Is it possible that America will lose its monarchy before the Brits? According to a story filed by The Associated Press, Budweiser the St. Louis based icon may be acquired by the Belgium brewer InBev. The citizens of the “Gateway City” along with most company executives and probably most beer drinking God fearing Americans are appalled at the possibility. The question is will the shareholders be able to resist the rumored $65 bid being offered for a company that has been been trading between $45 and $55 for the the last two years. The argument seems to always come down to patriotism versus personal prosperity.
Being a bit of an iconoclast myself, I concur with Bob Dylan’s take on patriotism, it being “The last refuge to which a scoundrel clings.” And having been brought up on the products of eastern breweries, such as Ballantine, Knickerbocker and Rheingold, or given the fact that the beer snob in me supports the Reinheitsgebot – (German Beer Purity Law), one might think that I would celebrate the fall of the king. But truth be told, I take no solace in the fact that Budweiser may suffer the vagaries of the global free market.
For I too have fallen under the spell of Dalmatians, Clydesdales and the brilliant marketing campaigns that ultimately layed to waste a good number of domestic competitors. In many ways Budweiser represents the last vestige of American capitalism done right – a consistently good product, priced well and promoted properly.
On the othe hand, if the Belgiums do nip St. Louis in the Bud, beer snobs will probably gladly pay more for the labors of the Busch family – given their unpatriotic propensity for imports.
Posted by: Chris Poh, Publisher – American Public House Review
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