Pint/Counterpint: AB InBev buying craft breweries a good thing?

Here at Barly, part of our love of craft beer expresses itself as spirited debate. Hearing all of the sides of an argument is a great way to learn about a topic, so as part of our effort to educate the world about beer we’re starting a series called Pint/Counterpint.

A few days ago our COO, Craig Vermeyen, got into a conversation on our Twitter page with someone adamantly against big breweries like Anheuser-Busch buying up craft breweries. Craig got to thinking, and sent our team his opinion on the matter. Our chief tech officer, Hunter Knight, disagreed, and we’ll have his counter argument up in a few days. For now, here are Craig’s thoughts on the matter:

I think AB InBev acquiring craft breweries is a good thing. There, I said it.

Sure, I understand the general argument of these craft breweries being “sellouts,” but let’s look at this from a practical point of view:

AB InBev has no reason to start making bad beer at these craft breweries, or run them into the ground in any other way. Let’s face it. AB InBev has some smart business guys making these acquisition decisions. They are making these decisions because they are scared. They are scared because they see the shift from their crap to better beer. The craft beer market is expected to hit 20% of all beer sales by 2020, so if AB InBev doesn’t want to go the way of AOL, they need to change with the changing market. In order to succeed in the changing market, they need to have beers to sell that appeal to the craft demographic. Therefore, we craft beer lovers will continue to get a tasty product from the breweries AB InBev owns.

AB InBev doesn’t make good beer, so I’d rather they at least buy other people’s good beer to sell to us. We all know that AB InBev is not known for complex and flavorful beers. So if they are going to continue to own a big share of the market, why not be excited that some of the beers they can sell us are now complex and flavorful? Sure, they could have just decided to start brewing better beers, but they know that we die-hard craft beer fans would never go near them. With this acquisition model, we get the beer we already love more readily, and AB InBev sees the financial benefits of an established brand with an existing following.

AB InBev can get craft beer more places, more quickly. I think everyone agrees that AB InBev can distribute beer better than most craft breweries. Having access to this distribution network will actually help grow the craft beer movement, and bring more exciting beer to regions like China and Russia that are currently essentially untapped markets for craft beer.

If AB InBev is going to launch an incentive program, shouldn’t we be glad some of the beers that will be included are now the exact same beers that could have been forced out of stores by the program? AB InBev is already involved in “questionable” business practices to try and get their beer back on the shelves where craft beer is starting to take over. So why not let them put the craft beer they acquired back on the shelves of the distributors/businesses that have agreed to join their incentive program? If this program is going to catch on, I would much rather AB InBev had some good beer options to include in the program than get stuck with shelves full of Bud Light.

In summary, I don’t see this being a bad thing for the craft beer industry long term. Let’s be honest, there will always be plenty of craft breweries that decide not to “sellout”, or simply don’t make a smart acquisition choice for AB InBev. There will continue to be plenty of little guys around your neighborhood that you can still support if you choose, but now you will have the additional benefit of better beer being available at Chili’s or Cheesecake Factory next time you get dragged to a family function there.

I’m all about supporting mom and pop breweries, but when it comes to drinking better beer, I also want to have options in as many places as I can. Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Check back on Wednesday to read Hunter’s counterpint, and leave your thoughts in the comments!