Some 30 months later, Goose Island still taking flack for A-B InBev purchase

Posted on December 27, 2013 at 9:51 pm by Adam Nason   
Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Barrel-Aged Beers Black Friday Launch Event - New York

[Top Hops NYC – Michael N. Todaro/Getty Images for Goose Island]

(Chicago, IL) – Now that we have finally had some time to catch our breath here, we can dig into our old saved links and bring those stories back to life.

One such instance was late last month when the Evil Twin Brewing Twitter account called out the Goose Island Bourbon County Black Friday nationwide release as an “Anheuser Busch release.”

It is. Technically. Yes.

 

Anheuser-Busch InBev bought Goose Island in 2011 and not a single Goose Island story, whether it be about the brewery in general or just a new draft beer, since then has gone by without someone exclaiming “InBev!” or something similar. To see it said at the brewery level is rare though, especially nearly three years after the deal was originally announced.

While A-B InBev has maneuvered brewing of core brands like IPA to its own facilities, Goose Island’s high-end and experimental beers are still brewed and packaged right on Fulton Street.

Bourbon County Brand Stout and its Coffee variation still maintain positions in RateBeer’s Top 50 out of tens hundreds of thousands of beers.

The majority of those reviews reflect the beer in pre-InBev times but recent reviews are looking pretty good, too. Reviewers are also praising the brewery’s brand-new creations.

—

Anyway, the timeline…

https://twitter.com/beerinator/status/406634055778566144

 

10 thoughts on “Some 30 months later, Goose Island still taking flack for A-B InBev purchase”

  1. At the end of the day it is all about who you are supporting and that is why there is a GI backlash. AB may have bought out GI but at the same time GI has put out some good stuff. This being said it is like your favorite local store is being bought up by Wal-Mart but is still the same store. That being said the major business decisions will still be made by Wal-Mart and portions of your money will still go to Wal-Mart. If someone (which craft breweries that are not owned by inbev are doing) makes the same quality or in most cases better quality product I will buy it from them 10 out of 10 times!

  5. Pingback: Craft Identity/Contracted Identity | Make Mine Potato

  6. The thing I’m not seeing talk about was a fairly significant exodus from GI Fulton Street. They are constantly hiring new low tier brewers, and with Lagunitas opening soon there will surely be more leaving. Another point that seems lost on those who choose to praise GI for Bourbon County is that regardless of what they think ABI does have people at Fulton street. They are bean counting, cleaning up their processes, etc.

    You know InBev does have a track record of dumbing down the products of those they take over. It’s not immediate but over time brands like Hoegaarden, and BellVue in Belgium both suffered serious setbacks. I’m not saying it will happen but I wont’t say it won’t either.

    At the end of the day yes of course GI via ABI is hurting small producers of barrel aged beer. Why? Uh…you don’t get it do you? ABI can dictate the prices they pay for raw ingredients, They have the power of being the largest brewing company in the WORLD!! Duh!! They could choose to charge whatever they wish… They are back by Budweiser folks ie: it’s crafty!!!

  7. “They are constantly hiring new low tier brewers”

    Unfamiliar with GI’s hiring situation and practices but as more brewing jobs come into the fold at as rapid of a clip as they are now, hiring top talent is a growing challenge that applies to all breweries. If there is a skills gap totaling millions of U.S. jobs across the board, do we really think that the brewing profession is exempt from that?

  8. You know what I find amusing, is brewers and their respective breweries that seemingly have no time for this hideous game of I am cooler than thou. The ones that just keep on churning out great beer, and may have an opinion about these silly topics, but simply don’t really have the time because, you know, they are busy making really great beer.

    I am not trying to put words in others mouths or take them out for that matter, but I don’t recall you know, Crooked Stave -or- Firestone Walker -or- Ballast Point -or- Westbrook -or- Sierra Nevada (to name a few, young, old and middle aged breweries) wasting time in these infantile twitter and facebook rambles.

  9. Pingback: BeerFX | Informative, Entertaining, Interactive Craft Beer

  10. Pingback: Goose Island Beer Co. – Bourbon County Backyard Rye | The Brew Buzz

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.