Budweiser Sold to InBev
“We were betrayed,” said Mr. Liszewski, who was still not sure he could believe the news that the company had agreed to be sold. “The good Lord was sold out for 30 pieces of silver. We were sold out for $70 a share.”
August A. Busch IV, the scion who runs the family brewery that makes Budweiser and Michelob and dates to before the Civil War, had vowed that there would be no sale on his watch. But in the end, sentiment and tradition were no match for a $52 billion offer from the Belgian beer giant InBev.
All around this old Midwestern city famous for its brew, heads have been shaking in disbelief. Budweiser, the king of American beers, will belong to Europe.
–Anger and Dismay at the Sale of a City Treasure”, NYT
Although the purchaser has promised not to close any of the company’s 12 breweries, there is a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth over the sale of Anheuser-Busch to the Belgian InBev company, which owns (among other brands) Bass, Stella Artois, Hoegarden, and Beck’s.
I don’t see what the big deal is. Number one, if they hold true to their promise not to close the breweries, I don’t see why anyone necessarily has to worry about their jobs.
But number, two, it’s freakin’ BUDWEISER, the beer thats like having sex in a canoe because it’s fucking close to water. It’s a beer that (like the other big names in US brewing) uses way too much corn for a lighter flavor and cheap source of sugars. Sure, it’s OK ice cold after mowing the lawn, but hefeweizens and pilsners like Hacker-Schorr or Pilsner Urquel are much more refreshing.
In short, Budweiser is piss. It tastes horrible. It’s beer for people that don’t like beer. I drank the stuff in high school, back when I thought Michelob was “high class” (and in a related note, Michelob is now advertised as an all-malt, meaning 100% barley, brew, which should tell you something about the brewery’s flagship brand).
So maybe St. Louis’s civic pride is a little battered, but as long as no one’s losing jobs, who cares who owns the blandest beer in America?
3 Responses to “Budweiser Sold to InBev”
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July 17th, 2008 at 10:32 am
They shouldn’t, but having lived there for 6 years I know that the entire city’s identity is deeply intertwined with A-B, regardless of the quality of the beer (which unfortunately meant it was very hard to find good beer in most places). So to St. Lousy-ans, “belonging to” InBev is like having their citizenship stripped from them as a city. Not that it’s rational, mind, but five bucks says that’s how they see it. It would be sort of like, say, if Tastykake were bought by Nestle. Or, um, something. You know, they don’t see it as theirs anymore. But whatever…
July 17th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Maya: My husband and I were in Hermann, MO. over the fourth of July weekend. We were standing outside of a microbrewery, sipping our beer, when three couples from St. Louis joined us in conversation. One of the husbands took beer orders, and the wives all said “Bud-lite”. My husband told them that the brewery didn’t sell Budweiser. The wives just shrugged and declined to order any beer at all. Then my husband raised his mug and said “They serve a GREAT Belgian ale though”.
If looks could kill, I would be a widow.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Ah, wish I coulda been there. Especially since I adore Hermann. And good Belgian ale.