AB just bought Elysian, thoughts?

Reads 25538 • Replies 395 • Started Friday, January 23, 2015 11:28:57 AM CT

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Message beastiefan2k P beers 5012 º places 294 º 16:54 Sun 1/25/2015 Originally posted by after4ever The point is to increase leverage within those territories. one of the impressive aspects of supermarkets in Seattle is that EVER single supermarket carries a lot of craft beer. Ninkasi, Silver City, Pike, Alaskan, Elysian, and a few others can basically be purchased 24 hours a day within a mile of anywhere you are. That is a hell of a convenience. AB products take up relatively little self space in the beer aisle. However, if I start seeing more Elysian, maybe mix 12 packs all of a sudden, maybe a little more Goose Island, that definitely means a little less of the other breweries. This may seem like a small change but getting 1 less beer into EVER supermarket in Seattle is a big hit in the pockets of all those other breweries.
Message 574deadzone beers 1420 º places 11 º 17:08 Sun 1/25/2015 It sounds to me like AB has already lost the Pacific Northwest, which is why they’re pulling this bullshit. Once again though, who do you think the global conglomerate cares about in the long run: Cascadia (pop. 15 million) or "emerging markets" of Latin America, Asia, and Africa (pop. 5.8 billion)? Hmmm...
Message Beerdrinker79 beers 2189 º places 7 º 17:11 Sun 1/25/2015 Originally posted by 574deadzone I just want to know, who has seen Blue Point or 10 Barrel outside of those breweries previous distribution footprints? I haven’t yet. I know Goose has made its way out further than previous, but they were a bigger brewery to begin with and it’s been a few years so 312 has been brewed in Baldwinsville, NY for a while now, etc. etc. My guess is AB-InBev would rather buy a bunch of small breweries and keep them in their current areas, but push them harder of course and fight over handles and space. They can’t start shooting Elysian commercials tomorrow and show them for the Superbowl, that would be suicide. They probably want to play off of the uninformed and sell these brands as true craft, which beer-wise they may be but ownership/corporate structure-wise they no longer are. That’s the only way they can "win" at this game. And then those of us who choose to be advocates can vote with our dollars and inform as many people as we see that they are owned by AB-InBev, and the shit will sort itself out. 10 Barrel is all over the place up here now, they are basically in every account with lots of shelf space, i even see double facings for their flagship beers!

Message obguthr beers 11696 º places 22 º 19:47 Sun 1/25/2015 Originally posted by 574deadzone It sounds to me like AB has already lost the Pacific Northwest, which is why they’re pulling this bullshit. Once again though, who do you think the global conglomerate cares about in the long run: Cascadia (pop. 15 million) or "emerging markets" of Latin America, Asia, and Africa (pop. 5.8 billion)? Hmmm... They care about neither. They care about the profitabilty of selling to those places. Cascadia likely has more disposable income per capita than the "emerging markets" and with much less red tape and logistical challenges.
Message beastiefan2k P beers 5012 º places 294 º 23:17 Sun 1/25/2015 Also, AB is definitely interested in stemming the lose of customers. Stockholders don’t like to see continuing decreases in volume sold.
Message Reid beers 3533 º places 95 º 14:27 Mon 1/26/2015 http://www.businessweek.com/printer/articles/78040-the-plot-to-destroy-americas-beer This is a two year old article but it gives a good idea of how Carlos Brito thinks and works as head of AB-Inbev. There is no way this guy gives a second though about doing anything with Elysian or 10 Barrel if it will save a few cents per unit. Elysian might be saying no change ..but you think small fry have any chance if Mr Britos eye is apon them?
Message Reid beers 3533 º places 95 º 14:52 Mon 1/26/2015 Originally posted by jackl It may be way too late to get this thread back on track, but I’ll give it a shot. I saw Carlos Brito speak last month in a relatively intimate setting in front of a pretty conservative, pro-business crowd. He was asked about AB Inbev’s recent acquisitions of craft breweries and gave a pretty lengthy summary of their strategy. In short, he said that buying craft breweries like 10 Barrel (and Elysian) are cheap ways to learn more about the craft market. When they buy a craft brewery, they generally do so on the condition that the talent stays for a few years and helps consult etc. These breweries aren’t seen as profit generators or as tools to muscle out smaller breweries. They’re a way for ABI to experiment and learn more about a growing part of the market. The more AB InBev can learn, the better they can respond to market changes and stay profitable in the future. Also, I think a bit of perspective is needed here. The cost of acquiring Elysian is nothing to AB InBev. Elysian’s earnings will be a rounding error on AB InBev’s income statement. AB InBev made a strategic acquisition last year in South Korea that dwarfed the cost of buying Elysian, but no one bothered to mention it on this site at all. I wanted to "bump" this. Nice perspective from within the industry. It weird AB hasn’t learned anything until Goose Island. Which may explain their clueless-ness with pseudo-craft offerings before. So when AB "learns" all they need then no need for Elysian/10 Barrel etc..shut em down produce all the brands in a large factory somewhere?

Message after4ever P admin beers 8025 º places 322 º 18:18 Mon 1/26/2015 Yeah, AB issues some public statements about how this wasn’t for competitive reasons, it was so they could "learn." I’m not really one to fall for the prepared statements in press releases, but if that’s what you want to believe, hey, free country.
Message obguthr beers 11696 º places 22 º 18:52 Mon 1/26/2015 Originally posted by after4ever Yeah, AB issues some public statements about how this wasn’t for competitive reasons, it was so they could "learn." I’m not really one to fall for the prepared statements in press releases, but if that’s what you want to believe, hey, free country. Yeah, I’m not buying it either, literally. AB has every capability to make truly world class beer, they just choose not to.
Message Prufrockstar beers 2132 º places 83 º 19:03 Mon 1/26/2015 A decent summary of the Elysian/AB development and local reactions: http://www.washingtonbeerblog.com/addressing-elysian-brewing-situation/