Budweiser-owned brewers accuse craft beer of being 'not punk' as beer civil war heats up (BUD)

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June 30, 2017 7:01 PM

Six brewers that have made deals with Budweiser's parent company are speaking out against the new seal created by independent craft brewers.

Elysian Brewery was known for its tagline "Corporate Beer Still Sucks," but it says its 2015 deal with AB InBev hasn't hurt quality.

The news that independent craft brewers have created a seal to distinguish themselves from brands owned by beer giants like Budweiser's parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, is creating controversy in the beer industry.

Six brewers whose companies have been acquired by AB InBev spoke out against the seal in a video released Friday.

The brewers argued that the "independent craft" seal is essentially meaningless. In the brewers' view, independence is unrelated to craft beers' quality.

"To be independent would mean you don't put the logo on because you're indie," said David Buhler, the cofounder of Elysian, a Seattle-based brewer that AB InBev acquired in 2015 and that used to be known for the tagline "Corporate Beer Still Sucks."

"To be truly punk you don't use the logo — you do your own thing, and you follow your own rules," Buhler continued.

Further, the brewers, whose beers make up AB InBev's High End line, said beer brands needed to stand together to take on competition from the growing wine and spirits categories.

"You guys are literally infighting — this is just a civil war," Walt Dickinson, a cofounder of Wicked Weed, which AB InBev acquired in May, said. "Meanwhile this armada of boats is coming across the Atlantic to crush us and we are shooting each other with, you know, muskets and slingshots. I was just hoping we could get back to just talking about beer, but I guess we're not there yet — but hopefully soon."

But the Brewers Association, a group of 5,300 small and independent American craft brewers, believes that drinkers want to know who is making their beer and value brewers' independence.

"Independent craft brewers build communities, and the spirit of independent ownership matters," Bob Pease, the president and CEO of the Brewers Association, told Business Insider. "When beer lovers buy independent craft beer, they are supporting American entrepreneurs and the risk-takers who have long strived not just to be innovative and make truly great beer, but to also build culture and community in the process."

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