Goosed.

If you have not done so yet, please check out the following link:
http://beernews.org/2011/03/anheuser-busch-to-buy-goose-island-for-38-8-million/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+beerpulse+%28Beernews.org+%C2%BB+The+Craft+Beer+News+Leader%29
One of my favorite craft breweries has just been acquired by A-B.  Aside from producing a variety of standout "accessible" beers such as Honkers Ale and 312 Urban Wheat, they are also responsible for creating some outstanding specialty brews that for years have been the favorites of many a beer geek, including myself.  These include Bourbon County Stout, Nighstalker, Pere Jacque, and Matilda among others.  Simply put, the Goose Island line-up has always been solid across the board.


So now what?  Well, it is all speculation at this point.  Being acquired by A-B will certainly lead to greater distribution.  It will not take long before you see Goose Island in just about every grocery store and gas station where A-B currently has their products dominating the shelves.  Sure, this is a good thing.  You can be stuck in, living in, or passing through just about anywhere in the country and you will most likely be able to get your hands on some Honkers Ale.  Heck, this might even be an opportunity for individuals who have never tried a craft beer before to forgo the Bud Light Lime in favor of a Goose Island.  This is in term could lead them to start exploring the world of craft beer.  Great!  The more the merrier.

However, there are some potential negatives to be had with this deal.  First off, could an increase in production lead to a decrease in quality?  Certainly can.  Who is to say that A-B will not tinker with some of the existing recipes to make them more "user-friendly"?  Second, will we see some of Goose Island's existing labels be cut from the lineup?  Again, entirely possible.  As much as we beer geeks fawn over beers like the Bourbon County Stout, this is clearly not the most profitable sku in Goose Island's portfolio.  Will A-B seek to do away with more of goose Island's specialty beers in order to focus on it's core labels?  Also, can we be looking at upcoming price increases across the board?  Again, entirely possible.  Of course, this is all speculation.

What is not speculation, however, is that Goose Island is no longer an independent craft brewer.  They are now part of a foreign owned conglomerate.  Clearly, this is A-B's attempt at trying to corner a market that they have been quoted as saying is merely a fad.  They have long considered craft beer to simply be a trend that will eventually go away.  A trend that they clearly want to go away, since craft beer's slight 5% market share dips into their piece of the pie.  A-B has made vain attempts at producing "craft beer" knock offs of their own that have  largely been unsuccessful.  This move seems to say that the acknowledge that the craft beer movement in not merely a trend.  Their line of thinking has become, if you can't beat them, buy them.

So it boils down to this, we at Grand Cru will no longer carry any products from Goose Island, just as we do not carry any A-B products whatsoever.  By purchasing Goose Island, we are no longer supporting an independent craft brewer.  Instead our money (and yours) is going to a corporation that has done everything its power to hurt the cause of craft brewing.  From purchasing shelf space at stores to buying and dismantling entire brands.  A-B does not care for craft brewing and they are on record as saying so.  Our dollars (and the store's shelf space) is better spent devoted to true independent craft brewers.  Something that A-B is not, and sadly, something that Goose Island no longer is.