Is Budweiser going to be a Belgian beer?

Written by DJ Spiess

Wednesday, 11 June 2008

Unless you’re living under a rock, you’ve probably heard the Belgian beer giant InBev is proposing to take over Anheuser-Busch. What does that mean?

InBev is the world’s leading brewer, and the company claims their origins date back to 1366. It’s not clear which part of InBev dates back to 1366, but they have swallowed enough beer companies to make the claim possible. InBev as a company was created in 2004 when Belgian Interbrew and Brazilian AmBev merged. InBev currently owns popular beers such as Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Beck’s. They now want to purchase Anheuser-Busch. I can’t wait for the jokes if they rename the company to InBusch.

InBev is offering $65 USD per share of Anheuser-Busch. It is a good offer since $65 USD is 35% more than the A-B value before buyout rumors started. It’s also 18% higher than A-B’s all-time stock price high of $54.97 achieved back in October 2002. It is a great deal for stock holders and InBev would become one of the five largest consumer companies in the world. But what does it mean for the little guys, us?

What happens to the breweries?

The first question one needs to ask is where will the beer be produced? In their press release, InBev states they have no plans to close any breweries. Hopefully this won’t be like Hoegaarden. They purchased the brand, then in 2005 tried to move the beer out of the city Hoegaarden production to a larger facility in another city. Moving Hoegaarden was like Brooklyn Beer being produced in Kansas City. After public outcry and production problems, InBev relented and kept the brewery in Hoegaarden. So you have to wonder if the smaller breweries of Anheuser-Busch, such as the one in Fort Collins, Colorado will last long.

Will Budweiser become the next Belgian Golden Ale?

And what will the Belgians think of Natural Light? Not all of Budweiser’s brands are great money producers. Sure Budweiser will survive, but what about redundant brands such as Rolling Rock or Michelob? Budweiser has many brands, and not all will survive, especially if some InBev beers are produced in Anheuser-Busch breweries.

What happens to the little beers?

Will someone think of the children?

Anheuser-Busch owns Busch Entertainment Corporation which runs the Busch Gardens theme parks, SeaWorld, and several water parks. The Busch Entertainment Corporation is one of thirteen A-B subsidiaries. Are the subsidiaries something InBev wants to keep, or will they try to sell these off? Their press release gave no mention to these holdings. I really hope we don’t see these parks close, or worse fall into disarray when purchased by other companies. Will Shamu get sold off to some fast food sushi joint?

What’s more American than Anheuser?

Ok so Anheuser isn’t exactly American, but the Budweiser brand is very American. While the beer tastes like water, like it or not, Budweiser is a part of the American identity, does that hold true if it’s no longer an American company?

Who is behind fermentarium?

My name is D.J. Spiess I've been homebrewing for many years and I hope I can help you enjoy this hobby as much as I do. If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment, share it, digg it, or stumble it using the icons to the right or the top of the page.
You can read more about me on the about page.