History repeats itself

This is what I enjoyed during the Super Bowl. They’re both really good. The Lienenkugel isn’t really like an imported Doppelbock, but it’s good. I’ve never had a bad Leine. The Elysian is fantastic. Which brings me to the point.

Anheuser-Bush ran an anti craft beer commercial last night. They referred ro Budweiser as being brewed the hard way, and craft beer as something that needed to be fussed over. It was a blatant attempt to compare craft beer to those fussy drinks with umbrellas. If they’d have said craft beer is for sissies, it couldn’t have been any worse.

To tell the truth, I like those tiki hut drinks with umbrellas. I’m very confident in my masculinity, and I find the whole put-down juvenile.

Here’s a little secret. Craft beer has been kicking Budweiser’s ass for the last few years. AB have lost a significant market share, while craft beer has gained fans.

Here’s a bigger secret. Anheuser-Bush has been buying up any craft brewery that does too well. They bought Goose Island, and recently 10-Barrel. It owns significant shares of Widmer Brothers and Red Hook. AB has its own fake craft beers, like Shock Top.

I just learned that AB purchased Elysian Brewing. This is one of my favorite breweries. They make a little of everything, and I don’t like some of their products. Every beer that fits in my flavor preference has been outstanding. I’m sure for those who like India Pale Ales, the Elysian product is awesome. Elysian also makes one of my favorite seasonal pumpkin beers, Night Owl.

I wonder how long it will take to have the Elysian brewery making Shocktop, or even Bud Light.

This all happened before. In the last century it involved auto manufacturers. If someone got too popular the big American auto makers bought them out. The marques for DeSoto, Packard, and Studebaker still exist – in a vault somewhere. It seems like Oldsmobile got mothballed a few years ago.

The auto industry started off by making those cars under new management. One engine went into all the cars, and only the bodies and trims were different. It isn’t hard to imagine a day when flavored Budweiser gets put into bottles as the product of the fine breweries AB absorbed. The final step will be mothballing the brand.