Anheuser lines up 500,000 free Budweisers to halt US sales slide

[sonomak]

Source: guardian.co.uk

Budweiser, the most popular beer brand in America, is kicking off a massive promotional push with a nationwide giveaway of 500,000 free samples in US bars, pubs and restaurants in an effort to shore up an alarming erosion in sales.

Owned by the Belgian multinational Anheuser-Busch Inbev, Budweiser is struggling to attract younger drinkers who prefer low-calorie light beers or more exotically flavoured craft beers. Sales were down 9.5% last year according to trade publisher Beer Marketer's Insights, the brand's steepest decline on record.

Anxious to reinvigorate demand, Anheuser has declared a "Budweiser National Happy Hour" for this Wednesday and is planning to give away half a million servings by mid-October.

"This is just the beginning,"said Benj Steinman, president of Beer Marketer's Insights. "Anheuser-Busch Inbev is very, very serious – it's determined to get this brand back on track because of its international importance. But it's going to be a tough battle."

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/sep/26/budweiser-giveaway-halt-sales-decline

[wtmusic]

1. Pee for Free! nt

[hlthe2b]

2. So, they think sales are down because consumers don't know...

what it tastes like? Sort of like, "How ya gonna keep 'em down on the farm after they've seen Paris?" Sorry, but new consumers have tasted real beer from any number of microbreweries. But, I do like the Clydesdales. ;)

[MineralMan]

8. The Clydesdales are only for making Bud Light.

Regular Budweiser is made by thoroughbreds.

:rofl:

[nc4bo]

10. ROFLMAO!!!! nt

[brewens]

3. By selling out they gave so many people incentive to find

a real domestic beer they like. Sure it's still brewed here now but how long till they open up a super brewery in Mexico or something like that?

[earcandle]

4. People are getting a clue that they are drinking formadehyde when they drink that shit.

Don't need embalming fluid when you kick over.  That is how
duplicious and hateful this monied crowd has become. They even
do it to their own kids. 

[Botany]

5. give it away or charge for it but the bottom line is that Bud is a crap ass beer

:toast:

[Cirque du So-What]

6. 'Budweiser! So good we're giving it away!'

Not exactly the most compelling of campaign slogans IMO. How about 'swill or swell?' Naaah!

On edit: I'll take this opportunity to promote a couple of regional beers that I hold dear: Augustiner (Iron City Brewing Company) and Yuengling Premium Beer (D.G. Yuengling & Sons). I prefer both as draft beers, but even the bottled variety is infinitely preferable to the chemical swill produced by Anheuser-Busch.

[demwing]

7. Times are tough - Have one on the house!

Remember Budweiser, the American Brew!

Yeah, I think it could help in the short term, giving them some time to build longer term strategies to win new drinkers, etc.

American consumers have shown time after time that we don't only care about the real quality of your product, in fact, we may not give a damn about quality at all. What we care about is how your product makes us feel about ourselves.

Does your product make me feel like a winner, or a loser? Does your product remind me of the better days, or the unsure future? Will I get laid if I fork out the cash? That's what Americans want to know...

[Historic NY]

9. for a foreign beer its crap.................

It isn't American anymore remember the Belgians InBev bought it....

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92510370

[Kat45]

11. Even though the Belgians own it, I still don't consider Budweiser a foreign beer

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it's still the same product, the same beer. Coors and Molson have merged but I don't consider Molson an American beer.

[sofa king]

18. So now it's a real foreign fake foreign crap beer.

[demwing]

30. Big difference between a foreign beer

and a foreign owned beer

[immoderate]

12. Fuck 'em. They stopped making Red Wolf.

That was a decently drinkable beer.

--imm

[Omaha Steve]

13. Budlooser?

Marta and I drink Grain Belt or other craft beers. No mass market stuff for us any more.




The history of Grain Belt beer: http://www.grainbelt.com/history.php

[CatholicEdHead]

20. Grain Belt Nordeast is also worth trying

if you can find it.

[Omaha Steve]

21. Not avaiable here yet

http://www.schellsbrewery.com/newsevents_info.php?id=41

Schell's Named One of the "Top 10" Breweries in the U.S. (Grain Belt Premium took home the silver medal in the American Lager category)


Schell’s Brewery was named one of the top 10 breweries in the nation at this year’s U.S. Open Beer Championships held in Atlanta, Georgia on July 4, 2010. Schell brands competed with over 700 different beers. Five Schell beers medaled in four different categories. Among the winners were; Schell’s Stout, which was awarded the silver medal in the Stout category, Schell’s Light and Grain Belt Premium Light both medaled in the American Light category, Schell’s Deer Brand (commonly referred to as “Schell’s Original”) won gold in the American Cream Ale category, and Grain Belt Premium took home the silver medal in the American Lager category.

The 2010 U.S. Open Beer Championships is the only brewing competition to include (award winning) home brewers competing with professional breweries. More than 700 beers in fifty different categories were submitted to this year’s championship. Entries spanned the globe with breweries from Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, Canada, Brazil, and Belize. Schell’s Brewery took seventh place overall based on the number of metals won at the championship.

[Ikonoklast]

14. People finally realized that there is *real* beer out ther, that doesn't taste like swill.

Never cared for products sold mostly because of massive advertising, instead of quality of the product.


Rice beer tastes thin and cheap, because the ingredients are, well, cheap.

[MilesColtrane]

15. I don't guess it ever occurred to them to just make better beer.

*facepalm*

[Rex]

16. Yes, because of its international importance...GET THE FUCK OUT O HERE!

Importances of what? Helped kill more people on the highways globaly? More deaths in parking lot brawls/fights? Helped push poison levels in the blood supply to new heights (so another teen could die at a party)?

Please, if you want to drink cheap-shitty poison go right ahead. Evidently it is of international importance! :rofl:

[JVS]

17. If they used the Stella Artois recipe for "Bud Premium" with price competitive to MGD, I'd buy it.

[Sherman A1]

19. They screwed a lot of folks during the buyout

so, screw them.

[aikoaiko]

22. Hooray for beer!

;)

[Omaha Steve]

23. 2010 US Open Beer Championship Results

http://www.usopenbeer.com/

Atlanta, GA -- Winners in the 2010 United States Open Beer Championships – the only brewery competition to include professional breweries and award-winning home brewers – were announced this week. More than 700 beers in 50 different categories were submitted.

Maui Brewing of Hawaii was named Grand National Champion by winning two gold, five silver, and two bronze medals. Sprecher Brewing of Wisconsin finished second while Deschutes Brewing, last year’s winner from Bend, Oregon took third.

In all, 70 individual breweries won at least one medal and 20 won two or more.

Home brewers Jimmy Vervaecke, Jake Ocque and Tom Ocque, who previously medaled at the National Home Brewers competition, each earned a bronze. The U.S. Open is the only competition that allows award-winning home brewers to compete against professional breweries.


“This competition is significant because it accepts entries from breweries around the world and allows national winning homebrews to compete,” said Dow Scoggins, director of the U.S. Open Beer Championships. “More than 700 beers were submitted, and although all the top 10 winning breweries were based in the U.S. this year, at least 20 international breweries representing Canada, Belgium, Germany, England and Brazil also medaled.”

Competing beers were judged in more than 50 different beer style categories. Along with the medals awarded, a Grand National Champion is awarded based on a point system for beers (five minimum) entered in the competition.

The top 10 breweries based on the number of beers placing first (3 points), second (2 points) or third (1 point) are:

1. Maui Brewing, Hawaii
2. Sprecher Brewing, Wisconsin
3. Deschutes Brewing, Oregon
4. Boston Beer Company, Massachuetts
5. Sweetwater Brewing, Georgia
5. South Street Brewery, Virginia
7. August Schell. Minnesota
7. Montana Brewing, Montana
8. Silverton Brewing, Colorado
8. Captial Brewery, Wisconsin
10. Redbrick Brewery, Georgia

The judges also named a “Judges Award” for the top five “most creative names” and “most creative flavors.” Among the judges favorites:

Lucifer Angel by Maui Brewing
Dragon’s Breath by Bayern Brewing
Swamp Ape IPA by Florida Beer Company
Buffalo Sweat by Tallgrass Brewing
Black Betty Imperial Stout – Nebraska Brewing


2010 United States Open Medal Winners

Golden or Blonde ale

GOLD - Red Brick Blonde – Red Brick Brewing

SILVER - Healdsburg Fitch Cask – Healdsburg Brewing

BRONZE - Sweetwater 420 – Sweetwater Brewing



English Summer Ale

GOLD – Sand Bagger Gold – Montana Brewing

SILVER - Twilight Ale – Deschutes Brewing

BRONZE - Fuller's Summer Ale - Fuller Smith & Turner



English Pale Ale

GOLD - Kentucky Ale - Lexington Brewery

SILVER - Full Sail Pale Ale – Full Sail Brewing

BRONZE - Florida Hurricane Reef Pale Ale – Florida Beer Company



English IPA

GOLD - Hopsecutioner – Terrapin Beer Company

SILVER - Sam Adams Latitude 48 – Boston Beer Company

BRONZE - Sisters of the Moon – Mother Earth Brewing



Imperial IPA

GOLD - Double Overhead IPA – Maui Brewing

SILVER - Gubna – Oskar Blues Brewing

BRONZE - Swamp Ape IPA – Florida Beer Company



Bitter

GOLD - Alaskan Summer Ale – Alaskan Brewing

SILVER - #’s Ale – Redbrick Brewing

BRONZE - Wells Bombardier Bitter- Wells & Young's Ltd



ESB

GOLD - Anderson Valley ESB - Anderson Valley Brewing

SILVER - Old Thumper – Shipyard Brewing

BRONZE - Ice Pick Ale – Silverton Brewing
BRONZE – Pub Ale - Jimmy Vervaecke(Homebrewer)



English Mild Ale

GOLD - Original Ale – Box Car Brewing

SILVER - Bear Ass Brown – Silverton Brewing

BRONZE - Brakspear Oxford Gold - W.H. Brakspear & Sons



English Brown Ale

GOLD - Brunette Nut Brown – Nebraska Brewing

SILVER – Tall Grass Ale - Tall Grass Brewing

BRONZE - Mutter 5 – Jake Ocque and Tom Ocque (Homebrewers)



Porter

GOLD - Black Butte Porter – Deschutes Brewing

SILVER - Imperial Porter – Shipyard Brewing

BRONZE - Healdsburg Lyton Cask – Healdsburg Brewing



Stout

GOLD - Anastasia's Chocolate Stout – South Street Brewery

SILVER - August Schell Stout - August Schell Brewing

BRONZE - Max Darkest – Dirk Denneman Brewing



Oatmeal Stout

GOLD - Anderson Valley Oatmeal Stout – Anderson Valley Brewing

SILVER - Shipwreck Stout – Maui Brewing

BRONZE - Samuel Smith’s Oatmeal Stout – Samuel Smiths Brewery



Imperial Stout

GOLD - Hunahpu – Cigar City Brewing

SILVER - Ten Fidy – Oskar Blues Brewing

BRONZE - Imperial Russian Stout – Stone Brewing



Barley Wine

GOLD - Mirror Mirror – Deschutes Brewing

SILVER - Jubel 2010 – Deschutes Brewing

BRONZE - Lucifer Angel – Maui Brewing



Scottish Ale

GOLD - Old Chub – Oskar Blues Brewing

SILVER - Satan’s Pony – South Street Brewery

BRONZE - Neustadt Scottish Ale – Neustadt Brewing



Strong Scottish Ale

GOLD - Scottish Ale - Traquair House Brewing

SILVER - Piper's Scotch Ale – Sprecher Brewing

BRONZE - Wee Heavy – Belhaven Brewery



Irish Red Ale

GOLD - Red Mountain Ale – Silverton Brewing

SILVER - Cameron’s Auburn Ale – Cameron’s Brewing

BRONZE - Samuel Adams Red Ale – Boston Beer Company



American Amber / Red

GOLD - Drop Kick – Dunedin Brewing

SILVER - Full Sail Amber – Full Sail Brewing

BRONZE - Sunset Amber – Grand Canyon Brewing



American Pale Ale

GOLD - Sharptail Pale Ale – Montana Brewing

SILVER - Mauna Kea Pale Ale – Mehana Brewing

BRONZE - Cascade Pale Ale – Stevens Point Brewing



American IPA

GOLD - High Seas IPA – Michigan Brewing

SILVER - Iversion IPA – Deschutes Brewing

BRONZE - Sierra Nevada Harvest – Sierra Nevada Brewing



American Brown Ale

GOLD - Hapa Brown – Hawaii Nui Brewing

SILVER - Burly Brown – Stevens Point Brewing

BRONZE - Red Brick Brown – Red Brick Brewing Company



German Alt

GOLD - Munster Alt - Brauerei Pinkus Mueller

SILVER - Frankenheim Alt- Privatbrauerei Frankenheim

BRONZE - Schwelmer Alt- Privatbrauerei Schwelm



German Kolsch

GOLD - Endless River – Mother Earth Brewing

SILVER - Kentucky Light - Lexington Brewing

BRONZE - Viru – Baltic Brewing



German Wheat

GOLD - Dunkle Weiss – Sprecher Brewing

SILVER - Dragon Breath – Bayern Brewing

BRONZE - Erdinger Weissbier- Erdinger Weissbräu



German Hefeweizen

GOLD – Ayinger Bräu Weisse - Brauerei Aying

SILVER - Summer Ale – Redbrick Brewing

BRONZE - EOS – Nebraska Brewing



French / Belgian Ale

GOLD - Devil May Care – South Street Brewery

SILVER - Orval Trappist Ale- Brasserie d'Orval

BRONZE - Troubadour Blond Ale- Brouwerij De Musketiers



Belgian Abbey Ale

GOLD - Dank Tank – Sweetwater Brewing

SILVER - New World Triple – Boston Beer Company

BRONZE - Oude Zuiper – Papago Brewing



Belgian Lambic

GOLD - American Krek – Boston Beer Company

SILVER - Gueuze Cuvée René - Lindemans

BRONZE - Stony Brook Red – Boston Beer Company



Belgian Witbier

GOLD - Belgium White – Stevens Point Brewing

SILVER - Celis White – Michigan Brewing

BRONZE - Keywest Southernmost Wheat – Florida Beer Company

BRONZE - Dry Wit – Pike Place Brewing

American Light

GOLD - Game Day Light - City Brewing Company

SILVER - Grain Belt Light – August Schell Brewing

BRONZE - Schell Light – August Schell Brewing





American Lager / Pilsener

GOLD – Cameron’s Lager – Cameron’s Brewing Company

SILVER - Grain Belt Premium – August Schell Brewing

BRONZE - Belikin – Belize Brewing



American Premium Lager

GOLD - Supper Club – Captial Brewery

SILVER - Session Permium – Full Sail Brewing

BRONZE - Yuengling Premium Beer- Yuengling Brewery



Bohemian Pilsener

GOLD - Noble Pils – Boston Beer Company

SILVER - Pau Hana Pils – Maui Brewing

BRONZE - American Pils – Grand Canyon Brewing



Geman Lager / Pilsener

GOLD – Summer Pils - South Street Brewery

SILVER - Dutch Republic 1581 - World Brews

BRONZE - Capital Pilsner – Captial Brewery



Munchner Helles

GOLD - Gold Mine – Silverton Brewing

SILVER - Bikini Blonde – Maui Brewing

BRONZE - Tallgrass Kold – Tallgrass Brewing



Munchner Dunkel / Dark

GOLD - Dark Cloud – Mother Earth

SILVER - Sprecher Winter Brew – Sprecher Brewing
BRONZE - Sessions Black – Full Sail Ales



Marzen / Oktoberfest

GOLD - Snake River Lager – Snake River Brewing

SILVER - Heavy Seas Marzen – Clipper City Brewing

BRONZE - Capital Fest – Captial Brewery



Schwarzbier

GOLD - Black Bavarian – Sprecher Brewing

SILVER - Black Lager – Boston Beer Company

BRONZE - Xingu Black Beer- Cervejaria Sul Brasileira



Bock
GOLD - Capital Mai Bock – Captial Brewery
SILVER - Sprecher Mai Bock – Sprecher Brewing
BRONZE - Dump Truck – Bayern Brewing

Dopple / Strong Bock
GOLD - Thomas Creek Dopple Bock – Thomas Creek Brewing
SILVER - Seasonal Dopple Bock – Sprecher Brewing
BRONZE - Eisphyre – Captial Brewery


American Cream Ale
GOLD - Deer Brand - August Schell Brewing
SILVER - Camerson Cream Ale – Cameron’s Brewing
BRONZE - Summer Solstice Cerveza Crema – Anderson Valley Brewing Company

American Wheat
GOLD - Sch’Wheat – Sweetwater Brewing
SILVER - UFO White – Harpoon Brewing
BRONZE - Summer Ale – Boston Beer Company

American Specialty Wheat
GOLD – Whitetail Wheat – Montana Brewing

SILVER - Easy Street Wheat - Odell Brewing

BRONZE - Haystack Wheat - Left Hand Brewing

Fruit / Vegetable beer

GOLD - Samuel Smith’s Organic Raspberry – Samuel Smith Brewing

SILVER - Sweetwater Blue – Sweetwater Brewing

BRONZE - St-Ambroise Apricot Wheat Ale- McAuslan Brewing



Herb and Spice beer

GOLD - Stone Saison Du Buff – Stone Brewing

SILVER - Maui Coconut Porter – Maui Brewing

BRONZE - Stillwater Rye – Montana Brewing



Chocolate / Cocoa Beer

GOLD - Fort Collins Chocolate Stout – Fort Collins Brewing

SILVER - Generation Porter – Sprecher Brewing

BRONZE - Young's Double Chocolate Stout - Wells & Young



Wood / Barrel aged beer

GOLD - Black Pearl – Maui Brewing

SILVER - Kentucky Burbon Barrel Ale – Lexington Brewing

BRONZE - Extra Stout Porter- Mickey Finn's Brewery



Wood / Barrel aged strong beer

GOLD - Black Betty Imperial Stout – Nebraska Brewing

SILVER - Beeper – Sweetwater Brewing

BRONZE - Heaven & Hell – Maui Brewing



Smoked / Rauch beer

GOLD - Z Lager – Fort Collins Brewing

SILVER - SmokeStack Lager – Maui Brewing

BRONZE - Fireside Ale - Weyerbacher Brewing


Specialty / Anything Goes
GOLD - Stone Sublimely Self-Righteous – Stone Brewing
SILVER - Aged Porter – Neustadt Brewing
BRONZE - Mbege Ale – Sprecher Brewing

Out of Bounds Pale Ale
GOLD - Terrapin Rye Pale Ale – Terrapin Beer Company
SILVER - Harpoon Belgian Pale Ale – Harpoon Brewing
BRONZE - Hazed & Infused - Boulder Beer Company


Best of Show Organic
GOLD - Samuel Smith’s Organic Raspberry – Samuel Smith Brewing
SILVER - Green Lakes Organic Ale – Deschutes Brewing
BRONZE - OB 1 – Snake River Brewing

[Initech]

24. 2010 Great American Beer Festival Results:

No category for "American Lager" but the last two years in a row - Pabst beat out Coors and Budweiser for the gold.

http://www.greatamericanbeerfestival.com/the-competition/winners/2010

Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards
Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Blue Moon Brewing Company, Denver, CO
Dr. David Ryder

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Crosby & Baker Ltd.

Utah Brewers Cooperative, Salt Lake City, UT
UBC Brewers

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Microstar Keg Management

Mad River Brewing Company, Blue Lake, CA
Mad River Brewing Company

Brewpub Group and Brewpub Group Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Country Malt Group

TAPS Fish House & Brewery, Brea, CA
Victor Novak

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group

Pizza Port Carlsbad, Carlsbad, CA
Pizza Port Brew Guys

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.

Pizza Port San Clemente, San Clemente, CA
Noah Regnery

[Bigmack]

25. Bud... particularly Bud Lite is the beer of choice...

for people who throw the cans and bottles out the car window when they are done drinking the contents.

We bike about 3K miles a year, and Bud products make up at least 70% of the beverage containers "air mailed" from a moving vehicle.

[skoalyman]

34. some of them are so drunk they throw out

full cases of beer most of the time its 12 pack :rofl:

[Radical Activist]

37. "Preferred by littering assholes everywhere"

It should be in their next commercial.

[felix_numinous]

26. Bud cans sold for $13.00 at Rush concert

which is one way they make up for lost profits, apparently.

[charlie]

27. Lower the price

As far as I can tell, it's the swelling cost from the inflation we're assured is nonexistent, and not a loss in brand popularity that's giving them the sales hit. In my Texas town, Bud Light is still the favored beer by a huge margin. Beer is just no longer a neglible expense for a lot of people.

[robdogbucky]

28. Maybe they should get a clue?

Beer Lobby Gives $10,000 To 'No' On Proposition 19 Pot Legalization
By J. Patrick Coolican, Tue., Sep. 21 2010 @ 7:25AM

"​Update: We got an email from Tom McCormick of the California Small Brewers Association -- they're the ones who make good beers. He says, whoa, we got nothing to do with this effort to beat Prop. 19. Text of the email appear at the end, after the jump.

A political action committee of the California Beer & Beverage Distributors recently gave $10,000 to the campaign to defeat Proposition 19, the November ballot initiative that would legalize pot and its cultivation and distribution. Hmmm....What could be going on here? Perhaps we should call it: Sobriety for thee, but not for me...

...Rhonda Stevenson, director of public affairs for the California Beer & Beverage Distributors, said the group's opposition comes from concerns about public and worker safety. She relied on talking points from the California Chamber of Commerce stating that if Prop. 19 passes, employers would have no ability to monitor or regulate pot consumption of employees, thereby creating the danger of stoned truck drivers and sales people on the roads, and stoned forklift drivers in the warehouses.

Stevenson said with some certainty that Prop. 19 specifically says employers can't test workers for pot. It says no such thing, though the California Chamber has made the case that some slippery wording in the initiative amounts to the same thing..."

http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/marijuana/beer-lobby-gives-10000-to-no-o/


The blog goes on to quote beer industry lobbyists that cite the same old public safety fear tactics, like "our truck and forklift drivers will be stoned and will have more accidents," etc.

That kind of stuff betrays how little they actually know about the effects of cannabis and about how many people already likely work while stoned. The industry also invokes big govt., but not in the usual way, they cite fears that because Prop 19 leaves the details of regulation to local entities, they think this will lead to wild abuse and regulatory chaos. Imagine, they invoke state power to protect their business! Unbelievable. The state association of small craft brewers distanced themselves from this corporate industry position and asserted they have no large treasure chest of pac money to dedicate to political campaigns of any kind.



Wonder why sales are down?






Just my dos centavos


robdogbucky

[taterguy]

29. Of course their sales are down. I quit drinking

I apologize if you're an Anheuser-Busch stockholder.

:toast:

[Scurrilous]

31. Beer.

:thumbsup:

[jmm]

32. If the Clamato flavored Bud couldn't help sales I don't know what will.

:hide:

The main problem with this give away is it doesn't address why they are losing business. Does anybody know a single beer drinker who doesn't know what Bud tastes like? It's not like they need to introduce their product to people. They aren't losing business because they need name recognition or a new image. They need to work on the taste of it especially since people are becoming more aware there are more options.

[bluedigger]

33. The days of domination of the market are over in the beer industry.

They will never regain lost market share. Times have changed, consumers are better informed, and have many competitive choices. The industry, and particularly AB, contributed to their predicament when they chose to compete head to head with the microbrew trend, by flooding the market with niche products that were mostly unsuccessful. Now their brand name, which is what they value internationally for merchandising purposes, has become diminished. Another American brand icon meets its fate. If I were in the market, Inbev would be a "sell".

[Radical Activist]

35. No, not even for free. Not interested.

I'd rather pay for actual beer.

[NutmegYankee]

36. The North East has such a large selection of craft beers I never need to drink bud

I love being able to support local brewers who produce better tasting beers in many different styles. I drink seasonal styles from several breweries, and find it far better than drinking the same swill every time.