Does InBev hate beer?

There's an interesting article at Business week about the changes that may (or may not) have been made in beer brands after their being acquired by InBev. I'm not a beer drinker, so I don't know much on the subject. I'm curious to see if you guys think the article is correct:
http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/78186-the-plot-to-destroy-americas-beer

Have the flavors of "european" brands changed since they've been produced in the USA?
Are Asian and South American beers actually lighter? Do the Brits really like beer with less alcohol?

Hmm. I rarely buy their products anyways, so I can't say have noticed a change. Of course I am young-ish so its not like I've been drinking beer the past 50 years. I would however be a bit disappointed if all he continued to do is take over more and more brewing companies. I mean WTF man. Like, get your own beer.

I did get some Sam Adams Wee Heavy the other day though. Holy E36 M3. American Beer is alive and well. No need to hit the panic button just yet.

Disgusting. I will buy nothing but Sam Adams until the bastard buys that up too.

I'm hoping Beer Baron chimes in here and gives us a professional opinion on what was, what it has become, and what was done to cause the transmogrification.

Oh come on 1988RedT2 theres still plenty of others aside from Sam Adams the guy hasn't bought up. Yet.

Not that there's anything wrong with buying Sam Adams. Speaking of Sam Adams the pot of chili we made over the weekend was treated to bottle as well.

Rogue, North Coast, Left Hand, etc etc

There are tons of great smaller breweries everywhere.

In reply to JoeyM:

Beck's and Hoegaarden do indeed taste different. I remember noticing the change, and I've not bought any since.

JoeyM wrote: I'm hoping Beer Baron chimes in here and gives us a professional opinion on what was, what it has become, and what was done to cause the transmogrification.

Must feel bad to work in the industry right now, InBev right now is worse than MS at their peak of evil in the mid/late 90s or Apple right now. One megacorporation controlling almost all of the world's beer production.

I used to buy Becks. After the switch, I quit. Not the same beer, and they were charging the same price. Note that it says "German" or "Germany" on the box about 7 times. Nowhere does it say "St. Louis" until you buy it and look at the bottle. I see they are discounting it about $2-3/12-pack now. Interestingly enough, I recently tried some Sam Adams Boston Lager, and I may switch to that for a while.

berkeley IN-BEV!

In the article, they keep saying they are committed to quality, but they don't say they are committed to taste. The two things are related, for sure, especially in beer. However, they are not the same thing.

Sales of Bud and other mega-beers have been hit by the rise of craft brewing. I never really drank Bud (unless it was on draught at a party and I was really, really HOT) since I always liked darker beers better and I made my own when they were harder to come by back in the day.

Now, there is an entire generation of beer drinkers who are used to a huge variety of styles, tastes and experiences. Why stick with a light lager 100% of the time when you can match your beer to your meal, like a wine?

Talk about a dick in a suit.... And we wonder why the WORLD is in such poor shape, only the "investors" deserve ANYTHING.

InBev doesn't hate all beer...just good beer.

I think InBev hates US.

I used to like Michelob. Then they changed it, and it started tasting nasty.

bravenrace wrote: I used to like Michelob. Then they changed it, and it started tasting nasty.

Billy Busch is building anew from the ground up. Good stuff if you like the old Anheiser-Busch products.

failboat wrote: I did get some Leinenkugel's Wee Heavy the other day though. Holy E36 M3. American Beer is alive and well. No need to hit the panic button just yet.

FTFY

N Sperlo wrote:

bravenrace wrote: I used to like Michelob. Then they changed it, and it started tasting nasty.

Billy Busch is building anew from the ground up. Good stuff if you like the old Anheiser-Busch products.

To be honest, I think Budweiser is horrible, and Bud light is worse. But I did like Michelob. So how about some details on this new venture?

Interesting article, I did not know Becks and Hoegarden were affected but I definitely noticed the difference. Now I know why! Bud is still my everyday beer though.

In reply to RossD:

They must also have one called Wee Heavy then. Cause mine was a Sam Adams. And I got a good buzz off 1 bottle.

From what I've observed, I'd argue that InBev (my neighbor down the street) is doing great things for craft beer in the States.

Their purchase of A-B, and later Goose Island from Chicago, apparently involved significant severance packages for upper-level brewers and several of these highly experienced brewers have used that money to start small breweries of their own. In St. Louis we have In-Bev to thank for the opening of Perennial Artisan Ales, owned by a former Goose Island brewer, and Urban Chestnut Brewing Company, started by a former A-B brewer. Goose Island's former brewmaster is now working on really interesting-looking ciders, and given his resume, I'd bet he's producing some amazing stuff, just like the other two I mentioned.

And I'm guessing this pattern has played out in other cities with breweries that now fall under the InBev umbrella.

I still won't be buying any InBev stuff any time soon, but they're having an expected positive effect on "real" beer.

bravenrace wrote:

N Sperlo wrote:

bravenrace wrote: I used to like Michelob. Then they changed it, and it started tasting nasty.

Billy Busch is building anew from the ground up. Good stuff if you like the old Anheiser-Busch products.

To be honest, I think Budweiser is horrible, and Bud light is worse. But I did like Michelob. So how about some details on this new venture?

Kräftig is Billy Busch's new label, I think. Another former A-B higher-up is behind American Patriot Beer. They're both in the style of typical American macros, and I'm guessing wide-scale distribution is part of their business plan.

In reply to bravenrace:

You'll find all the info here.

I like it. It's better than bud light, but similar in weight. I'm not a fan of bud light and am still not convinced there is actually any alcohol in it.

Alex said Urban Chestnut and now I'm real thirsty for a brew. Talk about selection...

In reply to failboat:

The Leines is called Wee Heavy Scotch Ale actually. It too was like 9.0 abv. I'll have to look for the Sam Adams one now. Thanks for the tip.