As many of you know, in 2016 Ab InBev purchased a significant stake in Norther Brewer/Midwest Supplies in 2016. (The two were previously purchased and merged by another venture capitalist.)
At the time nobody was quite sure what their motives were or what it meant to homebrewing. This article by Brulosophy had a good roundup of some of the theories.
I was not very happy about the purchase as I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota area. The two stores were so good that they had suppressed other competitors in the area. At the time of the buy out only one other store (Brew and Grow) existed withing the metro area of over 3.5 million people. I immediately switched my purchasing to them and online sources.
Every time I see NB mentioned in the forums I fight the urge to troll and let everybody know about their relationship with Ab InBev. I mostly succeed in keeping my mouth shut.
So, am I being overly paranoid? Does anybody have any new news on the merger and it's results? I've not been able to find any positive news on the merger yet. Here are a few links to pessimistic ones.
Limiting Access to Hops
Buying Information and Access
Targeting Homebrewers
Blurring the line between craft and macro-brew
And even the PicoBrew
What has your experience been?
At the time nobody was quite sure what their motives were or what it meant to homebrewing. This article by Brulosophy had a good roundup of some of the theories.
I was not very happy about the purchase as I live in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Minnesota area. The two stores were so good that they had suppressed other competitors in the area. At the time of the buy out only one other store (Brew and Grow) existed withing the metro area of over 3.5 million people. I immediately switched my purchasing to them and online sources.
Every time I see NB mentioned in the forums I fight the urge to troll and let everybody know about their relationship with Ab InBev. I mostly succeed in keeping my mouth shut.
So, am I being overly paranoid? Does anybody have any new news on the merger and it's results? I've not been able to find any positive news on the merger yet. Here are a few links to pessimistic ones.
Limiting Access to Hops
Buying Information and Access
Targeting Homebrewers
Blurring the line between craft and macro-brew
And even the PicoBrew
What has your experience been?