Craft beer has had a long rivalry with Big Beer, but it wasn’t until recently that the rivalry between craft brewers and the biggest beer companies in the world reached a tipping point.
One of the most controversial issues in the craft beer industry is “selling out.” Whenever a formerly independent craft brand takes an investment from a “big beer” company, it raises the question of whether selling out hurts independent breweries or whether it’s just pure capitalism at work.
Anheuser-Busch, the largest seller of packaged craft-style beer at retailers in America, has topped the list in craft-style beer sales at retail outlets. It started in 2011 when the company bought Goose Island to add to its “The High End” collection. Since then, the beer giant has bought out ten former “craft” brewers including Blue Point, Four Peaks and Stella Artois.
As of this year, all the combined breweries under Anheuser-Busch now sell more than the two largest craft brewers, Boston Beer and Sierra Nevada, according to the Chicago Tribune. Sales for A-B have increased 20 percent while Sierra Nevada only increased 2 percent and Boston Beer fell 6.5 percent.
If factoring in draft sales and liquor store sales, Boston Beer still holds a top spot, but with the way Anheuser-Busch’s strategy — bringing multiple beer companies and growing them under one umbrella — is working, it’s changing the moral of “craft” beer. In other words, A-B will likely lead in draft and liquor store sales soon enough too, further solidifying Anheuser-Busch’s top spot at beating craft breweries at their own game.
By: Maytinee Kramer
