Why American Bud is taking the pith
Added: Tuesday, February 3rd 2015
A commercial for American Budweiser https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siHU_9ec94c&feature=youtu.be is a blatant example of big brewers’ hypocrisy. The pitch is that real drinkers prefer the top-selling lager because it’s a no-nonsense beer consumed by drinkers who don’t sniff and dissect their drink.
Bud is “proudly a macro beer” the commercial says and suggests real drinkers should ignore those who “sip their pumpkin peach ale”.
Yet Anheuser-Busch, the American division of the world’s biggest brewing group AB InBev, owns or has stakes in a number of micro breweries that produce full-flavoured beers, several of them flavoured with pumpkin as well as other exotic ingredients.
For example, A-B has had a long association with Redhook, a leading craft brewery in Seattle, which produces, among many other brands, a popular Pumpkin Porter.
In 2011, Redhook formed the Craft Brewers Alliance with Widmer Brothers Brewing of Portland, Oregon, with A-B controlling 32% of the stock.
Widmer produces a Chocolate Russian Imperial Stout with the addition of cocoa nibs and a Ginger Barrel ale with chopped ginger.
A-B’s most recent acquisition in the region is Elysian Brewing in Seattle, which has grown from 5,000 barrels a year to 50,000 and is heavily involved in producing beers with a pumpkin character. The beers include Night Owl Pumpkin Ale and Coffee Pumpkin Ale.
Elysian also has a Superfizz Blood Orange Pale that doesn’t use oranges in the brew but has an aroma and palate reminiscent of the fruit due to the use of Amarillo and Citra hops. A-B has also bought 10 Barrel Brewing in Bend, Oregon: it's beers incdue a Cucumber Crush Berliner Weiise.
In 2011 A-B bought the renowned Goose Island Brewery in Chicago. Goose Island is best known for its IPA and Honkers Ale but also brews beers aged in bourbon barrels as well as a vintage range based on Belgian styles. The portfolio includes a coffee stout. Goose Island is sufficiently successful for A-B to build a new brewing facility for its main brands in New York State.
Another recent A-B acquisition is Blue Point Brewing in Long Island, New York. Blue Point is no shrinking violet where the use of fruit is concerned. It brews a Pumpkin Ale, Blueberry Ale and Sour Cherry Imperial Stout.
The commercial for Budweiser suggests that lager drinkers would kick the can down the road at the thought of touching ales made with pumpkin, peach, cherries, ginger, blueberries and cocoa nibs, unaware that beers produced by breweries either owned by A-B or in close association with the giant use all those ingredients.
The reason why A-B is hedging its bets is the need to attract more mainstream drinkers. Sales of Bud have fallen by 9% over the past 10 years while sales of craft beer have risen by 10%. A-B is particularly keen to have a big stake in the Pacific North-west as it’s the leading region for craft beer drinking: craft accounts for 30% of sales.
The commercial for Bud is timed to coincide with the Super Bowl American Football extravaganza. It’s fair to assume that A-B will not be promoting any of its craft beers at this event.
*American Budweiser should not be confused with the Czech beer of the same name. The Czech Budweiser Budvar is aged for 90 days in in the lagering cellars at Ceské Budejovice and is an all-malt beer. American Bud, in sharp distinction, lists rice before barley malt on the label and the entire brewing cycle lasts for 21 days.
