AB/InBev Acquires Northern Brewer

Reads 4622 • Replies 18 • Started Saturday, October 15, 2016 12:54:15 AM CT

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Message StefanSD beers 2449 º places 57 º 13:17 Sun 10/16/2016 Originally posted by joet Originally posted by Fukito Can[t understand what their angle is with this acquisition... just hope they don’t buy morebeer as well... Why does google buy tiny tech startups? I think they’re doing this so that they better understand the role -- in terms of culture, education, trends and relationships -- that homebrewing plays in the craft ecosystem, and to play a role in it. It’s doubtful they’re doing this for financial or market strategy reasons. Perhaps, but should they have some endgame in mind they now have the means to execute. Probably though they just see this as a growing sector, and growth is something they have been missing in a big way for the past ten years.
Message Fukito P beers 1064 º places 37 º 13:26 Sun 10/16/2016 I have no idea how much market share Northern Brewer has out of the homebrewing supply market, but I imagine that is so fragmented that they won’t have any significant degree of influence. Also, no need to buy a company to understand how a market works...
Message Fukito P beers 1064 º places 37 º 13:31 Sun 10/16/2016 Out from some acquaintances that work there, it’s like they are trying to push that they care about beer with all these crafty and homebrewing stuff (staff brewing in the offices, hop workshops, etc...). Don’t know why they overcomplicate it, since at the end of the day it’s all about price to quality. Make a reasonable product at a reasonable price and it will work... Blue Moon is there to show it works.

Message StefanSD beers 2449 º places 57 º 13:33 Sun 10/16/2016 Also worth mentioning , this is not a new field of business for AB. During prohibition they packaged and sold malts, yeast and hops for homebrewing. Interestingly home brewing was not legal, but to sell supplies was perfectly legal. They made good money at it too. When prohibition ended this left them in a strong position to restart brewing.
Message puzzl beers 3258 º places 138 º 23:34 Sun 10/16/2016 Originally posted by joet Originally posted by Fukito Can[t understand what their angle is with this acquisition... just hope they don’t buy morebeer as well... Why does google buy tiny tech startups? I think they’re doing this so that they better understand the role -- in terms of culture, education, trends and relationships -- that homebrewing plays in the craft ecosystem That’s not really why Google buys small tech startups. They buy them either to kickstart their foray into new industries, to acquire talent or tech, or to snap up small players that could potentially get big while they are still cheap.
Message SudsMcDuff beers 8597 º places 190 º 17:21 Mon 10/17/2016 Everyone has a price
Message Erlangernick beers 6 º places 2 º 02:39 Tue 10/18/2016 Originally posted by SudsMcDuff Everyone has a price ATTENTION ABINBEV: I will sell you my homebrewing kit (incl a couple partial sacks of Weyermann organic malt and various whole hops) for the low, low price of 50,000 €! No, wait...I meant 500,000 €.

Message NobleSquirrel beers 3437 º places 209 º 13:39 Wed 10/19/2016 I was at Northern Brewer in Milwaukee this past weekend and in talking with the staff that worked there (who aren’t afraid to give their real opinions), they feel it actually is a positive. I’d prefer to see how it plays out. It was basically a purchase from one VC firm to another, just that this one has ties to ABI. It’ll be interesting to see what happens.