Beer & Me

So by now everyone has heard the rumor…well, I suppose it is more than a rumor at this point. I’m talking about Inbev considering taking over Anheuser-Busch. My initial reaction was mild interest. One mega brewer taking over another; ho-hum.

But there has been another reaction that frankly surprised me. It borders on jingoism. It may be finding its voice in a new website – SaveBudweiser.com. The idea isn’t so much a fear that the A-B brands might be compromised which was my only concern, if concern is the right word. No, it has more to do with the taking over of an American company by an overseas competitor.

This is really fascinating given that A-B and the other long-time brewers were until recently considered to be foreign invaders themselves. But sometime during the last two or three generations they’ve gone from unwelcome German beer mongers to the equivalent of apple pie.

Rumors of the Inbev takeover of Anheuser-Busch have left at least one fan of Budweiser worried that his favorite brew will go the way of the dodo. I think that that’s pretty unlikely.

As much as I would prefer that Anheuser-Busch not become a subsidiary of a European corporation I believe that Bud would remain safe even if it does. Inbev does not have a history of completely dismembering the companies that they buy. In fact the brands that come with their take-overs tend to become even better known.

Now, as to the quality of Bud, I’m the wrong guy to ask as Bud is already pretty low quality, in my opinion. But I believe that it will be maintained. A-B has long been a streamlined American corporation and its flagship brand is designed for the lowest production cost possible with the highest profit. Given those truths, Inbev would likely change very little about it.