The debate rages on among beer lovers whether the 'faux craft' beers produced by the big beer interests like Anheuser-Busch InBev and MillerCoors are worthy of a place at the bartop alongside legitimate craft beers. As I've resolved elsewhere, my take on the matter is that several of these beers are technically pretty good, but are generally rated on a much less forgiving scale than true craft beers by virtue of the fact that they're made by the giant corporate interests who crank out the ubiquitous light American lager.

Even prior to it's public release, I have watched (and occasionally participated) in the ever expanding conversation about the merits - or lack thereof - of Budweiser American Ale. My vantage point is an interesting one because I am thoroughly entrenched in the craft beer world. If you're not familiar with this lively and opinionated sub-cultural phenomenon, let me simply state that we craft beer geeks tend to be a tad territorial. Beers like Budweiser American Ale are often perceived to be nothing more than little glass Trojan horses engineered to infiltrate the craft beer market and steal what relative little share we have in the adult beverage market.

Maybe that's all they are. Maybe.

But, Budweiser American Ale has elicited such an impassioned response for a couple of reasons - one of them is the fact that this beer represents a significant investment on the part of A-B (now A-B InBev) to bring a new beer to the world marketed under the famous Budweiser moniker. The real reason, however, is - by and large - this beer is pretty damn good.

I said good. I didn't say "the greatest beer ever made." Craft beer snobs can keep reading.

While this conversation has been going on all over the blogosphere, including right here on beerphilosopher.com, a new forum thread has just started up on this subject over on the Aleuminati. Please feel free to jump in the conversation and share your opinion. If you need a little coaxing, here is an excerpt from my response on the Aleuminati. Am I right on the money or way off base and deserving of having my beer geek credentials revoked? You tell me!

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When A-B first sent out the samples of Budweiser American Ale back in August, I was skeptical. My skepticism wasn't whether this would be a drinkable beer or not - as I knew it would certainly be - rather, I was skeptical about whether this new ale with the storied moniker "Budweiser" would be unique enough to capture some interest from the craft beer faithful (which, I might add, is not their primary target in my opinion). I sampled my two bottles with as much objectivity as I could muster and was underwhelmed, much like others have noted.

But, that's not the end of the story.

After Bud American Ale was released on draught on Sept. 15th, I decided to give it another try. Since doing so, I have changed my initial perception of this beer. Why I didn't get it from the media samples I don't know (hot UPS truck perhaps?), but the draught version gave me something of what I thought should have been there in the initial samples. Contrary to the seemingly predominant opinion here and elsewhere on the web, I find the beer to be quite drinkable and balanced when judged according to the "standards" as articulated by the BJCP for an American amber ale. Here is where I take issue with those who are quick to say they don't like the ale - or more to the point, that it isn't a very good ale.

It's an amber ale. It's not a Double Imperial Amber Malt Hop Bomb and it's not supposed to be. A standard amber ale, by definition, has a low to moderate hop aroma, starts a little sweet on the palate and gives way to a more balanced finish. These beers are typically medium bodied and amply carbonated. Sounds like Budweiser American Ale, and about a million craft-brewed amber ales, to me.

My point is simply this ... If you try Bud Ale and don't like it, more power to you. Don't call it a bad beer though, unless you're prepared to tell me why it's a bad beer according to it's style guidelines. I think anyone would be hard pressed to do so. Love 'em or hate 'em, the brewmasters at A-B know what they're doing and had they wanted to brew a "bigger" beer, they surely could have. Bud`American Ale is what it is and it's pretty damn good at being what it is, as uncomfortable as that might make some of us die-hard craft beer folk. Compare it, unfairly, to bigger craft amber ales or reds and it's gonna come up a bit small and thin. That's not a fair comparison, however.

Match it against a "middle of the road" craft amber (Fat Tire anyone?) and all of a sudden you've got a player. Bud American Ale is one of those evil corporate beers I'd like to bottle in some obscure craft brewer's bottle and label it something weird and wild and watch the beer snobs lavish praise on this great new session beer. "Wow, you can taste the dry-hopped cascade right up front and the finish is really clean ..."

It's all about where this beer came from, not so much what's in the bottle or keg on it's own merits. I have been as guilty of this bias as anyone at times, so I'm not slamming anyone. After having said all this, it may be wise to say I'm also not planning on buying this beer much either. Like others, I'll get it rather than nothing if that is my only choice, but I will choose to avoid this beer more times than not because of my dedication to helping out the craft beer industry ... not because this beer is in any way inferior.

My objection to this beer is an ideological one, not a technical one.

Want to share your two cents worth? Visit the forum on the Aleuminati right here.

I was contacted by the folks at NBC Universal today about an upcoming special premiering on the CNBC network this Thursday night, July 17th at 9PM & 12AM ET entitled, "American Originals: Budweiser." The report is touted as a one-hour, all-access look at "this family-owned business and its fight for independence," according to the press release accompanying the email. I can only assume this special report was produced prior to the announcement this last Sunday that the InBev buyout was approved by the A-B board and the storied St. Louis company is no longer "independent" (subject to regulator approval, of course)?

Okay, I couldn't help but repost this video clip. Check out what Stephen Colbert had to say about the buyout of Anheuser-Busch by Belgian-based brewer, InBev. I feel your pain, Stephen!

It's a done deal, short of shareholder and regulator approval. The Anheuser-Busch board of directors agreed to a 52 billion dollar buyout deal from Belgian-based InBev on Sunday. More on this story and the potential fallout for St. Louis and its 6,000 + A-B workers coming soon. For now, you can read the press release here.

The likelihood that Belgian brewing giant InBev will eventually assimilate St. Louis’ own Anheuser-Busch is getting greater with each passing day, it seems. The rhetoric surrounding the story on the web is taking on more and more of a tone of inevitability of late. If you’re not inclined to believe everything you read online, you can take it straight from the horse’s (or perhaps more appropriately Clydesdale’s) mouth. In a rare quote from a Busch family member on the matter, Adolphus Busch IV, who is the uncle of A-B chief executive August A. Busch, said today that he believes “there could be a slightly greater than 50-50 chance” that a deal will happen. If it does, the impact that such a monumental deal will have on A-B operations, specifically, and the St. Louis culture and economy writ-large will only be ascertained in time. As most everyone knows, the Busch family has been a fixture in St. Louis for decades and “The Brewery’s” (to use the moniker commonly adopted by St. Louis citizenry when speaking of A-B)impact and influence on the city is both deep and long.

This press release showed up in my inbox today. This 8-page document (in .pdf format) details the proposed takeover bid by InBev of Anheuser-Busch. There are interesting details here I thought the beerphilosopher.com readers might appreciate reading. Say what you will about "big beer," but such a plan, if successful, will impact the American brewing industry substantially. What impact this venture would have on the craft beer industry remains to be seen, but rest assured that a combination of this magnitude will have an impact.

Follow up - The following press release and link details information about a 9:30 AM EST investor webcast today concerning the proposed combination with Anheuser-Busch:

INBEV PRESS RELEASE

InBev to Host Investor Webcast to Discuss Proposed Combination with Anheuser-Busch

Analyst and Investor Conference Call / Webcast Today at 9.30 A.M. EST / 3.30 P.M. CET

Interview with Chief Executive Officer Carlos Brito Available on Website

Brussels, 12 June 2008

InBev (Euronext: INB) will be conducting an analyst and investor conference call / webcast today at 9:30am EST / 3:30pm CET, to discuss its proposal to the Board of Directors of Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (NYSE: BUD) to combine the two companies, forming the world’s leading global brewer.

The conference call and accompanying slides will be available to all interested parties via webcast. To access the webcast, please visit InBev’s website, http://www.inbev.com/.

A replay of the conference call will be available approximately two hours following the conclusion of the call and can be accessed in the U.S. by dialing 1-800-642-1687, conference code 51931055.

International callers can access the replay by dialing +1-706-645-9291, conference code 51931055. The webcast will also be archived on the InBev website, http://www.inbev.com/, and www.globalbeerleader.com.

For more information on the proposed combination please go to: www.globalbeerleader.com or http://www.inbev.com/.

Interview with Carlos Brito, chief executive officer of InBev

An interview with Carlos Brito, in video/audio is available at www.globalbeerleader.com and at http://www.cantos.com/. Broadcast media will be able to download the interview at http://w3.cantos.com/08/inbev-download/.

Contact information

Marianne Amssoms Philip Ludwig

Vice President Global External Communications Vice President Investor Relations

Tel: +32-16-27-67-11 Tel: +32-16-27-62-43

Fax: +32-16-50-67-11 Fax: +32-16-50-62-43

E-mail: marianne.amssoms@inbev.com E-mail: philip.ludwig@inbev.com

Steven Lipin/Nina Devlin

Brunswick Group

+1-212-333-3810

Rebecca Shelley

Brunswick Group

+44-207-404-5959

This report contains certain forward-looking statements reflecting the current views of the management of InBev with respect to, among other things, the potential benefits of a transaction with Anheuser-Busch or the timing thereof. InBev’s strategic objectives, business prospects, future financial condition, budgets, projected levels of production, projected costs and projected levels of revenues and profits. These statements involve risks and uncertainties. The ability of InBev to achieve these benefits, objectives and targets is dependent on many factors which are outside of management’s control. In some cases, words such as “believe”, “intend”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “target”, “will” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements are used. All statements other than statements of historical facts are forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they reflect InBev’s current expectations and assumptions as to future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. The actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements for many reasons, including whether the transaction receives the support of Anheuser-Busch. . InBev cannot assure you that the future results, level of activity, performance or achievements of InBev will meet the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements.

# # #

www.inbev.com

Jeremiah McWilliams of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch is doing a stellar job covering the rumored takeover bid of Anheuser-Busch by Belgian-based InBev. Here is another interesting article in today's edition of the Post-Dispatch online.

Read my previous post as well for more details on this story and a link to Mr. McWilliams' last article on the subject.

According to a report in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the world's largest brewer, Belgian-based InBev, is looking at a takeover bid for St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch. This news has not been officially confirmed and, according to the report's author, representatives from the two companies have not commented.

Here is an interesting story about the trend among some Anheuser-Busch beer distributors to ditch a finacial incentive that A-B offers if the distributor agrees to carry only Budweiser, and Budweiser-sanctioned, brands. It seems that some of these distributors are beginning to notice the impact that craft beer brands are having in the market and they're tired of seeing their competition - the non-Bud distributors - cash in of the growing popularity of "small batch craft beer and imports," as the article puts it.

This financial incentive, instituted a decade ago, has severely limited the availablilty of some smaller, specialized beer brands in markets where A-B products are dominant. Now it seems that more than a few of these distributors are rejecting A-B's incentive and are beginning to pick up some of the brands they, heretofore, we're unable to offer to their retailers - brands from brewers like Yuengling and New Belgium Brewing Company. These distributors are gambling on the fact that they'll more than make up for the financial loss they'll experience by offering a wider, more diverse range of beers to their customers. This is certainly testament to the fact that craft beers are impacting the beer market, writ-large. If Anheuser-Busch continues to refuse to play well with others, and the indication is that they will, we may see more and more distributors forfeiting their exclusivity deal with Bud in favor of the ability to offer their customers and consumers more choice.

This move can only be good for those of us who would like to see something other than Anheuser-Busch or InBev products on our retailers shelves for once.