Anheuser-Busch up for sale (St. Louis, Miller: costs, office, deal)

[OA 5599]

Regardless of even how St. Louis AB is, it is also a very American company, making American-brewed and owned beer for the masses, and losing it for foriegn ownership will be a loss of not only a STL company but a company which is purely USA too. I rarely drink AB products anymore (couldn't say that when I was an undergrad and always had a 24 pack of Bud in the fridge ), but I really hope it stays American owned.

[chicagoerin]

Wow, looks like my post was hijacked..I was hoping for more info from people on whether they think it will happen, what the effect might be on the community (i.e. great places like Grant's Farm, etc). There certainly have been many other companies that have either left St. Louis all together or been sold/acquired by companies based elsewhere. Not good.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by kshe95girl

I think we are talking about more than the beer, being from KC, perhaps you dont understand how deeply ingrained in STL AB is.
Also, how in the world do you know that they put corn syrup in the beer? Please enlighten the rest of us.

I can understand how important AB is to St. Louis and I guess I can understand how it being bought out by a foreign company would be taken as bad.

In regards to how I know they use HFCS and other such products in there beer?

I brew beer and read journals for brewing. I also have several acquintances that have been brewing for years among those are people that are Presidents and VPs of prominent beer brewing associations.

AB has a very poor reputation among beer brewers around the world for taking short cuts to produce mass quanitities for cheap instead of brewing quality beer. Many consider them the bottom of the barrel when it comes to breweries.

I would much rather have them bought out by a foreign company that will stop that process and produce a quality product rather than they continue to produce the crap they put on shelves now.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by Inoxkeeper

I can't wait to hear the response to that one myself. I have taken the tour and drank many of their products (Bud Select anyone?) and don't recall seeing corn syrup used during the process.

I too hope that INBEV doesn't end up buying AB. Dang furinners...

Guess I will have to drink Schafly's brew if it happens. Anyone tried their APA? Good stuff!

I am surprised you dont drink Schafly's anyway. Their beer is outstanding and among some of the best I have ever had.

[aragx6]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

I would much rather have them bought out by a foreign company that will stop that process and produce a quality product rather than they continue to produce the crap they put on shelves now.

I would think that would be exceedingly unlikely to happen. Inbev is just out for profit, so if anything I could see the quality faltering yet more.

I'm also surprised to hear you say you care more about quality beer than the tens of thousands of Americans employed by Anheuser-Busch

[Inoxkeeper]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

I am surprised you dont drink Schafly's anyway. Their beer is outstanding and among some of the best I have ever had.

I sort of thought one would deduce that I do drink Schafly's from my comments about how great their APA is. It's kind of hard to recommend a product if you haven't sampled it.

Ditto for their IPA and 15, they are my favorites.

[OA 5599]

Originally Posted by RjRobb2

AB has a very poor reputation among beer brewers around the world for taking short cuts to produce mass quanitities for cheap instead of brewing quality beer. Many consider them the bottom of the barrel when it comes to breweries.

I would much rather have them bought out by a foreign company that will stop that process and produce a quality product rather than they continue to produce the crap they put on shelves now.

AB has very strict quality control, and a Budweiser you buy in Missouri will taste just like one you buy which was brewed in Texas or even Japan. Any microbrewery will have an extremely hard time pulling that off and it is where the beauty of mass production come in. They make beer for the masses, and lets face it, not everyone likes microbrewed beer. Millions of people are quite happy drinking Budweiser or Bud Light. I usually drink local beers myself (Real Ale beers in Austin are really good), but I have a soft spot for AB because I drank so much of it as an undergrad in college, and it is a Missouri and USA tradition.

If you don't like AB products don't buy them, but realize that millions of people do and AB has contributed a lot of the economy of Missouri and the USA, and many people do not want to see AB lost to foreign owners.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by aragx6

I would think that would be exceedingly unlikely to happen. Inbev is just out for profit, so if anything I could see the quality faltering yet more.

I'm also surprised to hear you say you care more about quality beer than the tens of thousands of Americans employed by Anheuser-Busch

Inbev makes some quality beer and Europeans take beer very seriously.

Just because InBev takes them over doesnt mean they will cut out all the American jobs. Do you think they are just going to bring over workers to replace everyone? Highly unlikely.

[RjRobb2]

Originally Posted by Inoxkeeper

I sort of thought one would deduce that I do drink Schafly's from my comments about how great their APA is. It's kind of hard to recommend a product if you haven't sampled it.

Ditto for their IPA and 15, they are my favorites.

You said, "Guess I will have to drink Schafly's brew if it happens." which I took is that you have tried it but didnt drink it regularly.

I pick up a six pack of Schafly's when I see it. They produced a special edition Louis and Clark Pale Ale last year that might of been the best beer I have ever had.

[kshe95girl]

Originally Posted by OA 5599

AB has very strict quality control, and a Budweiser you buy in Missouri will taste just like one you buy which was brewed in Texas or even Japan. Any microbrewery will have an extremely hard time pulling that off and it is where the beauty of mass production come in. They make beer for the masses, and lets face it, not everyone likes microbrewed beer. Millions of people are quite happy drinking Budweiser or Bud Light. I usually drink local beers myself (Real Ale beers in Austin are really good), but I have a soft spot for AB because I drank so much of it as an undergrad in college, and it is a Missouri and USA tradition.

If you don't like AB products don't buy them, but realize that millions of people do and AB has contributed a lot of the economy of Missouri and the USA, and many people do not want to see AB lost to foreign owners.

My GGGgrandfather was a stone mason, he helped build the original brewery. I have had family working there right up to the present day, and they are worried about their jobs.
Its always a shame when when one of the iconic names in STL slips away, it diminishes the rest of the community. The Busch family has had a long tradition of supporting all sorts of things in STL, and the rest of Mo, for that matter.
I sure dont see this new company doing that! Why would they care what happens to the good people of STL?