I kid you not…
“I was proud to drink Budweiser, not any more,” said P.J. Champion, a student at the University of Mississippi who said the brew is “a great piece of American history.”
That’s straight from the lead to CNN’s story on the sale of Anheuser-Busch to the Belgian company InBev.
Philip McClary was grilling out at his home in suburban St. Louis, Missouri, on Sunday night when he heard hometown brewer Anheuser-Busch would be bought by the Belgian company InBev.
“I was actually drinking a Bud Light when I heard, and I couldn’t even finish it. That’s the honest-to-God truth,” he said Monday…
McClary put Champion’s thoughts to music, posting his song “Kiss Our Glass” on YouTube and on a Web site that tried to stop the sale, SaveBudweiser.com.
“America is not for sale, and neither is her beer,” McClary sings.
“All you hard-working Americans stand up and show some class,” the song continues, “Have a drink with Mother Freedom, and tell InBev to kiss your glass.”
Such outrage is to be expected, says Matt Simpson, who bills himself as The Beer Sommelier and teaches Beer Education 101 at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. But he said the protests will soon fade.
“Unless it affects [Americans] in the product or the pocketbook, they’re likely to forget about it,” Simpson says. And he doesn’t think InBev will change its iconic product.
“You don’t mess with a good thing,” he says. “It really isn’t about nationalism, it’s about money.”
At this point I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. We’ve got a kid at Ole Miss that thinks a cold one is “a piece of American history” but for a few zillion dollars more in tuition, he could attend Emory and actually take beer as a class – and then I thought about FEMA cutting out ice, the Packers without Brett, and figured out I’d better get this post up so you’d know, folks, we’ve been SLABBED.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-cL_504mtM]
I wonder if that will actually put a ding in the Bud sales…
Not a chance, IMO…I majored in beer my freshman year – and to think I could have gotten credit at Emory!
Actually, I think the micro-brews are having an impact – but InBev has been the Bud distributor in Canada and boosted sales there.
It’s a pretty interesting read to see how A-B dealt with the offer – finding ways to become more efficient, cut cost and increase value of shares. Equally interesting and a lot more fun is to google “Bud commercials” and click on some of the funny ones.
Well if enough people decide to join with this campaign: https://www.thepoint.com/campaigns/keep-bud-american, then yes, it could hurt AB’s sales.
The Canadian comparison doesn’t work, as the outrage a lot of these people are expressing is at the fact the company is the largest brewery in American, and has always billed itself as an “American” company. That’s what is so contradictory about this sellout.
Welcome to SLABBED, Claire and thanks for the link.
I like Harp, Corona, Guinness, Par 3 and Southern Pecan Ale. I still can knock back an occasional Bud Light too. What matters most is that it is made here regardless of the owner.
sop
What matters most, Sop, is if it’s cold!
It does matter that our economy is fast becoming a “yard sale” – and that we have a lot of “cats”. Before long we won’t own anything but the national debt.
Unfortunately, if InBev doesn’t essentially change the look. taste or price of Bud, Americans won’t know or care.
American cultural icons like the Chrysler Building are quickly going to the highest bidder (in this case, Abu Dhabi); A-B is just the latest in what will probably be an avalanche of buyouts.
FYI- the reason I did this song is not just about the beer, please google the interviews,,,I am not a simple minded redneck who is crying over his beer being sold…hell I am all for free market…and they ( AB & its shareholders) should be able to do what they want, make as much money as they want…AB is so much more than beer, I was just hoping to keep it American owned out of pride, hard workers, charities and yes there is history..though I know it can be skewed to make folks look foolish who claim that. Anyway, thats it…and by the way, I love the taste of micro-brews as well and drink them too, so this song is not about taste…just about ME not wanting it to sell….ok everyone feel free to rip on me now, but try to do it in good sport. Have a great day and thanks for posting the story as well. Cheers!
Welcome – I love your song and your spirit. Thanks for stopping by with a good dose of American pride. Cheers!
btw, I saw cartoon today with the Clydesdale horses replaced by Shetland ponies and a tag line about downsizing.
that cartoon you are referring to was the best man at my wedding and one hell of a guy…Glenn McCoy…thanks
If you’ve got a link, I’d love to post it. I just saw it when I was reading around and enjoyed it so much that I flat forgot to make note of where I saw it.