Inbev Buys A-B!!Inbev Buys A-B!!Inbev Buys A-B!!Inbev Buys A-B!!

"This country is finished" - George Carlin (from a recent interview with Keith Olberman)

"Guess which employees are going to be the first to get the boot? The Clydesdales, they are going to take their asses to the pound." - Ari Roberts (Ninja)

This is certainly a clear sign that our economy is in terrible shape. Belgian-Brazilian Brewer Inbev has purchased Anheuser-Busch for a mere 55 Billions dollars. It's a bargain for Inbev. One Dollar is currently worth 62 cents of one Euro. So in todays exchange value Inbev purchased Budweiser for 34.1 Billion.

While people were concerned about real or imagined terrorist threats and rumors of war from countries that may or may not be a threat a great American institution is taken over without one shot being fired. I don't get all teary eyed about symbols of patriotism although I do think that this buy out is disturbing. It's comparable to the sinking of the Titanic ... Budweiser has spent its entire history marketing itself as America's Beer for the patriotic blue or white collar working man. Then after all these years only to be quickly and rather easily taken over by a foreign owned company. The Titanic was 'unsinkable' and it ended up creating a bunch of human popsicles floating in the brisk North Atlantic Ocean. Maybe that analogy isn't the greatest ...

As a A-B employee I am extremely curious of what kinds of changes we will see in the coming years. The distributor I work for already distributes Inbev products so we wont have to endure that sudden change. I predict that the new Inbev board will change the A-B Product born on date time limits. Currently, the allowable shelf life for package beer is 110 days from the born on date, 50 days for draft beer and 365 days for FAB (Flavored Alcohol Beverage). Most Inbev products have a 365 day shelf life so I think it's only a matter of time before they extend the shelf life. Inbev will also expand Budweiser in emerging foreign markets. But I think that might just compensate for the loss of revenue they will experience in the United States. There are many Deliverance type folks that will be upset from this and might abandon the brand. Only time will tell.