Budweiser is still the symbol of American breweries

After seeing the number of posts extolling the virtues of micro breweries clearly that's no longer the case. Thankfully, I say.

So, call it swill, but realize that the world seems to like swill a whole lot.

Or they simply don't have access to anything else.

I'm lucky enough to have lived in Seattle all my life and been able to enjoy microbrewery products since the early 80's. Back then I'd travel to the Midwest and get funny looks and the occasional sneer when I would try to find something other than a fizzy yellow megalager. Frankly I'm tired of lager swillers criticizing me for liking a beer that is made locally; ridiculing me for spending money on a beer that costs more than $2.50 a pint.

Fortunately, that has been changing over the years and now its easier to find a higher quality beer in most of the US.

Seeing AB get bought by other interests means nothing to me. If people get upset and buy no more Bud then that's fine. It'll be one less crappy megaproduct taking up shelf space. More room for the little guy. More diversity. The workers will find jobs.

Not ALL of you are fat, drunk and stupid, yet.

The first thing I thought when I heard Anheuser-Busch was getting bought by a Belgian company was: "Does this mean they'll make better beer now?" Probably not so much, huh? I didn't realize that InBev is the company that makes Stella Artois, which, while it isn't too bad, is kind of the Bud of Belgium.

Just as Bud doesn't begin to compare to "real" American beers, such as those of Dogfish Head or Ommegang (I loves me some Three Philosophers), Stella doesn't compare to fellow Belgians such as Chimay or Duvel.

Someone else mentioned A-B as the symbol of the American brewery, but do we really want that kind of image for American beer? really? Let's see here, a large corporation that willfully makes a crappy product because it's more profitable than actually making a good product. I second the other poster who suggested that perhaps the smaller brewer who is in the business because they actually care about the quality of the *product* they produce would make for much better symbolism.

Love ya man. But when it comes to Anheuser-Busch you need a little help.

"...Telegraph in Alton, Ill., a town just north of St. Louis, where Anheuser-Busch is headquartered."

No. No. No.

The headquarters and original brewery for Anheuser-Busch products including Budweiser is right where it has always been: At One Busch Plaza, between Pestalossi Street and Arsenal, on 57th Street in South St. Louis.

Alton, Ill., home of Fast Eddie's Bon Aire tavern, has many fine things going for it, including some of the cheapest booze and fastest women I ever knew. But it still ain't the H.Q. for A-B.

Andrew had it right. The comma after St. Louis indicates that St. Louis is where Bud is HQ'd. If he had meant Alton, there would have been no comma after St. Louis

Chris O'Brien (aka The Beer Activist) breaks this down pretty well on his blog here: http://beeractivist.wordpress.com/2008/06/13/will-bud-light-become-belgian/

The long and short of it is that if this deal goes through, 95% of the beer in the US will be sold by foreign companies. A-B has about a 50% market share. Then there's SABMiller Molson Coors (a joint venture) that controls Miller and Coors. In case your wondering, the SAB stands for South Africa Bavaria. It's headquartered in London. Last year they teamed up with Molson Coors which is (at least partially) Canadian. Add to that about 15% of foreign brands sold in the US. The only remaining American breweries will be small craft brewers. About 5% of the market.

Thanks for your post. I feel the same way. I can't get all teary eyed and patriotic about beer, sports or cars. Now free speech and habeas corpus and a president that is not above the law - those are worth dying for.

That beer is crap. Let them have it. I agree 100%.