I think you will see this. Might take a little bit, but look what has happened with Elysian out of Washington. I never saw their products pre A/B but now they are widely available, especially Space Dust IPA.

 

Same can be said for Golden Road. Thought it was odd when they started popping up at Kroger in the last month or so. Now I know why.

I think you will see this. Might take a little bit, but look what has happened with Elysian out of Washington. I never saw their products pre A/B but now they are widely available, especially Space Dust IPA.

 

Same can be said for Golden Road. Thought it was odd when they started popping up at Kroger in the last month or so. Now I know why.

 

Yeah definitely true and might be the case in the near future. Long term, I'm wondering does their quality start to suffer. Apparently that's what has happened big time to Goose Island from what I read.

 

I'm not sure I had Goose Island beer before it was bought by a major conglomerate, but I think its crap now haha!

I had a pretty reliable connection to get their beer monthly. One of my all-time favorite breweries. This seems quite different from some of the other larger craft breweries that have been bought up by A-B or M/C. They have a whole location devoted to funky, sour, and wild beers. Not something you see much of.

 

I REALLY hope the quality remains the same and the ability to buy it at a local will be nice.

 

I can't blame them for selling out but main do the big guys do some shady stuff.

Gotta tip my hat to Jester King

 

Jester King says "nope" to Wicked Weed - Beer Street Journal

 

This has been a difficult day for us. The news that our great friend Wicked Weed Brewing was acquired by AB In-Bev came as quite a shock. As you might guess, we’ve been getting a lot of e-mails, media inquiries, and online questions about what we think and what it means for Jester King.

 

It’s no secret that Wicked Weed has been one of our closest friends in the beer industry. Regardless of what has transpired, we’ll always consider the people of Wicked Weed friends, and want the best for them and their families.

 

With that said, we have some core principles that define who we are as a brewery, and those principles must not be compromised. One of our core principles is that we do not sell beer from AB In-Bev or its affiliates. We’ve chosen this stance, not because of the quality of the beer, but because a portion of the money made off of selling it is used to oppose the interests of craft brewers. In Texas, large brewers (and their distributors) routinely oppose law changes that would help small, independent brewers. We choose not to support these large brewers because of their political stances, and in some cases, their economic practices as well.

 

Because of this core principle, it pains us to say that we won’t be carrying Wicked Weed anymore at Jester King. We think Wicked Weed beer is some of the best in the world. Their talent, techniques, and patience produces some of the most beautiful beer we’ve ever tasted. That, combined with their great friendship, is what makes this decision so tough for us. But like we said, our core values must be paramount at the end of the day.

 

We wish Wicked Weed the best, will deeply miss having their beer at Jester King and working with them on collaborations, and expect them to continue to make fantastic beer. Like we mentioned, they’ll always have our friendship and we look forward to the next time we can share a beer together.

 

Cheers,

 

Jeffery Stuffings

Founder

Yeah definitely true and might be the case in the near future. Long term, I'm wondering does their quality start to suffer. Apparently that's what has happened big time to Goose Island from what I read.

 

I'm not sure I had Goose Island beer before it was bought by a major conglomerate, but I think its crap now haha!

 

The quality of their regular lineup has suffered in my opinion. The limited releases have stayed good (ignoring the infection year).

 

But hey, at least in this case all infections will be intentional.

Same can be said for Golden Road. Thought it was odd when they started popping up at Kroger in the last month or so. Now I know why.

 

I had no idea, also Elysian, 10 Barrel and Lagunitas. I honestly didn't realize so many craft breweries were being gobbled up by AB.

I had no idea, also Elysian, 10 Barrel and Lagunitas. I honestly didn't realize so many craft breweries were being gobbled up by AB.

 

Can't blame AB for Lagunitas. They sold a 50% stake to Heineken. Might as well add Ballast Point to the list. They sold to Constellation Brands for a billion. :scared:

 

It's about like kids leaving UK to go pro. Can't blame them at all. I look at it this way, if you like the beer, drink it. Who cares who owns it.

I look at it this way, if you like the beer, drink it. Who cares who owns it.

 

I tend to agree with you. However, lots of beer nerds out there that refuse to give AB their money because of, what they believe, are unethical methods. And that in the long run, they will only wind up ruining great micro breweries by lessening the quality and sometimes just shutting them down.

 

I go back and forth. I will be real bummed the day Rhinegeist or Madtree becomes just another part of a portfolio though.

What needs to happen is that AB or whatever big brewery conglomerate should put some of these craft bee makers on their payroll after buying them out and have them come up with product, or at the very least help maintain the quality of the craft beers they are buying.

Part of me wonders if Anheuser-Busch never sold to InBev, if people would still have as much of an issue with it.

One good thing about Anheuser-Busch...They have a really cool brewery and they do a pretty neat tour. Went last March and loved it, planning on doing another tour when we are back in STL in September.

One good thing about Anheuser-Busch...They have a really cool brewery and they do a pretty neat tour. Went last March and loved it, planning on doing another tour when we are back in STL in September.

 

The A-B tour is definitely a good one. While you're there, if you're looking for other brews, hit up Four Hands Brewing south of downtown and the Schlafly Tap Room. Really enjoyed both of those spots.

 

Breweries are dropping left and right from their festival.

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Breweries are dropping left and right from their festival.

 

Yikes. Over 25% of participants dropped out within a day of the announcement. That's rough.

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Breweries are dropping left and right from their festival.

 

Ouch. Gotta a feeling Trillium dropping out will upset a lot of patrons.

 

Still havent had one.