For beer aficionados it’s the best of times and the worst of times. The Good: The advent of the craft brewing industry has given us real alternatives to the bland offerings of the mega brewers that all taste pretty much alike. From light lager to stout there’s acraftbrew for every taste. Most of all craft brewers show that, with good products and hard work, the little guy can still make it in 21st century America.
The bad: Craft brewers’ success has not gone unnoticed by the big boys. As Jim Hightower points out, the multinational corporate behemoth Anheuser Busch/InBev, already the world’s largest brewer, plans to grow exponentially by merging with, buying out, or using their marketing muscle to squeeze out competitors, including craft brewers.
It’s not even close to a fair fight. The outcome may seem all but certain, but don’t count the craft brewers out. Bigger isn’t always better. The outsized and outgunned British Navy defeated the mighty Spanish armada with smaller more maneuverable ships. Corporate bureaucracies stifle innovation and are slow to respond to changing market conditions. Exhibit A: General Motors.
Craft brewers will survive by doing what they do best; innovating and providing discriminating beer drinkers with beer worth drinking.
So here’s to nimble, entrepreneurial, and innovative craft brewers. May you enjoy a long and prosperous future in Arizona and across out great nation.
—William C. Thornton
This article appears in Jul 7-13, 2016.
The amazing thing about Budweiser is the consistency with which they can make beer. Every batch is exactly as bad as every other batch.
The supremacy of British sea power is undisputed, but the Spanish armada was sunk by a fortuitous combination of bad weather, disease, poor tactics and bigger guns. Dodgy analogies aside, I shall hoist a few local craft beers the day the industrial brewers join those unfortunate Spaniards in Davy Jones’s locker.
The big boys are snatching up craft brewers all over the country because they know what a growing segment of the population is demanding. Is this really a war between the big brewers and the craft brewers? Maybe, but I know who is winning! ME!,the consumer! Goose Island and Lagunitas are as good as ever after being bought out, and their prices have dropped. On the flip side we have 7 or 8 local brewers in Tucson now. From the buy outs to the start ups, this is a great time to be a beer drinker!
I think it is silly to bitch about the big boys buying out smaller craft brewers, it just means that they get it and are responding to consumer demand!