What Anheuser-Busch no longer the King of Beers? Say it isn't so. There's no doubt when it comes to the amount of beer brewed, Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD) reigns supreme in the U.S., where it accounts for 46% of the market all by itself, as well as globally, where it is also the largest brewer in the world. In 2015 AB InBev brewed 413 million hectoliters of beer-- that's some 10.9 billion gallons, or over 351 million barrels, for you non-metric types -- while No. 2 brewer SABMiller (NASDAQOTH:SBMRY) reported it produced 324 million hectoliters last year, or 276 million barrels. In comparison, leading craft brewer Boston Beer (NYSE:SAM) produced...4 million barrels. And the 4,100 craft breweries in existence in the U.S. today collectively produced just 22 million barrels. The American Customer Satisfaction Index recently released its latest annual survey of more than 70,000 consumers on how satisfied they are with more than 300 companies across 43 industries and 10 economic sectors. Based on the responses, the market researchers assign a score to the companies between 100 and -100. The latest index results gave Anheuser-Busch InBev a 74 rating in customer satisfaction, a 3.9% drop from last year's ranking of 77, and almost 12% below its score of 84, recorded back in 1994 when ASCI first began tracking customer opinion. Significantly, A-B's score is also below the industry average of 76. When it comes to mass brewers, there really are only a handful of breweries to compete against. So which one was deemed best? MillerCoors, the joint venture of SABMiller and Molson......snip~ http://www.fool.com/investing/gener...le&utm_medium=feed&utm_source=yahoo-2&ref=yfp But Fosters Beer will teach ya how to speak Australian. [video=youtube;leE6aXoeLkU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leE6aXoeLkU[/video]
The reason that their scores are dropping is because of the explosion of microbrewers everywhere. They make beer that actually tastes good and isn't utter crap. The problem is that many people were raised on Miller, Coors or Budweiser and never actually had a decent beer. The constant commercials tell them that its great beer so it must be so. Once you get these people to try a decent microbrew most of them will admit that the big ones suck in comparison. Even the people that continue to drink the swill will admit that they do it because its much cheaper and if a situation means more quantity over quality such as hunting or a large party then they make sense. But if you are sitting down to a nice dinner or just a few friends than anyone with any taste will get a microbrew. Fosters is horrible.
Norlands Guld is not too bad, if you're looking for a weak german-style beer. This tastes exactly the same as Mariestads, by the way, and is brewed by the same company in the same factory. The mainstream American brands are complete crap. If you live on the West coast try Deschutes Brewery.
Good, Budweiser is like 1/2 level above beer pong beer. It's about time more people started drinking actual beer
I don't think most consumers understand the difference between brewing 10.9 billion gallons and what a craft brewery like Blue Moon puts out at typically less than 6 million gallons a year. 10,900,000,000 vs 6,000,000 Blue Moon makes 1/2 of 1 percent of the beer InBev produces. Personally, I think it's an amazing achievement to produce nearly 11 billion gallons of what is basically a food product....beer, and doing so at a consistent level of taste, appearance and quality. . Now, the beer snobs out there will call it "swill" or "undrinkable." However if a craft brewery, like Blue Moon upped their production numbers, even by 1 percent of what InBev makes...you'd see a decline in quality. I'm not here to defend Inbev products necessarily, I don't even drink beer..but the beer snob may know beer, but they don't know the manufacturing business and economies of scale and what it takes to mass produce an item so that each unit...whether it's a car or a bottle of beer, is exactly like every other unit coming off the line. Considering beer is perishable, it is truly an amazing level of engineering and brewery skills to pull this off on the level of nearly 11 billion gallons annually. The beer snob doesn't think beyond that however...they think well, if Blue Moon can make this great craft beer, how come Bud Light is so horrible in comparison. It's because of the differing scales of production. If InBev scaled down their production levels to what a typical craft brewery makes in a year...you would see a commensurate increase in quality and taste consistent with that of other craft beers. That isn't InBev's goal. They don't make a product to appeal to the smaller percentage of beer snobs who are willing to pay for a more expensive beer. InBev's goal is to mass produce a consistently quality product that is not meant to be in the same category as what we deem a craft beer to be. It appeals to an entirely different market.
None of that changes the fact that Miller, Coors, Budweiser et al still suck. The reason they suck is because American beer was watered down so much from its original form that people got used to it. There is no reason that Miller and Budweiser couldn't make better beer other than it would be a dramatic change to their recipe and the beer rednecks would revolt calling it a communist conspiracy or something. If people want to live in ignorance and keep drinking that swill than that is their problem. As for increasing their production what do you think they are doing? Leinenkugels, New Glarus and other breweries are dramaticaly increasing their marketshare and still producing a far superior product to that (*)(*)(*)(*) water that comes from Milller/Coors and Anhieser Busch. I see the same thing with chocolate with people thinking that Hershey bars are actually good chocolate. I give them a Lindt or another premium bar and a light bulb goes on as actual good chocolate is revealed to them in a glorius vision. Hershey's is revealed as the waxy over sugared mess that it is.
Beer is...beery. A bloated concoction of yeast barley and malt, basically.liquid bread. I'm a bourbon man. There are good bourbons and there are cheap bourbons but there are no good cheap bourbons. You want the best, you have to pay the most. I'd assume beer isn't that much different. In a pinch a cheap bourbon will do however, and I won't put down those who drink the cheaper stuff..I'm not a bourbon snob.
I think when it comes to beer a lot of people are actually opposite when it compares to people and liquor. I'm a whiskey guy and like you I agree, there are good whiskeys and there are cheap whiskeys but there are no good cheap whiskeys. I drink whiskey neat and I can't stand drinks with soda in them so there is no real way to mask the terrible flavor of a cheap whiskey for me. But when it comes to beer I've noticed that a lot of folks actually prefer the cheaper beer over the more expensive imports or microbrews. I have plenty of friends who drink stuff like Bud Light and Coors Light and can't stand the taste of something like a Heineken or a Corona or something. Which aren't exactly top quality beers but are considered a bit "more quality" than the slightly less expensive Budweiser and Coors brands. They have a bit more "bite" to them. Sometimes I drink a beer called Samuel Smith, an import from Britain. Good stuff to me, expensive as hell though its like 15 bucks for a 4 pack. I let a buddy of mine try one and he took one sip and made a face like a child who just drank sour milk then gave it back to me and went and grabbed himself a Bud Light out of the fridge lol. Then again I also went to a whiskey bar not too long ago and decided to be adventurous and try a whiskey that was like $30 for 2 fingers. Took a sip, it was gross, shot it real quick and ordered my normal $6 Jameson lol. Guess we all just have different tastes, not everything that is more expensive is better tasting.
There was an interview on NPR a few years back where a beer reviewer defended Bud, Miller, etc. He said you may not like the kind of beer they brew -- he didn't, I don't -- but they make the best beer in that category. He said having consistently high quality in 10 billion gallons of beer is a damn miracle.
Beers to try if you get a chance: Dragon's Milk. Stout aged in bourbon barrels. Ridiculously good. Hercules Double IPA, from Great Divide brewery. A flavor-rich IPA. Todd the Axe Man IPA from Surly. Very limited quantity, may not be available outside MN. But sort of a cross between an IPA and a Belgian ale. Citrusy with a hint of spice. IMO, better than Furious, Surly's flagship brand.
I have a friend who's a whiskey fanatic, and has forced me to drink enough whiskey that I can understand the difference in styles and aging time. But they still all taste like cigarettes to me.
I am more into the hard alcohol.....haven't tried any Micro Beers. Truthfully I am not a drinker. Although, I did do some Clubbing back in the day. But I was more of the type that was into being aware.....helps with that part in, to be alive. KnowWhatImean.
Yeah there's HUNDREDS of Craft Beers I know that are REAL solid.. not counting the rather " high end" specials. Corporate beer? It goes with generic hotdogs and canned soup. If you like it.. fine. Most imports have not changed in 50+ years...and now ain't interesting.
Was in Minny last week. I do like Furious. However... about every month there's a good new Miccro/Craft. Here (Ohio) our central location means we get a HUGE range. I have no taste anymore for the "commercial" stuff. I'd as soon drink river water. I tend to favor IPA's and dark beers. Not fond of Belgian or "Wheat" types.
Rolling Rock Beer makes Me nauseous, I can't drink it. I can't stand light Beer, I prefer full bodied Beer. A lot of Beer has chemical tastes in it, I miss real German Beer.
The reason American beer is different is that Americans are different. I don't wear a sweater in the summer and hide out in a pub on a Sunday afternoon. Im on the lake or river or park....in the heat.
No American beer used to be more like German beer. During prohibition people got used to watered down beer due to rum running and Speakeasy's trying to make their stash last longer. This was also the time that cocktails started to become popular as well as people started mixing fruit juices and other things to cover the bad taste of the low end illegal booze. American beer just sucks which is why you see an explosion of microbreweries happening and swill beers like Bud, Busch and Miller are rapidly losing market share. Hell the big beer companies have even tried to join in on the craft brew bandwagon and more power to them as some of their craft products are actually pretty good like Wicked Ale.
It's not a problem if anyone is raised on any certain beer. My father is a well-off, upper middle class man. He raised me to be a Natty Light guy. I to this day enjoy a nice natty light, or 6. It's not that I don't like other beers, I just like this pee-tasing beer the most
Every now and then, I buy a six of Genesee cream ale, for Nostalgia, I used to drink it as a boy growing up, I was 10 when I had my first beer. I despise Light Beer ! I only drink it if that is all there is.
Budweiser .... "King of Beers" It's watered down, lowest-common-denominator dishwater. Strictly for the rudimentary palate.
I have drank imported beers, craft beers and Budweiser. Some imports have a classic 'skunk' flavor mainly due to packaging that doesn't limit light. Corona is a good example. Buy it in a six pack of bottles and you are more likely to get that 'skunk' flavor. Luckily, today, they have seen fit to put it in cans. I used to like the German Spaten but can't seem to find it today. Craft beers can be excellent but pricey. I find that Budweiser is a good alternative now and then especially for guys like me... The price is right and the taste ain't all that bad.
Well...I don't think it is the 'King of Beers" either but, I also don't think it is dishwater. Like I said in another post it ain't all that bad and I have drank many, many, beers...Imported, craft and even home brew.