the stage, we purchased a few hundred lbs of South African hops from a small hop distributor that was dealing with some of the small SA farms/growers. The farms were under the umbrella of SAB which was recently acquired in the merger of AB/Miller Coors a little while ago. We were super excited to work with these hops as they were from a new growing region with new varietals and hence had new unique flavor profiles, also, the business we purchased them from was a small boutique hop shop that will be losing a huge chunk of what they work with to maintain their business. Anyway. Here’s what we received via email today:

Along with the news late last week of ABI buying Wicked Weed, I was informed by SAB Hop Farms (part of ABI’s purchase of SAB-Miller) that ABI are commandeering all the hops that were to be allocated for distribution to North American craft brewers. The goal is to sell the hops internally to their acquired (former) craft breweries, even though they have not been able to sell all the hops as of yet. Regardless, they refuse to let US craft brewers buy any CY 2017 hops believing this will afford them a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

This is surely a sad turn of events. It sucks for the brewers, but has an even more tremendously shitty impact of the great guys that built a company around selling these hops to craft brewers.

San Francisco’s Cellarmaker Brewing Co., who we’ve also written about in the past, quickly chimed in on Twitter, decrying the move. Cellarmaker had made extensive use of the hot new South African hop varietals, but will now be unable to obtain those same resources.

Follow
Cellarmaker @CellarmakerBeer
Supporting AB InBev's fake craft brands fuels this fire. Cutting off ingredient supply to indie brewers is wrong. #independentbrewer
2:47 PM - 10 May 2017
72 72 Retweets 114 114 likes

Follow
Cellarmaker @CellarmakerBeer
Think AB Inbev purchases don't matter for the craft beer industry? All South African Hops have been allocated to AB InBev "High End" brands.
2:39 PM - 10 May 2017
151 151 Retweets 142 142 likes
Also commenting on Facebook is Portland, OR’s Great Notion Brewing Co., who we’ve also written about recently—it’s almost as if Paste is in the business of writing about good breweries! They said much the same as Proclamation.

Great… Anheuser-Busch InBev just swooped in and bought all of the exciting new South African hops we thought we had coming to us this summer.

San Diego’s popular Modern Times Beer has also just weighed in on Twitter, regarding what they call today’s “extreme dickishness.”

Follow
Modern Times Beer @ModernTimesBeer
Next time you consider buying beer from AB InBev & their zombie breweries, we hope you'll take this extreme dickishness into consideration
2:23 PM - 10 May 2017
143 143 Retweets 217 217 likes

The writing is on the wall, folks. If you’re buying beer from Wicked Weed, Karbach, Goose Island, Golden Road, Elysian or any of the other breweries owned by AB-InBev, these are the business practices you’re supporting. You’re funneling money into the coffers of a company that is DIRECTLY and negatively impacting the entire rest of the craft beer industry, while simultaneously using those profits to lobby in state legislatures for anti-craft beer legislation.


If you don’t care about craft beer, then fine. But if you do care, you can’t pretend that supporting AB-InBev owned breweries doesn’t negatively impact the rest of the industry. Either you admit that you’re helping InBev complete a monopoly over craft brewing, stifling creativity and freedom along the way, or you start getting more proactive with the choices of what you purchase. Now is the time to make a stand, and to make it with your dollar.

EDIT: AB-InBev has issued a statement on this story as it makes the rounds across the web, placing blame on a low-yielding hop crop—without denying that those hops making it out of South Africa will of course being going to InBev-owned, formerly craft breweries. From Willy Buholzer, Global Hops Procurement Director for AB-InBev:

South Africa is not a traditional hop growing region. SAB’s R&D efforts made it possible to grow hops in South Africa but it is still less than 1% of the world hop acreage and production. This year, South Africa suffered from low yields. Previously, SAB has sold a small surplus of locally-grown hops to the market. Unfortunately this year we do not have enough to do so given the poor yield. More than 90 percent of our South African-grown hops will be used in local brands Castle Lager and Castle Lite, beers we’ve committed to brewing with locally-grown ingredients. In support of the local industry, we additionally sell hops to South African craft breweries. This means that less than five percent can be allocated to other Anheuser-Busch InBev breweries outside of South Africa.

Knowing the high demand for South African hops locally and abroad, we are working to expand local hop acreage. Depending on the 2018 crop outcome, we may once again be able to sell more hops to breweries outside of South Africa.

Jim Vorel is a Paste Magazine staff writer and beer guru. You can follow him on Twitter for much more beer content."


https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2017/05/ab-inbev-just-commandeered-the-entire-south-africa.html

And the beat goes on...

And in case you missed it above...
Quote :
"The writing is on the wall, folks. If you’re buying beer from Wicked Weed, Karbach, Goose Island, Golden Road, Elysian or any of the other breweries owned by AB-InBev, these are the business practices you’re supporting. You’re funneling money into the coffers of a company that is DIRECTLY and negatively impacting the entire rest of the craft beer industry, while simultaneously using those profits to lobby in state legislatures for anti-craft beer legislation.
"




[Edited on May 11, 2017 at 10:38 PM. Reason : ...]

5/11/2017 10:37:31 PM

Nighthawk
All American
19597 Posts
user info
edit post

^A good comment on this from page two of your link:

Quote :
"No. Don't worry, your Cascade is safe from big brother.

I posted about this topic in another forum. SAB seems like they didn't fully utilize the hops they had under contract and the excess was sold to brokers who then sold to craft brewers. Now ABI owns them and wants to gain a competitive advantage from the resource they purchased.

Any breweries that put themselves into a situation where they were depending on spot market hop purchases made life extremely difficult on themselves."


Basically they had a contract on the hops and the farms grew an excess, so it was sold on the markey. The past couple of harvests haven't been bumper crops, so they have less supply and ABI has a higher demand. ABI still sucks, but lets not play Chicken Little here.

[Edited on May 12, 2017 at 8:03 AM. Reason : ]

5/12/2017 8:03:04 AM

ViolentMAW
All American
4127 Posts
user info
edit post

https://vimeo.com/223773287

6/30/2017 3:17:23 PM

adultswim
Suspended
8379 Posts
user info
edit post

lmao

6/30/2017 4:22:48 PM

UJustWait84
All American
25798 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"You sell outs are a fucking joke. Go fuck yourself. Stop being little bitches because no one likes you anymore. I'm reminded of a quote, "eat a dick"."


7/2/2017 5:36:39 PM

UJustWait84
All American
25798 Posts
user info
edit post

Quote :
"You sell outs are a fucking joke. Go fuck yourself. Stop being little bitches because no one likes you anymore. I'm reminded of a quote, "eat a dick"."


7/2/2017 5:36:39 PM

 Message Boards » Chit Chat » Wicked Weed sells out to AB INBEV Page 1 2 [3], Prev  
go to top | |
Admin Options : move topic | lock topic

© 2024 by The Wolf Web - All Rights Reserved.
The material located at this site is not endorsed, sponsored or provided by or on behalf of North Carolina State University.
Powered by CrazyWeb v2.38 - our disclaimer.