THE AMERICAN CRAFT BEER – QUICK HITS

American Craft Beer|October 3rd, 2016|

We blame the industry for this… It used to be that when we wrapped up our Weekend Picks on Friday, we could coast through the weekend. But clearly all that’s changed. So here’s some of what’s happened in the world of craft beer while you were off enjoying yourself.

Another Brick In The Wall (Belgium) – Last Wednesday, the Big Beer mega-merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV and SABMiller PLC came one step closer to its inevitable end when it was announced that shareholders from both companies had reportedly “voted overwhelmingly in favor of the acquisition.” AB InBev first announced their intention to acquire SABMiller over a year ago, and we never doubted for a minute that this merger would come to fruition, but Belgium-based global giant did have to sell off several brands including Miller Lite, Peroni and Snow, to ensure that it happened. To what degree this brave new world will affect the craft beer biz as we know remains unclear. But, make no mistake, this acquisition will affect our industry going forward, and the consequences won’t be pretty.

BrewDog’s New US Brewery Opening Delayed (Cleveland, OH) – The opening of BrewDog’s Ohio-based state-side operation has reportedly been delayed slightly, moving from November 2016 into next January.

Words To Drink By (London, UK) – “What all the wise men promised has not happened, and what all the damned fools said would happen has come to pass.”

Lord Melbourne (1779-1848)

Southern Oregon Brewing Closes Its Doors (Medford, OR) – It’s always sad to hear about a brewery closing and on September 23^rd, owner Tom Holland announced on the brewery’s Facebook page that Southern Oregon Brewing would be closing its doors for good on the 30^th.

Consulate Warns US Travelers against Becoming A Beer Corpse (Munich) – At least that’s how the US Consulate in Munich phrased their warning to us citizens attending the legendary Oktoberfest celebration…which also draws thieves and pickpockets looking to take advantage of the intoxicated masses. Visitors to festival, which wraps up today have also been remained in a guide provided by the embassy that “hitting someone with a beer mug is an ‘assault with a deadly weapon’ and usually results in prison time,” – so there’s that.