A-B buys Goose Island for $38 million

Reads 18751 • Replies 129 • Started Monday, March 28, 2011 6:35:12 AM CT

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Message Cletus beers 6349 º places 233 º 13:02 Mon 3/28/2011 Honestly, they don’t even distribute in my state, so I don’t really care. I like some of their Belgian line, but brewers like Allagash and Ommegang are much more exciting to me when it comes to American made Belgian style beers.
Message j12601 P beers 14608 º places 583 º 13:27 Mon 3/28/2011 Does this mean I can only wear my Goose Island shirt ironically now?
Message NobleSquirrel beers 3437 º places 209 º 13:41 Mon 3/28/2011 Originally posted by FlssmrBrewAlum Originally posted by GodOfThunder Originally posted by NobleSquirrel Originally posted by goldtwins I see the bigger problem being A-B telling bars they have to put other A-B products on if they want to get Goose Island. Taking away real estate from the craft beers. Same for shelf space at the stores. That won’t happen. It’s a distinct no-no to do that and I don’t see AB jeopardizing that. Also, the distributor side is independent of the brewery side, FWIW. If they were into doing that sort of thing, you’d say far more AB product at the liquor stores in Chicago. I must say, I don’t really notice them at all... Not sure if serious... While I don’t agree with Brian’s comments.. Chicago is largely a Miller city fwiw. What is actually most curious in Chicago is the fact that most of the craft beer bars don’t seem to carry beers from the Bud distributors. Or if they do, they tend to just carry the craft line. This reminds me of an email from the CBS listserv where I mentioned that you can find Magic Hat everywhere. One of the local distributors does basically force that onto anyone with an extra line. Distributor relationships are a slippery slope, though. I know enough people in the management side for restaurants and bars and there are enough options out there right now that they don’t really have to deal with someone trying to "buy" one of their lines. Right now, though, in Illinois there is a piece of legislation that is going to limit a brewer’s rights to self distribute. The industry is becoming a very varied beast at this point and stuff is happening now that would have been unconscionable even 2 years ago, both good and bad. Suppose we’ll see what happens...

Message CLevar places 23 º 13:56 Mon 3/28/2011 That is all.
Message BrooHa beers 121 º places 6 º 15:04 Mon 3/28/2011 FT: GI BC Rare PRE-AB ERA!!! ISO: a bajillion, quadrillion dollars! Even if the quality stays the same or even gets better, it’s a sad day. Kinda like finding your dad’s porno stash,you’re just really disappointed (not in the stash but, well, you know).
Message sethdude beers 708 º places 17 º 15:19 Mon 3/28/2011 I hope Boulevard isn’t next. I personally boycott InBev products after the bullshit they pulled in St Louis with AB, and it’s very unfortunate that now I will rarely drink beer from one of my favorite breweries as a result. Not to mention that a huge chunk of GI profits will now leave Chicago and regional distribution, further hurting the local economy, or the prices of GI products will increase to accommodate InBev’s share. Screw InBev. Terrible news.
Message CanIHave4Beers P beers 4373 º places 76 º 16:48 Mon 3/28/2011 Originally posted by sethdude I hope Boulevard isn’t next. Is this something that could happen anytime soon? The Goose Island thing while not really inevitable was also not a stretch. Is Boulevard in bed with any of the big boys? I’ve never heard this, and now I sort of really hope it’s not the case.

Message BlackForestCO beers 978 º places 18 º 17:11 Mon 3/28/2011 Who owns Schlitz dog?
Message Lagunitasfan beers 1323 º places 67 º 17:12 Mon 3/28/2011 Someone, please mark this thread for a revisit in one year. There are a lot of interesting theories flying around here, and it could make for an interesting revisit next April. I’m on the side of those who are disappointed, and very leery arout what this means for the future of GI.
Message murphym45 beers 779 º places 3 º 17:25 Mon 3/28/2011 I know this sounds bad, but almost worries me more if AB takes over and GI continues to produce quality beers. If this happens, then how many growing microbreweries will think that it’s acceptable to sell out to AB InBev? And then if AB buys out a handful of respected craft breweries, it could give them even more control over distribution, shelf space, taps, etc. than they already have. I know it’s a stretch, but this has me