this probably amounts to preaching to the choir, but here goes anyways:
Watch the Hands, Not the Cards — The Magic of Megabrew
^ for the next time someone asks you why AB InBev is buying yet another craft brewery.
tldr; $
it was a pretty good read, but your summary is accurate
Was interesting to understand it has a lot more to do with their brand value of their flagship brands, than buying up the competition and screwing over those left
The big guys always had a tight control on distribution
but now they are really f'n with sourcing of ingredients and they are trying to push the price down of craft 6 packs of the ones they bought
mostly so their shit swill can still be called 'premium'
but obviously will push out the small guys who are already running on thin margin
Beer is so freaking expensive now...Once the economy takes even the slighted downturn, LOTS of these craft breweries are going to implode
but honestly it's needed, some good ones won't survive...but what can ya do
On a side note...this was a good read from that same site
How Nitro Transformed Beer and CoffeeAlthough nitro now feels ubiquitous in the coffee and beer worlds, it’s a relatively new innovation .... nitro was a happy accident first developed by Michael Ash in the 1950s while he was working on improving Guinness’ shelf life.
