In case you don’t follow basketball, the Miami Heat had an amazing 27-game winning streak earlier this season. Heat forward Shane Battier told NBA.com that he’s pretty superstitious. In addition to a plethora of superstitions, the basketball star said he drinks only Continue Reading →
Yesterday marked the completion of AB InBev’s proposed acquisition of Grupo Modelo (the company that produces Corona for the lay person). For those of you who’ve been under a rock (or a craft beer induced coma), AB InBev originally proposed buying out the remaining 50% stake in Grupo Modelothat Continue Reading →
Anheuser-Busch will use modern canning technology to release cans that are shaped as bow ties. No, not printed on the can. The can is SHAPED like a bowtie.
I am sure that you have noticed that there is a growing ideological division between big brewers and small craft breweries. (See Craft vs. Crafty, Yankee Beer Stand Debacle & more). Budweiser’s newest spot seems to try to blur the Continue Reading →
Coming hot off the strong sales of Lime-a-Rita, Budweiser is raising the stakes. With strawberries. Expect your next round of Beer-rita drinking to hit on March 25, 2013. Do with that information what you will.
It must be hard to find good help these days as yet another employee-assisted beer theft has taken place. At a NY warehouse for Anheuser-Busch InBev a security guard allegedly assisted in the theft of $100,000 worth of cases Continue Reading →
Bud Light Delivers 1,100 Cases of Beer to Heat Forward
In case you don’t follow basketball, the Miami Heat had an amazing 27-game winning streak earlier this season. Heat forward Shane Battier told NBA.com that he’s pretty superstitious. In addition to a plethora of superstitions, the basketball star said he drinks only one beer during the streak – Bud Light.
Nope,” Battier said. “Well, I try to drink the same beer — Bud Light — but that’s about it. You never know. I don’t want to chance luck and switch up brands, so I’m staying loyal to Bud Light.”
Shane was delivered a whole truck load of Bud Light, some 1,100 cases of it by the brewery. By our estimates, that’s over 13,000 bottles of beer. Queue the party montage…
AB InBev Completes Modelo Acquisition, Haters still hate
Yesterday marked the completion of AB InBev’s proposed acquisition of Grupo Modelo (the company that produces Corona for the lay person). For those of you who’ve been under a rock (or a craft beer induced coma), AB InBev originally proposed buying out the remaining 50% stake in Grupo Modelothat it did not own back in February 2012.
But on January 31stof this year, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the acquisitionstating that it would give the Bud Light producing company an unfair competitive advantage within the United States.
Currently, AB InBev and Grupo Modelo control roughly 50% of the US beer market. Such a large stake can be representative of a “beer monopoly”, hence allowing AB InBev to control prices throughout the country. Of course this would not affect the majority of us who actually enjoy beer since spending $14 on a case of Bud Light is tantamount to setting our money on fire.
What does that mean for us? Basically nothing. If you’re a shareholder, you’re getting $9.15 per share and the company is getting $20.1 billion in cold hard cheddar. The deal also requires AB InBev to sell a brewery in Piedras Negras, Mexico to make Corona and other Modelo brands for the US market. It also requires Constellation brands (the parent company of GrupoModelo) to expand the brewery in order to increase capacity to at least 20 million hectoliters of beer by year end 2016. For those of you who don’t know what a hectoliter is, I’ll explain. It’s a shit-ton.
What are your thoughts about the acquisition? Is this good for the US beer market? Do you even care?
Congratulations to Matt Crouse on his first article for Beer Street Journal. Matt will check in on the business side of beer from time to time.
Budweiser Releasing Cans ACTUALLY Shaped Like Bow Ties
Anheuser-Busch will use modern canning technology to release cans that are shaped as bow ties. No, not printed on the can. The can is SHAPED like a bowtie.
In 1956, the “Bud Bow Tie” appeared as a part of Budweiser’s national advertising campaign. The point wasn’t to dress up the beer, but to try to get consumers to order the beer by its full name Budweiser, over just “Bud”. It has been integrated into marketing ever since.
The brewery is ready to take it a step further with bow tie shaped cans. A 16-step process forms the can into an actual bow tie, seen above. Benefits? Obvious reasons include straight novelty, conversation piece, and brand stand out. Those physics oriented people, I know what you are thinking. The can shape diminishes the volume of the can. The bow tie cans are 11.2 ozs.
The new cans all come out of the Budweiser Plant in Newburgh, New York. Look for them in the United States only, late Spring, 2013
Bud Claims America’s “Largest Local Brewer” in New TV Spot
I am sure that you have noticed that there is a growing ideological division between big brewers and small craft breweries. (See Craft vs. Crafty, Yankee Beer Stand Debacle & more). Budweiser’s newest spot seems to try to blur the line even more. Budweiser – “America’s Largest Local Brewer.” The tv ad ties in with the “Track your Bud” campaign, where can see where your beer was brewed.
Wonder No More. Budweiser Straw-Ber-Rita Arrives 3/25
Coming hot off the strong sales of Lime-a-Rita, Budweiser is raising the stakes. With strawberries. Expect your next round of Beer-rita drinking to hit on March 25, 2013. Do with that information what you will.
It must be hard to find good help these days as yet another employee-assisted beer theft has taken place. At a NY warehouse for Anheuser-Busch InBev a security guard allegedly assisted in the theft of $100,000 worth of cases of beer over several months by purposefully pointing security cameras away from the thirsty thieves. Cops apprehended the suspect, Charles Dandrea, last week by watching him turn the cameras elsewhere as 5 people drove a U-Haul up to the warehouse door and load up pallets of beers. These activities have allegedly been taking place since November of 2012. All suspects have been charged with petty and grand larceny and could face up to 15 years in prison. Stealing Bud? Guess times are tougher than we thought!
