Belgium Budweiser?

[Sean Malone]

Of course the OC beer drinkers are much to high borw to drink the swill that comes from any Anheuser-Busch brewery, but I've been following the proposed buyout from Belgium based InBev. After some rather testy exchanges recently the buyout is a 'go'. The acquisition will make InBev the largest brewer in the world and the American icon of Anheuser-Busch no longer American. Miller sold out to the mega company SAB (South African Brewing) a few years back which launched them to #1 status. Now InBev has volleyed back.
I just hope the new owners don't shut down the theme parks. :(

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/14/anheuser.inbev.ap/index.html

[WickerBill]

Can't wait to see the next August Busch "My Grandfather would be so proud" commercial.

[KLang]

:thumdown: I quit drinking their products years ago.

OT: I finally go around to trying Arrogant Bastard Ale yesterday. Really good stuff. :)

[dando]

I just hope the new owners don't shut down the theme parks. :(


I'm sure they'll be sold off. The Chrysler Building, The Flatiron building, and now AB...Jeebus. It's the 80s redux. :(

-Kevin

[extramundane]

A-B products are too mid-brow for me. :) Srrsly, I enjoy my Two-Hearted and Weihenstephan, but I won't hesitate to crack open a PBR or Yuengling either. But A-B's stuff just tastes awful to me. Bud gives me splitting headache (ironically, Stella gives me the exact same headache) and Michelob tastes like some of the mistakes I brewed up in the shed a couple years ago.

I'm with you on the parks, though. BG Williamsburg is still my favorite. That it's only 45 minutes away is icing on the cake.

[Sean Malone]

I'm sure they'll be sold off. The Chrysler Building, The Flatiron building, and now AB...Jeebus. It's the 80s redux. :(

-Kevin

InBev claims they will keep all 12 AB breweries operating. We'll see for how long. I can stomach these megacorp buyouts as long as American workers aren't left without jobs just so stockholders make a quick mill or two.

[Methanolandbrats]

Inbev has a flair for marketing s***** beer, so the Bud buyout makes sense. Foster's would be the another feather in their cap :yuck:

[dando]

InBev claims they will keep all 12 AB breweries operating. We'll see for how long. I can stomach these megacorp buyouts as long as American workers aren't left without jobs just so stockholders make a quick mill or two.

Yup. We have one here, and the local paper has been reporting on that for weeks now. 600 jobs in central oHIo. Distribution wise, it just makes $en$e to keep the breweries open unless demand drops. With price$ going up like they are, that's a huge risk. :(

-Kevin

[Methanolandbrats]

Yup. We have one here, and the local paper has been reporting on that for weeks now. 600 jobs in central oHIo. Distribution wise, it just makes $en$e to keep the breweries open unless demand drops. With price$ going up like they are, that's a huge risk. :(

-Kevin I wonder if they will brew Bud in India and ship it back here?

[dando]

I wonder if they will brew Bud in India and ship it back here?

:gomer:

Rule #1 when travelling to India: Don't drink the water. :irked: Altho Kingfisher is a fine brew.

-Kevin

[Methanolandbrats]

:gomer:

Rule #1 when travelling to India: Don't drink the water. :irked: Altho Kingfisher is a fine brew.

-Kevin Not a worry for me, I will not be attending the Delhi GP.

[JLMannin]

Bud gives me splitting headache

Me, too. I think it tastes like crap as well.

I can drink Bud Light, Busch, and Michelob with no problems - it's just Bus that gives me the headaches.

[cameraman]

I don't drink anything made by Inbev or A-B so I don't care.

Now if they buy out the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy, the Scourmont Abbey, Newcastle Federation Breweries or Brau Holding International AG, I'll be royally pissed.

[Insomniac]

I liked the Drudge headline: THIS BUD IS... FOR EU!

I wonder how many "American" companies need to be bought up before people realize that we're no longer "#1", our money is so devalued and the longer this continues, the longer it will take to recover.

[Ankf00]

Inbev has a flair for marketing s***** beer, so the Bud buyout makes sense. Foster's would be the another feather in their cap :yuck:

Bass Ale and the entire line of Leffe offerings are more feathers in their cap. And what Insomniac said, $$$ is king no more, we owe debts, time to settle up.


A-B has 50%+ market share in the states, InBev won't be messing with a thing on this side of the border unless their goal is to minimize profits.

[Al Czervik]

...and the largest US owned brewer is:


< drum roll >


Sam Adams.
Weird

[dando]

...and the largest US owned brewer is:


< drum roll >


Sam Adams.
Weird

No ****. Now that's ****ed up. :irked: :saywhat:

-Kevin

[dando]

I liked the Drudge headline: THIS BUD IS... FOR EU!

I wonder how many "American" companies need to be bought up before people realize that we're no longer "#1", our money is so devalued and the longer this continues, the longer it will take to recover.

Well, I read a piece last week stating that the US GDP is $14T/year and the Chinese are closing in on $3T, but will eventually surpass the US in ~30 years. But we're paying out $700B per year on oil, and of course have debt up to our eyeballs. What a fricking mess. :irked:

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

Well, I read a piece last week stating that the US GDP is $14T/year and the Chinese are closing in on $3T, but will eventually surpass the US in ~30 years. But we're paying out $700B per year on oil, and of course have debt up to our eyeballs. What a fricking mess. :irked:

-Kevin

I'd never trust the U.S. economic numbers. They keep changing how they are calculated to keep them favorable.

[Michaelhatesfans]

Altho Kingfisher is a fine brew.

Really? Man, the smell of that stuff reminds me of jr. high science class.:yuck:

[dando]

Really? Man, the smell of that stuff reminds me of jr. high science class.:yuck:

What we get here prolly isn't same as there. Much like Guiness, Molson, etc.

-Kevin

[Michaelhatesfans]

What we get here prolly isn't same as there. Much like Guiness, Molson, etc.

-Kevin

No, I've had it there too. Then again, when I was there it took me a few days to adjust to the smell of cow crap everywhere.

[Michaelhatesfans]

Americans will only care about this if it affects NASCAR or the Clydesdales.:\

[dando]

No, I've had it there too. Then again, when I was there it took me a few days to adjust to the smell of cow crap everywhere.

It helps when your sipping it in a 4 star hotel in the middle of a slum. :saywhat:

-Kevin

[Insomniac]

Americans will only care about this if it affects NASCAR or the Clydesdales.:\

I guess that answers my question. When Abu Dhabi owns NASCAR, people will finally get it.

[oddlycalm]

Americans will only care about this if it affects NASCAR or the Clydesdales.:\
Yeah, as long as they leave the packaging the same and have cute ads during the stuporbowl InBev can probably put anything they want in the bottles. Look for a big jump in goat urine futures. Horse piss has gotten too expensive....:gomer:

oc

[cameraman]

I guess that answers my question. When Abu Dhabi owns NASCAR, people will finally get it.

Actually they won't...

[oddlycalm]

No, I've had it there too. Then again, when I was there it took me a few days to adjust to the smell of cow crap everywhere.
You shoulda taken a drive out to Boardman, camped down wind from the feed lot and gotten acclimated. Next time you'll know...:gomer:

oc

[Michaelhatesfans]

You shoulda taken a drive out to Boardman, camped down wind from the feed lot and gotten acclimated. Next time you'll know...:gomer:

oc

Nah, the more I see those little "Evacuation Route" signs around Umatilla, the more I roll the windows up tight and increase my speed!

My kid looked up from his DS long enough to see one of the signs and ask, "They have tsunamis around here???"
"No, don't worry. It's just a large chemical weapons dump."

[Michaelhatesfans]

It helps when your sipping it in a 4 star hotel in the middle of a slum. :saywhat:

-Kevin

No, I was in a youth hostel in the middle of a slum.:laugh:

[eiregosod]

meh, they're only it for the money :tony:


Fitting how the Belgian version of Budweiser buys the American version of Budweiser.

[Andrew Longman]

Americans will only care about this if it affects NASCAR or the Clydesdales.:\

Americans knew it was over when Jr got out of the Bud car.

[cart7]

Expect the theme parks to be some of the first things to go. Britto is in town to talk about the "Blue water" plan Auggie IV cooked up when he was pretending to save the company. Dumping the parks was on that list.

[extramundane]

Expect the theme parks to be some of the first things to go. Britto is in town to talk about the "Blue water" plan Auggie IV cooked up when he was pretending to save the company. Dumping the parks was on that list.

Yep, that's been the word out of Williamsburg the last couple days. Supposedly looking for one buyer to take the whole parks group...good luck with that.

[cameraman]

Yep, that's been the word out of Williamsburg the last couple days. Supposedly looking for one buyer to take the whole parks group...good luck with that. But so many people are traveling right now, how could you turn a deal like that down:saywhat:

[Sean Malone]

Expect the theme parks to be some of the first things to go. Britto is in town to talk about the "Blue water" plan Auggie IV cooked up when he was pretending to save the company. Dumping the parks was on that list.

I was afraid of that. Well, I hope a decent buyer will pick the two Busch Gardens parks up. They are nice parks. It would be a shame if they just shut down.:(

[dando]

My guess is that someone like Cedar Fair will buy them out. Cedar Fair owns Cedar Point and Kings Island in oHIo, as well as Knottsberry Farms in SoCal. They may also own more than those parks (Geuaga Lake in Cleveland?).

-Kevin

[extramundane]

My guess is that someone like Cedar Fair will buy them out. Cedar Fair owns Cedar Point and Kings Island in oHIo, as well as Knottsberry Farms in SoCal. They may also own more than those parks (Geuaga Lake in Cleveland?).

-Kevin

Cedar Fair already owns King's Dominion, which is about 1 hour away from BG Williamsburg, so I'm guessing they're not going to be but so interested. I think it's gonna take Disney-sized bucks if they want the whole 10-park group.

[dando]

Cedar Fair already owns King's Dominion, which is about 1 hour away from BG Williamsburg, so I'm guessing they're not going to be but so interested. I think it's gonna take Disney-sized bucks if they want the whole 10-park group.

DIS doesn't do those kind of parks. Kings Dominion == Kings Island here. A former Paramount park.

-Kevin

[extramundane]

DIS doesn't do those kind of parks. Kings Dominion == Kings Island here. A former Paramount park.

-Kevin

Yeah, Cedar Fair bought the whole Paramount group. I don't think there's any chance of Disney picking up, just that they're one of the few groups with the bucks to grab the whole thing.

Some chatter today suggests that they may offload Sea World et al to one buyer and the other parks to someone else.

[dando]

Yeah, Cedar Fair bought the whole Paramount group. I don't think there's any chance of Disney picking up, just that they're one of the few groups with the bucks to grab the whole thing.

Some chatter today suggests that they may offload Sea World et al to one buyer and the other parks to someone else.

Not sure if Six Flags is ready for any sort of expansion after all the turmoil they went through earlier this decade. They rapidly expanded and then ended up selling off or closing a number of their parks. Not sure who else would be up for buying up the BG parks.

-Kevin

[Sean Malone]

Here is an article on the theme park sell off question that came out yesterday.

Link (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080715/anheuser_busch_inbev.html?.v=3)

I'm only familiar with the two Busch Gardens and Sea World parks, but I disagree with the author in that the parks have little to do with brewing beer. The two Busch Garden parks are living propaganda for the company. With constant advertising as you make your way through the place. From 'beer school' in a lounge, to free beer at the hospitality house, to the Clydesdale horses etc. Even if you despise Bud, it's hard to go to either one of those parks and walk out not feeling even a little proud of an American icon (former).

This sale stinks and again, I sincerley hope Americans don't lose their jobs because of it. Stockholders made 52 BILLION dollars over this sale. I guess that helps them sleep at night.

[Methanolandbrats]

Here is an article on the theme park sell off question that came out yesterday.

Link (http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080715/anheuser_busch_inbev.html?.v=3)

I'm only familiar with the two Busch Gardens and Sea World parks, but I disagree with the author in that the parks have little to do with brewing beer. The two Busch Garden parks are living propaganda for the company. With constant advertising as you make your way through the place. From 'beer school' in a lounge, to free beer at the hospitality house, to the Clydesdale horses etc. Even if you despise Bud, it's hard to go to either one of those parks and walk out not feeling even a little proud of an American icon (former).

This sale stinks and again, I sincerley hope Americans don't lose their jobs because of it. Stockholders made 52 BILLION dollars over this sale. I guess that helps them sleep at night. It's all about shareholder value and SHORT TERM gain. When the equity market moved from rating companies on earnings rather than dividends, that was the beginning of the end. I'm fearful my children will have no choice but to work at WalMart, live in a crummy apartment and need a wheelbarrow full of dollars to buy crummy junk from China. But hey, the Dow will hit 25,000, so full steam ahead :mad:

[Sean Malone]

It's all about shareholder value and SHORT TERM gain. When the equity market moved from rating companies on earnings rather than dividends, that was the beginning of the end. I'm fearful my children will have no choice but to work at WalMart, live in a crummy apartment and need a wheelbarrow full of dollars to buy crummy junk from China. But hey, the Dow will hit 25,000, so full steam ahead :mad:

A-freakin-men.

[Ankf00]

Not sure if Six Flags is ready for any sort of expansion after all the turmoil they went through earlier this decade. They rapidly expanded and then ended up selling off or closing a number of their parks. Not sure who else would be up for buying up the BG parks.

-Kevin



no more astroworld :(

[Insomniac]

This sale stinks and again, I sincerley hope Americans don't lose their jobs because of it. Stockholders made 52 BILLION dollars over this sale. I guess that helps them sleep at night.

I'd sleep pretty good at night if I got all the upside and knew the government (and taxpayers) would bail me out of the downside. Plus I get to keep all the profit regardless of how fraudulent, stupid and risky my behavior was.

[eiregosod]

This sale stinks and again, I sincerley hope Americans don't lose their jobs because of it. Stockholders made 52 BILLION dollars over this sale. I guess that helps them sleep at night.

Share Cropper

[Sean Malone]

Share Cropper

What are you talking about? On second thought, nevermind. I don't care.