CRAFT BEER STRIKES BACK!

As we lazily drifted through the some of the expected dreck amid Sunday’s million dollar Super Bowl commercials we saw cute animal friendships (Budweiser) and a clever juxtaposition of Danny Trejo with the Bradys (Snickers). There were even some shocking choices made, such as Nationwide’s depiction of a child’s assumed drowning. Yet the Ad that really shocked the public came from that aforementioned purveyor of cute frogs; those masters of distraction, Anheiser-Busch’s Budweiser.

If you haven’t seen Bud’s bashing of craft brewers and those who consume their beers, here’s their minute-long spot. And here’s the text:

Proudly a macro beer. It’s not brewed to be fussed over. It’s brewed for a crisp, smooth finish. This is the only beer Beechwood aged since 1876. There’s only one Budweiser. It’s brewed for drinking. Not dissecting. The people who drink our beer are people who like drinking beer. To drink beer brewed the hard way. Let them sip their pumpkin peach ale. We’ll be brewing us some golden suds. This is the famous Budweiser beer. This bud’s for you.

 Run the Tape…

In retort, a number of periodicals, brewers and beer associations have tossed in their two cents in response to the King of Macro Beers. Here’s the immediate video response Monday from Hopstories:

Not to be outdone, Ninkasi Brewing followed suit on Tuesday using the exact same music as Bud did, then added a bit of humor to the equation

Pasted

One of the first stories to hit the interwebs post-Super Bowl was an excellent piece from Paste Magazine who thoroughly dissect the claims listed throughout the ad’s flashing text. Paste was also one of the first to point out the Elephant in the Room, the disparaging reference made to “Pumpkin Peach Ale,” a style similar to one brewed recently by Elysian Brewing ( Peach Pecan Pumpkin Amber Ale), a brewer just bought out by Bud’s owners AB-InBev last week. So we’d think Budweiser would be a bit more sensitive to this recent history or possibly aware that Elysian hosts the world’s largest pumpkin beer festival each year, mainly because they kick-ass at brewing pumpkin beers.

, CRAFT BEER STRIKES BACK!The Aftermath

With all the attention this silly beer commercial about the beechwood aging process has gotten, the ramp up of parody video responses since Monday have only intensified the negative backlash. The Atlantic had a phenomenal article on the marketing choices large brewers are making in the headwinds of losing market share, concluding that this was not a preferable way for their branding to move forward. Mikkeller of Denmark formally invited Budweiser to Copenhagen’s Beer Celebration in May as evidenced by a humorous, tongue-in-cheek letter on their facebook page. Not only did craft brewers and pundits weigh in on this poor choice in marketing, even MillerCoors distanced themselves from Bud’s gaffe as reported by AdAge on Tuesday. 

Cantwell Speaks Out

Even more interesting was the Chicago Tribune’s interview with Elysian co-founder Dick Cantwell who clearly voiced his displeasure with the situation Monday:

“I find it kind of incredible that ABI would be so tone-deaf as to pretty directly (even if unwittingly) call out one of the breweries they have recently acquired, even as that brewery is dealing with the anger of the beer community in reaction to the sale. It doesn’t make our job any easier, and it certainly doesn’t make me feel any better about a deal I didn’t even want to happen,” he added, according to the Tribune. “It’s made a difficult situation even more painful”

Now that AB-InBev has purchased four craft brewers over the past 5 years, all apparently as a result of their failed attempts to capture younger consumers with their own brews, how long will it take for them to realize they now have a stake in the craft beer industry they’ve just offended? It might be something to consider before they start offending the brewers they just bought out. And those previously adoring fans might have something to say about it as well with those dollars they’ve earned The Hard Way.

About AmericanCraftBeer.com

AmericanCraftBeer.com is the nations' leading source for the Best Craft Beer News, Reviews, Events and Media.
Scroll To Top