https://www.brewbound.com/news/anheuser-busch-purchase-wicked-weed-brewing
Looks like we all have to hate wicked weed now.
i am not sure . . . is that a "ugh, fuck" story line, or a "nice, i can finally get all their stuff now" storyline. i tend, to favor the former.
this definitely gets an "ugh, fuck" from me.
even if (and it's a big if) the quality of WW's beer remains the same, AB has just acquired another marquis "craft" brand. they now have more ammo for muscling out all other craft beer brands. they can strongly incentivize and/or force retailers to carry only AB products - "you don't need those other small craft breweries, we have WW! and GI, and Elysian, and... plus, we'll give you a discount on Bud Light if you take that other independent beer off your shelves..." the little guy can't compete with that.
craft beer is paying the price for its popularity. it was gaining market share, the giants were losing, this is how they're fighting back... it was inevitable.
dollars-to-doughnuts that in 13 months, the Dickinson brothers will be moving on to "another project." it's scripted at this point: upon sale to Big Beer, the founders of the purchased brewery claim that this deal is the best thing ever, it will open new doors for their company, and OF COURSE they will stay on because they believe in this sale and the future of the brewery. and just a little over a year after the sale, they skip away because sticking around for 12 months was all they were contractually bound to.