“If you can’t beat them… buy them”

We don’t know who coined that phrase originally… but it certainly appears to be one of Big Beer’s answers to an irritating problem called craft beer.

“If you can’t beat them… buy them”

This was surely Anheuser-Busch’s thinking as they watched their market share erode to upstarts like Stone Brewing and Sierra Nevada. It’s an ageless business strategy used by the economically powerful and it can be brutally effective.

“If you can’t beat them… buy them”

CNBC is reporting that the “global brewing giant recently spent an estimated $200 million dollars buying four craft breweries to add to its already extensive brand portfolio.”

“If you can’t beat them… buy them”

And with yesterday’s addition of Devils Backbone to Anheuser-Busch’s growing portfolio of craft beer properties that already includes Four Peaks, Golden Road, Elysian, 10 Barrel, Blue Point Brewing and Goose Island, wasn’t enough – we predict that they’re not even close to done.

“If you can’t beat them… buy them”

Anheuser-Busch is not the only Big Beer entity embarking on this strategy. SABMiller devoured Britain’s Meantime Brewing Company. And MillerCoors recently picked up San Diego-based Saint Archer Brewing… and they’re only just beginning.

“If you can’t beat them… buy them”

And it’s not just Big Beer that has the potential to change the craft beer industry as we know it. Venture capitalists like the ones that now control Atlanta’s SweetWater Brewing are on the prowl for viable craft beer acquisitions – and we’re not loving that development either.

If you can’t beat them… buy them”

Maybe Firestone Walker’s long term agreement with Duvel Moortgat last year, was strategic in its own way. Maybe it echoed their deeper understanding of how Big Beer and craft beer’s relationship was evolving on a macro-level. Reflecting on his company’s new partnership with the Belgian brewery, David Walker recently told us that Firestone Walker’s strategy for the future, was to “define change before it defines us.” And we think that his comments couldn’t have more timely.

If you can’t beat them… buy them”

Maybe we’re over-reacting to all this. Maybe were just getting paranoid and craft beer’s essence and economic identity aren’t under assault. But history has shown us that everything evolves -and that even the most wonderful things can change over time – so maybe it’s not stupid to worry

If you can’t beat them… buy them”

And as Cyndi Lauper once reminded us back in the day, sometimes “Money Changes Everything.”