Ratebeer sells to AB InBev

Reads 67507 • Replies 579 • Started Friday, June 2, 2017 4:43:19 PM CT

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Message cheap P beers 8867 º places 328 º 14:16 Sat 6/3/2017 Not flipping poop, just saying it was inevitable, RB is a success and big business likes success. They pay handsomely for it. Surprised it didn’t happen sooner For everyone’s information (wiki): RateBeer was founded in May 2000 by Bill Buchanan as a forum for beer drinkers to exchange information and share opinions of beer. In June 2000, the Canadian beer writer Josh Oakes joined RateBeer and eventually became editor-in-chief. In June 2001, the web-site consultant Joe Tucker joined, eventually assuming full ownership of RateBeer.
Message tderoeck P beers 14777 º places 247 º 14:17 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by StefanSD Originally posted by tderoeck Originally posted by JK You have 84 reviews and dont pay for premium. Burn! :) Yeah, only premium members are allowed to have opinions, right? Welcome to the new RB Inbev. Yeah. Obviously. That must be it. It would have nothing to do with the guy throwing shits, fucks, hells and dicks around and stamping off like a toddler who’s been told he can’t have any ice cream. I bet he must be so pissed off because of all those ratings he contributed...
Message BeerandBlues2 P beers 20258 º places 1224 º 14:27 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by tderoeck Originally posted by StefanSD Originally posted by tderoeck Originally posted by JK You have 84 reviews and dont pay for premium. Burn! :) Yeah, only premium members are allowed to have opinions, right? Welcome to the new RB Inbev. Yeah. Obviously. That must be it. It would have nothing to do with the guy throwing shits, fucks, hells and dicks around and stamping off like a toddler who’s been told he can’t have any ice cream. I bet he must be so pissed off because of all those ratings he contributed... Exactly

Message SinH4 P beers 15470 º places 416 º 14:35 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by Saeglopur I’m a bit shocked. And I’m not even speculating on whether this will have any consequences for this site in the future or not. The simple fact that the biggest craft beer community in the world is now connected to AB InBev spoils the whole thing for me a bit. In my opinion this is much more serious news than individual craft breweries been taken over by AB InBev. Yes. The thing that this was not published for a while is making it feel even weirder. I think, though, that it’s essential for us as a community to emphasize that our hobby did not become invalid because of this. Many of us dedicated countless hours and "heart blood" to ratebeer, found friends, etc. Leaving the hobby just because of this would in a way deny a part of our past existence (phrasing by derA). For many of us (at least most of the ones who are active in the forums), there is no alternative to our community. In the free software world someone would just do a fork now...
Message rlgk beers 18837 º places 615 º 14:50 Sat 6/3/2017 Very interesting. How many more breweries will react like this? https://www.facebook.com/mohawkbrewing/posts/10155380269568007:0
Message joet P admin beers 2900 º places 125 º 14:56 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by sthlm Originally posted by joet My approach is to do away with corporate speak, talk plainly and directly to as much as I can, and get answers to the questions that I don’t have answers for. So then what is the endgame for AB InBev in buying a stake in RateBeer? Obviously they didn’t choose to simply throw money at the website in an effort to be more altruistic. To me, the most likely scenarios seem to be that they either want to influence the site to boost their ratings and awards, or they want to use RateBeer to mine the data. You’re a good guy, Joe, and I’ll believe you when you say that you will attempt to stop the former from happening. However, the image of RateBeer is forever tarnished now, and accurate or not, the site will always be dogged by whispers of AB InBev’s influence it. I do not envy the day that you have to hand out major awards to breweries owned by your investors. Mining the RateBeer data seems to be the most likely rationale, even if they are just getting information from a small cross-section of the larger population. If that is their reason though, then the next question is, "Why?" Looking for who to target next with buyouts? Early warnings for trends regarding upcoming styles, new hop varietals, etc.? I don’t know what the exact reason would be, but regardless, the end goal would be for AB InBev to profit by selling more of their products. Even if the RateBeer data is made available to all breweries, the action would be purely symbolic since I think that I am safe in saying that the vast majority of little breweries cannot afford to hire analysts to mine data. These are good questions and ones that are largely aimed at AB InBev and ZX Ventures. I’ll let them speak for themselves but I can tell you that a healthy economic ecosystem of big players, more medium sized players and lots more small players is something that I believe is good for everyone. I stopped believing the David vs the Goliath story many years ago as it become more and more untrue. Successful small breweries with ambition became regional, then national than international. And they began to use the same sales and distribution tactics as larger breweries. The same people who preached the story to me initially began complaining about all the small guys coming up under them nibbling at their heels. There have been several larger craft brewers (who I love and respect) who’ve issued statements on how the high rate of new breweries opening is unsustainable. Some have openly lamented about how their products are no longer in craft beer bars. New legislation began being ushered in by smaller trade groups which helped liberalize their respective economies and bring in greater marketplace fairness and this has helped level the playing field and establish fertile ground and defend the craft segment’s advances. What we have going on is very good. It’s a lot better environment than we’ve had in the past. And the stress points are definitely not what they were. The idea that the bear is evil and must be fought to ensure the health of the forest seems out of touch. Likewise a huge proliferation of squirrels seems great to consumers but some slightly bigger animals might be feeling the pinch. The scenarios have changed. Anyone can apply for API access to monitor influence and we all know that over the years breweries owned by AB InBev, Constellation, Fireman Capital, Heineken, Duvel Morgaat and other investors have won RateBeer Best awards and may also win awards in the future. Our democratic system with attention to good summary has worked very well for us and nothing related to the investment has changed that.
Message cheap P beers 8867 º places 328 º 14:59 Sat 6/3/2017 $$ ?

Message joet P admin beers 2900 º places 125 º 15:12 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by cheap $$ ? Cheap dollars? :-) I’m not disclosing any money-related items about the deal, nor my height, weight, shoe size or social security number. :-)
Message cheap P beers 8867 º places 328 º 15:28 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by joet Originally posted by cheap $$ ? Cheap dollars? :-) I’m not disclosing any money-related items about the deal, nor my height, weight, shoe size or social security number. :-) How about the Kitchen sink? I bet you can buy a new kitchen sink! ;-)
Message joet P admin beers 2900 º places 125 º 15:47 Sat 6/3/2017 Originally posted by SinH4 The thing that this was not published for a while is making it feel even weirder. The deal we signed with ZX was pretty complex and it was a minority investment. I had a lot of immediate concerns about getting the site to where we needed it be as soon as possible and an announcement would have caused a lot of potentially disastrous distractions. I did inform the Admins group of an investment and that we were getting help on the site. Additionally, I wanted to be sure RateBeer Best which was supported entirely by other sponsors, and run completely through a charitable organization didn’t result in sudden surprises. By the time we signed the deal we were many months into planning and with the charity dealing with a substantial budget and costs. We were comfortable with an announce now that things have calmed, we have RateBeer in a much more stable place, have made a number of improvements and have a track record of success. This kind of announcement, I was told by a brewer friend, is not unusual.