Budweiser takeover - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Medmech · #16 06-13-2008, 09:45 AM

My favorite beer is my next.

cscmc1 · #17 06-13-2008, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Howitzer

My favorite beer is my next.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HjvRdMXEaQ0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kfG56QnjVc&feature=related

davestlouis · #18 06-13-2008, 10:00 AM

This whole A-B thing has dominated local news for days! You have to remember that A-B is an astounding corporate citizen in St Louis, the brewery tour is a must-do tourist thing, you have Grant's Farm, Busch Stadium, Busch Wildlife Area, They advertise heavily in every medium. The Busch family and their Von Gontard, Orthwein and other cousins are a huge extended family, all of whom have plenty of bucks.

They are also a big employer, and if cuts are made, which they will, that won't bode well for the local economy. STL lost McDonnell Douglas' headquarters when Boeing bought them, lost a Ford plant 2 years ago, Chrysler's 2 plants in Fenton are not looking too secure, the list goes on and on.

Getting a job at A-B was the holy grail for a lot of people: good pay, good benefits, life-long gig if you didn't do something stupid. This was for white collar types too, great company to work for.

This should be a mess.

Kpmurphy · #19 06-13-2008, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chad300tdt

IMO the only reason Budweiser is "The King of Beers" is relentless marketing.

On my way from work there is a huge bill board that says
3 day cruise and only 1 beer on board Budweiser.
They call it the Bud Light Party Cruise

SwampYankee · #20 06-13-2008, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davestlouis

This whole A-B thing has dominated local news for days! You have to remember that A-B is an astounding corporate citizen in St Louis, the brewery tour is a must-do tourist thing, you have Grant's Farm, Busch Stadium, Busch Wildlife Area, They advertise heavily in every medium. The Busch family and their Von Gontard, Orthwein and other cousins are a huge extended family, all of whom have plenty of bucks.

They are also a big employer, and if cuts are made, which they will, that won't bode well for the local economy. STL lost McDonnell Douglas' headquarters when Boeing bought them, lost a Ford plant 2 years ago, Chrysler's 2 plants in Fenton are not looking too secure, the list goes on and on.

Getting a job at A-B was the holy grail for a lot of people: good pay, good benefits, life-long gig if you didn't do something stupid. This was for white collar types too, great company to work for.

This should be a mess.

It's got to be frightening in the area. I heard an clip on the radio this morning from some business talking head saying (paraphrasing) that if InBev thought they could save and make some money selling the Clydesdales to Alpo they'd do it.

Bud and A-B products are not my first choice but I've certainly drunk my fair share in cans and bottles over the years. An ice cold Bud is not unlike a McDonald's cheeseburger. Far from the best out there but sometimes it just hits the spot.

It's interesting that the majority of the "big" U.S. beer producers through the centuries were started by German immigrants yet the products are entirely different. It must be a case of brewing down to the broadest American taste.

I keep hoping Yuengling will get picked up by my local beer dude, I drop hints about every other time in there.

davestlouis · #21 06-13-2008, 11:37 AM

There is a great deal of civic pride tied to A-B locally. The Busch's are almost like STL's Kennedy's, they are treated like royalty. I was amazed at how little of the company the family actually owns, something like 2%.

I used to guzzle Bud at a prodigious rate, but when I started counting and found that 75-80 beers a week were going down my gullet, I decided that was too much, and quit. I've had 3 beers since 2000, each time I had one just to make sure I didn't NEED one...so far so good.

STL has been losing corporate headquarters for 20+ years...7up moved to TX in the 80's and it's been all down hill since then. Even the Wachovia takeover of AG Edwards has been a mess, with lawsuits and layoffs and all sorts of messy goings-on.

davestlouis · #22 06-13-2008, 11:47 AM

Locally, people are up in arms, because the thought of A-B not being a local company just never entered their minds. It's like someone wants to sell the Gateway Arch to the Chinese, people think of A-B as a community fixture.

Brewery consolidation has been a sad thing to watch...Cincinnati used to have dozens of brewers, when I was a teen, they were down to Hudepohl and Schoenling(maker of the gross Little Kings Cream Ale), then they combined, trying to stay alive. The last I heard, they were brewing Arizona Iced Tea in the old Schoenling plant, and did some contract work for Samuel Adams. I guess the story is the same everywhere. Local favorites just get swallowed up by corporate giants

John Doe · #23 06-13-2008, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vwbuge

I am sure it will for a long time.
Yuengling is not only "America's Oldest Brewery" but it is also on the books as the longest continuously family owned/operated company.
(does that make sense? I am still half asleep)

I heard that too, but watched a "How Its Made" the other day and Zildjen (sp) Cymbal company makes that claim as well.

Maybe it'll turn into a friendly feud like the one between the Carolina YC and Florida YC over who is the oldest yacht club in the country

John Doe · #24 06-13-2008, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trakehner

Most people agree Belgian beers are best

Yeah, I was signing via video conference with a pigmy from Bora Bora the other day and he agreed as well that most people agree that Belgian beers are the best. Even underage people who have never tasted them and/or compared them to other beers still agreed that Belgian Trappist Ales were far superior to anything else they had never tasted.

Chad300tdt · #25 06-13-2008, 12:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

I heard that too, but watched a "How Its Made" the other day and Zildjen (sp) Cymbal company makes that claim as well.

Maybe it'll turn into a friendly feud like the one between the Carolina YC and Florida YC over who is the oldest yacht club in the country

Sounds like a good team for concert sponsorship/promotion.

Chad300tdt · #26 06-13-2008, 12:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by John Doe

Yeah, I was signing via video conference with a pigmy from Bora Bora the other day and he agreed as well that most people agree that Belgian beers are the best. Even underage people who have never tasted them and/or compared them to other beers still agreed that Belgian Trappist Ales were far superior to anything else they had never tasted.

The people not included in "most" are the lovers of traditional manioc beer.

Quote:

Chicha (Manioc Beer) - the daily Achuar beverage (becomes an alcoholic beverage if more than 3 days old) is made by peeling the root of a Yucca (Manioc) tree, cooking it and then putting it in a bowl and mashing it with a stick. Then the Achuar women chew it in their mouth for 5 minutes, spit it back into the bowl and repeat this process until the entire bowl has been chewed. Mix with water and you have Chicha.

http://www.johnhbradley.com/pictures2.asp?var=081805ishpingo

SwampYankee · #27 06-13-2008, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davestlouis

STL has been losing corporate headquarters for 20+ years...7up moved to TX in the 80's and it's been all down hill since then. Even the Wachovia takeover of AG Edwards has been a mess, with lawsuits and layoffs and all sorts of messy goings-on.

Hartford, and CT as a whole, is in much the same position. I don't know about STL, but here the political brain (drain) trust's solution is to raise corporate taxes to make up for those lost to the south and west.

Lets tax an already heavily taxed business base (at or near the top of the lists) some more. That should do wonders for retention and even more for attraction.

Then they wonder why corporations are leaving.

It's a self-fulfilling prophecy and a microcosm of the business climate in the U.S. It's not how can we make it easier for you to stay here and compete on a federal or global level, it's how dare you have the audacity to leave in pursuit of your best interests.

CT won't wake up until UTC (Pratt, Sikorsky) Electric Boat/General Dynamics decide they've had enough of the state's B.S. and relocate. I'd add Phizer to that list except they recently built and expanded their Groton location, but who knows.