The beer snobs will be forced to love A-B

What will happen if the quintessential American swill is owned by . . . Belgians!

Belgian brewer makes unsolicited offer for the maker of Budweiser

I'd rather drink this than any belgian beer.

I doubt this will happen, but this really has no bearing on me since i don't buy any of their products. If i'm drinking cheap beer it would be pbr.

then Belgians will be suckering the American public, whoa they already are (had a stella lately)

just because you are a Belgian, it doesn't mean you know how to make good beer

do they have founders in kentucky yet??

No, no Founders in KY yet. Although, with Todd and The Keg right across the river, it's like we have Three Floyds, Founders, Dark Horse, et al.
And no self-respecting Beer Geek (please, we prefer geek to snob. snob makes us sounds elitest. which, for the most part, we are not) will ever "like" A-B. I know plenty of geeks who will drink Budweiser if the situation arises, but most of them don't like what A-B has done to the beer industry. I know, it seems like a strange stance to take. I myself have had one Budweiser in the last five years. It was at a beer dinner, and believe me, it was under protest. Bottom line, even if InBev buys A-B, and the A-B headquarters are moved to Belgium, Budweiser will remain Budweiser. They will have just given me one more reason to stay away from their product.

You might want to watch the term "Beer Snob" around here.

AB has a long history of trying to destroy the craft beer industry...will be hard to overcome for a lot of people.

The gi-normous ego of the Busch family will be hard for Inbev to overcome...they think way too highly of themselves to let this happen in the end.

On another note...they are now distributing Magic Hat and Kentucky Ale in Central KY and bringing the St. Bernardus line....funny, not too long ago, they tried to destroy brands like that...thankfully, those brands are with River City here in Louisville which at least has a small base of decent beers to promote and push and are excited to do it.

I think Founders will hit KY late this year along with Upland but still no luck on Three Floyds, they won't cross the river.

I'd like to see the Dark Horse brand in KY, had some Saturday at Fest of Ale and really liked the Blackbier and their stouts.

Yes, I know that "beer snobs" is not the favored term. And I know that beer geeks don't like Stella much more than Bud Light. It still struck me as funny that the Great American Swill (isn't that Roger's term?) could become the Great Belgian Swill.

Technically, it will still be "American" swill. InBev may buy the company, but the swill will still be brewed here in the US of A. I mean, come on, do you think the Belgians have the slightest idea of how to "Beechwood-Age" their beers? I think not.

Here's someone who embraces the term "beer snob."

The King of Beers Merger

A few choice quotations:
"Missouri's politicians are up in arms, and at SaveBudweiser.com, more than 31,000 patriotic Americans have already signed a petition opposing the merger."

A newspaper column from Illinois: "A-B is so much more than just a hometown company. It is a symbol to the world of the best of the brewer's art, a pride that goes back centuries, born in Europe and refined in America. It is the Clydesdales, the Dalmatians and the fire wagon, all hailing the arrival of the King of Beers."

"I know these are dangerous waters in which to tread, and that I will soon be pilloried as a coastal elitist beer snob, but I must be true to my own deeply held beliefs. Anheuser-Busch, the controller of half the U.S. beer market, symbolizes everything that is wrong with America. With special emphasis on the foul stain upon the brewer's tradition that goes by the name, Bud Light. Great-tasting? Have we all gone mad? "

I admit to looking forward to the day when I can saddle up to some everybar, sneer disapprovingly at the poor A-B drinker sitting next to me, and say, " What's the matter? American beer not good enough for you?"

This subject just puts a big fat grin on my face. As a lover of all that is craft, the elitist position that A-B takes on saying they are the last true american beer, looks like it will finally come to an end.... ding dong the witch is dead! Never mind the fact that there product is poop, and they attempt to buy anything and everything to try to make up for the fact that the domestic market has slowly been in decline.

HOORAY ALL THAT IS CRAFT !!!

To be fair I do give the larger brewers some props, I don't so much care for there product but any of us that are home brewers Know it is pretty amazing the amount of product they can produce with the same consistancy. That being said I still don't feel such bev's are good for more than washing ones feet.
So if they consider themselves the king of beers and craft are just meer peasants....VIVA LE REVOLUTION !

I don't care for the word snob and don't so much agree with geek, I think there are a few that just prefer to enjoy A product that somebody put a little more soul into. thanks

I admit to looking forward to the day when I can saddle up to some everybar, sneer disapprovingly at the poor A-B drinker sitting next to me, and say, " What's the matter? American beer not good enough for you?"

That is my official favorite quote of the week. Well played Jeff!

In point of fact, it is utterly irrelevant as to which engorged monolith manufactures swill, where they fabricate it, and how many shareholders (who are busy drinking wine and expensive spirits) profit from the transaction.

Funny, isn't it, that when Anheuser-Busch buys into a foreign brewery, it's somehow a patriotic imperative that reaffirms our collective self-esteem as Americans ... but when a foreign conglomerate seeks to buy Anheuser-Busch, we must bar the doors, circle the wagons and protect a beloved icon from acquisition?

I never get tired of noting the irony of people banging their bottles of Bud Light against the bar top as they denounce globalization and rail against The Man. It doesn't change the hypocrisy, and as I noted in this week's LEO, it's amusing that the carbonated water in their hands IS made by The Man.

In summary: Budweiser can be owned by Four Sticks, Belgians or Martians. If you care about beer as beer was meant to be, it simply doesn't matter.

Eh, I can see how people can confuse snobs with geeks. Geeks or lovers have such a passion for quality and diversity that the passion is misconstrued depending on how diplomatic the person may be. To those who drink the Bud I only ask them to try other things rather than bash the bud, unless the conversation was with those who have been through their "beer epiphany", then I bash.