http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21597076
First the horse meat scandal now watered down beer. Whatever will be next?
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Drinkers sue Anheuser-Busch for 'watering down' beer
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http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-21597076
First the horse meat scandal now watered down beer. Whatever will be next?
Devolution
Member
Pabst reigning as supreme cheap beer once again.
Fraud is fraud
They're complaining that the labeling stating a specific alcohol content are lying since employees are coming forward saying they're told to water down the beers. It's not simply, "Budweiser didn't get me drunk enough."
It is no secret that Budweiser brews beer to be stronger and then waters it down at packaging. This is well documented and researched. The question is if they are doing it well below stated abv and if their difference is further than labeling laws allow.
Then why the hell does anyone in their right mind drink beer that was purposely watered down after brewing?
And if its "no secret, well documented and researched," then why is this the first time I've ever heard of the practice? Doesn't sound widely known to me.
samus i am
Member
Inbev is an evil company.
Because they like the taste/value. And most don't realize what processes big light american lager brewers use for efficiency.
They've been a shitty company for a long time, using lobbying power and scummy tactics to squeeze out smaller brewers. I don't see why anyone supports them. They're not even American anymore.
Nobody drinks Budweiser and expects beer.
Devolution
Member
By that same token they could at least provide the alcohol content they promise.
Seems like a logical way to do it rather than to brew with no safety margins and risk ending up below the stated ABV
shira
Member
Let's say they decreased alcohol content by 10% - people aren't buying 10% more beers.
Beers are prepacked in cases - you just getting less bang for your buck.
GrotesqueBeauty
Banned
Watering down watered down water... what a devious plan! Amazing that they've managed to make Budweiser even crappier. No small feat.
Nappuccino
Member
Yeah, but you drink more faster so you finish the case faster so you buy more beer faster.
B For Bendetta
Member
Budweiser in Cali and Budweiser in Pennsylvania likely come from separate breweries, so if this kind of fraud is going on it is likely to be coming from higher up rather than negligence by a particular employee/brewer/brewery
Gotta love that Professional Bull Rider. Much prefer to drink that than Natty at a party.
GrotesqueBeauty
Banned
No one ever buys thier beer individually. There isn't an entire industry suffusing society at every strata based on gathering in places where alcoholic beverages are bought one at a time.
QuicheFontaine
Member
I can't believe we've got people who think this doesn't matter. Like in the horse meat thread, just because you personally don't mind eating horse, or in this case drinking a weaker beer, doesn't mean that these companies should be able to mislead customers with labels that are flat-out lies. This is simple stuff guys.
There's plenty of good beer in America.
Ignorance of American beer in a beer thread, shocking news!
i'm sure one will find a few local breweries that do good stuff, but the beer with the big names you commonly get served in tourist places are sub-standard for european tasebuds.
Unknown Soldier
Banned
The bigger problem here is how in the last decade almost all the world's breweries have come under the control of a few incredibly powerful multinational corporations. None of the iconic American brewers are even owned by Americans anymore. Anheuser-Busch is now a subsidiary of Belgian-Brazilian megabrewer AB InBev, Miller Brewing Company is a part of SABMiller (formerly South African Breweries), Coors Brewing Company is one half of Molson Coors (Molson is of course the iconic Canadian brewery). Something like 60-75% of the world's top-selling beers are now controlled by just a few huge companies, which are focused on cutting costs and crushing competitors. Unlike the world's wine industry, which for the most part is still a cottage industry due to tens of thousands of vineyards around the world, the beer industry has consolidated to the point where the large megabrewers are an oligopoly like oil companies.
I forgot that you're supposed to wear a freaking tophat and monocle when you drink beer.
CommonSense
Banned
Who the hell drinks bud besides nascar fans?
You can get like 15 bottles for a tenner, It's a good choice for a pre game hydration buzz..
CommonSense
Banned
Or you could use 10 and get a six pack of magic hat and have the same buzz and not put on 4 pounds before you hit the bar.
Micro breweries have really gained a lot of ground in the last couple of decades if I'm not mistaken.
Or you could use 5 and get 1 bottle of Moscows Finest and not put on 2lbs before you black out against the bar.
Incontinentia Buttocks
Banned
That was me up until a few years ago. You yanks are killing it, Ska Brewery's Modus Hoperandi being one of my favourites. Fortunately, over the past 2 years or so the micro breweries in Britain have been on the rise.
I'm lucky enough to live near Camden Town Brewery so I frequent their bar far more than I probably should.
Hari Seldon
Member
A *few* local breweries that do good stuff? American micros are so fucking dominant right now that the big beer companies are scrambling to hold on to their nascar fanbase. They have already lost vast swaths of customers.
Yet American "tourist" beer sells like gangbusters in Europe. Keep trying.
Arjen
Member
I asked in every place i went for dinner, if they had anything besides bud/miller etc. And i always got really good domestic microbrew beers. Some really good stuff out there.
EDIT: misread, wtf? do you have anything to back this up?
that's what i said, but the big names (miller, budweiser) cannot compete with the average european beer.
because their beer tastes watered down and has tasted like that for as long as i can remember? because that's what i said, too.
The Bookerman
Member
hipster beer. Also, Worst beer I've ever drank.
GenericUserName
Banned
I'm pretty certain I haven't seen Coors, Miller or Michelob anywhere in my neck of the woods.
Randy Monk
Member
Heres a good article on InBev (owner of Budweiser and Becks and many other brands)
The Plot to Destroy America's Beer
Some juicy stuff:
"For a number-crunching manager like Brito, an old, family-run company like Anheuser-Busch provided plenty of opportunities for cuts. He laid off approximately 1,400 people, about 6 percent of the U.S. workforce. He sold $9.4 billion in assets, including Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. AB InBev also tried to save money on materials. It used smaller labels and thinner glass for its bottles. It tried weaker cardboard for its 12-packs and cases. The old Anheuser-Busch insisted on using whole grains of rice in its beer. AB InBev was fine with the broken kind. “Our purchasing of rice has to do with how fresh the rice is, not whether it is whole or broken,” says Vallis."
The Plot to Destroy America's Beer
Some juicy stuff:
"For a number-crunching manager like Brito, an old, family-run company like Anheuser-Busch provided plenty of opportunities for cuts. He laid off approximately 1,400 people, about 6 percent of the U.S. workforce. He sold $9.4 billion in assets, including Busch Gardens and SeaWorld. AB InBev also tried to save money on materials. It used smaller labels and thinner glass for its bottles. It tried weaker cardboard for its 12-packs and cases. The old Anheuser-Busch insisted on using whole grains of rice in its beer. AB InBev was fine with the broken kind. “Our purchasing of rice has to do with how fresh the rice is, not whether it is whole or broken,” says Vallis."
CommonSense
Banned
No doubt. Pabst is garbage.
When I was in college it was Natural Light....and Natty sucks but was WAY better than pabst or the beast.
Arjen
Member
Fair enough, this i have to agree with.
QuicheFontaine
Member
Had this in a pub in Maida Vale on the weekend. Confirmed excellent.
I don't think I have seen a single American beer here, and I live in the same city as the European Anheuser-Busch headquarters...
And you'll only have to pee 6 times instead of 15!
Bud is a pretty weak beer to begin with, especially Bud Light. Last summer I drank a 12 pack in a little over 2 hours and felt nothing. Waste of flushings. But it is a shitty tactic if they really are watering it down past its stated abv.
I'm more referencing Budweiser. Not that it's good by any means but they have deep pockets to market in Europe. I don't have specific sales charts but you can google American beer popularity in Europe, there are plenty asking why it's so popular overseas.
GenericUserName
Banned
European Budweiser is the ur-typ. It's brewed by Budweiser-Budvar, the original company from České Budějovice, Czechia. It's unrelated to Anheuser-Busch Bud.
11 inch Footlong
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