This Wicked Weed/Anheuser Busch acquisition has a lot of beer fans across the U.S. feeling pretty hurt. The social media comments have been pretty brutal. Responses from breweries that have collaborated with Wicked Weed in the past, just as harsh.
Today, previous employee and Asheville resident that goes by the name Jed S. Holmes, published an open letter to the brewery on the domain WickedWeedSoldOut.com.
In the letter, he recalls the four solid years he put in at the Asheville brewery, the increasing corporate feel of the brewery, and a bit of the hypocrisy he sees in the sale.
In 2013 I sat in beer class put on by Wicked Weed that taught me about the inevitable decline of microbreweries purchased by macro-beer. YOU taught me this lesson and you know exactly where your brand is headed.
It is very interesting how many people have to “go on record” that they aren’t happy with the acquisition. Perhaps this is just another step to healing.
Sounds like a bitter employee that left before the buyout… probably would have received a nice bonus. It’s a business not a hobby.
Most companies have social media policies that forbid their employees from discussing the company in a negative light online (or in person with journalists, the media, etc.), if at all.