Anheuser Wine

Startling to see the AB eagle that played such a large part in my St. Louis childhood here applied to wine of all things. Like, seriously, wine at a baseball game? Wrong in so many ways.

AB

A little digging and I found out that yes, it is the same family. Apparently, the wine making Anheusers actually funded the brewery. I wonder who had the eagle first?

Not that it matters. InBev has taken a huge dump with the new AB-InBev nightmare. I’ve looked and looked and can’t find a credit for this piece of junk. In house? Or is everyone just ashamed?

Yeesh.

Apart from the fact that BIG BEER abbreviations are getting more baroque, it is interesting to hear that Anheuser has tumbling profits according to the Wall Street Journal.  You would think that the cheap beers would be flying out of stores.  But because they buy in bulk and hedge its raw materials purchases means it is locked in to old, high hop prices while the small brewers are making less but better beer at cheaper prices.  I say it too much but your local small brewer always seem to do more with less.

Los parques Anheuser Busch se venden

Los candidatos a la compra de 7 000 millones de dólares en activos puestos en venta por el gigante de la cerveza InBev están en camino de finalizar sus ofertas. Entre los bienes propuestos, los 10 parques que posee el grupo representan 4 000 millones de dólares. El periódico económico británico Financial Times ha revelado esta información y el nombre de potenciales compradores en su edición del jueves.

Junio del 2008. El grupo belga-brasileño InBev, número 2 mundial, lanza una OPA sobre el grupo americano Anheuser-Busch, distribuidor de la marca Budweiser. Busch Entertainment, la división de parques de Anheuser Busch, poseedora de diez parques en los Estados Unidos incluyendo los Sea World y Busch Gardens que representan los estandartes del saber hacer del grupo en materia de ocio.

Al día siguiente de esta OPA, InBev se convierte así en el número 1 mundial en su dominio y anuncia querer centrarse en su “verdadero oficio”. dans son domaine et annonce vouloir se concentrer sur son “coeur de métier”. Venta entonces de la rama de los parques de ocio y diversión adquiridos con la toma de control del grupo americano : el dinero de esta venta permitirá reducir una parte de las deudas del grupo InBev generadas por esta compra.

Los nombres de los potenciales compradores nombrados por el Financial Times han aparecido de manera recurrente durante los últimos meses en los artículos que hablaban del tema. Encontramos sin sorpresa la lista de los principales operadores mundiales de parques de ocio :

* Walt Disney Company (USA) : poco probable, ya que el grupo se concentra sobre sus propios parques temáticos para desarrollar su marca.

* Universal Studios (USA) : donde el accionista principal es la cadena de televisión NBC.

* Six Flags (USA) : que posee más de 20 parques en USA, Canada, y Mexico pero el grupo se está recuperando de los pasados años difíciles en los que vendió muchos de sus parques.

* Candover (UK) : es una sociedad británica especializada en la compra de empresas. Posee el grupo madrileño Parques Reunidos que opera una cincuentena de parques en una docena de paises.

* Merlin Entertainment (UK) : propietaria del Museo de Madame Tussaud y de la gran noria de Londres, así como los parques Legoland, y los acuarios Sea-Life. Merlin es propiedad de Blackstone, un pujante fondo de inversión inglés que también posee los CenterParcs británicos. La compra de los parques Busch por Blackstone podría permitir al grupo realizar sinergias entre sus centros SeaLife y los parques SeaWorld por ejemplo. Poseer todo o parte del grupo Busch Entertainment le permitiría tener un nuevo pie en los Estados Unidos donde el único parque que tiene es Legoland California.

A pesar de que la lista de pretendientes continúa igual desde hace meses, será interesante observar la compra en el contexto de crisis económica actual : para ciertos observadores próximos al dossier, esta transacción será un buen indicados para ver si las sociedades de inversión privadas son capaces de tener suficientes fondos para pujar por una sociedad de este tamaño. En efecto, son susceptibles de tener que pedir prestamos por un importe de 2 000 millones de dólares para financiar la compra.

Si ninguna oferta se corresponde con las expectativas del grupo Anheuser-Busch/InBev, la sociedad podría provocar la escisión de la rama de parques y diversiones en las próximas semanas : Busch Entertainment sería una sociedad independiente con sus propios activos.

Fuente: Parkzone

InBev S.A. has agreed to shed its Labatt USA subsidiary to win Washington’s approval of a $52-billion US takeover of beer giant Anheuser-Busch.

InBev, which bought Labatt in 1995, said Friday it will get rid of the American operations of the formerly Canadian-owned brewery to avoid an antitrust law suit that would prevent the buyout of Busch by the Belgian suds conglomerate.

InBev needs Anheuser-Busch to boost U.S. suds sales(CBC)

The U.S. Department of Justice, which acts as the government’s monopoly watchdog, demanded the divestiture of Labatt’s U.S. arm because the agency was worried about beer prices in three cities in upstate New York.

“The transaction, as originally proposed, would likely have led to higher prices for beer in the Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse, N.Y., metropolitan areas,” the Justice Department said in a release.

Buffalo-based Labatt USA is a big seller in those three urban areas, as is Busch’s suds. The Justice Department worried that InBev, as owner of both labels, could unfairly raise beer prices in those cities.

InBev did not say whether it already has a potential purchaser of its Labatt wing in the United States. As well, the government order doesn’t mention the other operations of Labatt, one of Canada’s two largest beer makers.

InBev, which produced 271 million hectolitres of beer in 2007, said “the impact on earnings of the actions to be implemented is not material to InBev’s overall business.”

Labatt USA sold 1.7 million hectolitres in 2007, 17 per cent of Labatt’s total beer production of 9.8 million hectolitres.

Busch adds value

InBev, the world’s second-largest beer maker, made a deal to buy Anheuser-Busch earlier this year as a way of gaining a bigger share of the U.S. beer markets.

In its latest quarter, InBev sold only about five per cent of its output in the United States and Canada.

With beer consumption shrinking in Central Europe and Asia, InBev’s North American growth rate of 0.5 per cent could stand improvement, experts say.

Anheuser-Busch accounts for about one out of every two beers consumed in the United States and sold $16.6 billion worth of beer in 2007 from its 12 U.S. plants.

Initially, the St. Louis-based brewery resisted InBev’s corporate wooing back in July and managed to turn a bid of $65 US a share into a $70 offer in the summer.

The takeover will allow the two companies to save about $1.5 billion in annual cost reductions starting in 2011, InBev and Anheuser-Busch have said in past statements.

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Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale
ABV:5.50%

Appearance: 4/5

Taste: 4/5

Aroma: 3/5

Mouthfeel: 2.5/5

Drinkability: 3.5/5

Total: 17/20

The dark brown bottle doesn’t give much of a hint of the deep copper color of the beer it contains. I’m only enjoying the beer in a glass, now as I write this, the next day. The interesting (and my favorite aspect) of the taste were the spices. The spices (which include Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ginger, and Clove) really linger. You can taste the Pumpkin with almost every sip. As almost an afterthought, there was a distinct malty finish that hits your taste buds. Overall there is a nice sweetness through and through, though not overwhelming.

* I know this comes a little late in the season but my computer was dead—this has been sitting in my moleskin for about a month or so.

Nice label

Isn’t it ironic that an iconic American company recently agrees to be purchased by a foreign conglomerate and their first major release is something with the word “American” in it? I completely understand that this beer has been in the works for YEARS and that even the name would have been decided before the buy out was a twinkle in InBev’s eye. I’m not going to get into the politics surrounding the Anhueser-Busch buy out. I’m going to concentrate on what is important, the beer!

Budweiser American Ale was released (in bottles) on Monday and I picked my six pack up at Publix in the early afternoon for $6.50 for six twelve ounce bottles. This is the cheapest of the three beers I have chosen to review in this trilogy. For $6.50 it was $1 more than a six pack of the “king of beers.” While this would not be considered a “value beer” like Natty Ice ($6 for a twelve pack) this is still a relatively cheap beer.

For Budweiser this is a bold swipe at the quickly growing “craft beer” market in America. Beers like yesterday’s Anchor Steam Beer are slowly eating up market share and Bud wants it. In the past Anheuser-Busch was quick to purchase smaller less “mainstream” beers. Stone Mill Pale Ale, Red Bridge, Wild Blue and Rolling Rock are all wholly owned by AB. Budweiser American Ale is a different beast, this is an in-house developed beer.

It pours with a clear copper body with a nice strong head:

Not my first

The head lingers for a good while before giving way to the malty aroma. It almost seems sweet when you take a big whiff. As expected the beer has a strong malt flavor but has a hoppy finish that rounds off the beer. This is a Bud that tells you that you are drinking beer and not colored water but it isn’t something that should be considered an upper echelon beer. The beer is highly drinkable and can be enjoyed over a long night. American Ale carries a 5.4% ABV (alcohol by volume).

My biggest surprise when I grabbed my first bottle out of the fridge was this:

Crappy pic....

Can you read that? it says “PRY OFF.” I don’t think I would have ever expected a Budweiser branded product that wasn’t twist-off.  Ask many purists and they will tell you that the twist-off caps degrade the quality of the booze, but I believe that has more to do with the fact that cheaper, lower quality beers are the ones that come with twist-offs. In wine there is the argument about the cork and I believe the same thing, a good wine is good no matter what the cork is!

We got to try this beer at Busch Gardens on Saturday and I enjoyed it out in the hot son as much as I enjoyed it sitting back watching some playoff baseball. This is a very good “starter” beer in my opinion. If you have been spending your life drinking Bud or Miller or Natty Light (please no!) go ahead and spend another $1 on your six pack! Your taste buds will thank you!

Anheuser Busch (BUD), a major distributor of Monster Energy in the U.S. announced on Tuesday that it will create a new business unit , called 9th Street Beverages, focusing on growing their non-alcoholic beverage operations (waters, energy drinks, including Monster Energy). The St. Louis, MO – company is in the process of being taken over by beer major Inbev.

An interesting development, since it was expected that in the whole takeover reshuffling, attention for e.g. Monster Energy  might take a backseat.  But the economics for a brand like Monster are just too compelling, in terms of growth and margin. And the fact that such a strategic move is made as the ink isn’t even dry yet, tells me Inbev sees that too.

For Monster this all looks like a net-positive:

• By setting up a stand-alone unit for non-alcoholic beverages, internal advocates are created (within Inbev-BUD), with their own targets and incentives for growth, who will put up a fight for their own shop and line-up. Fact is though that Monster does have competition from Anheuser’s own energy brand 180;

• As this  - emphasizing the non-beer side – is apparently part of Inbev’s strategic reorientation, further international expansion of Monster Energy (broader and faster) must have crossed their mind.

Disney muestra su interés en SeaWorld

De acuerdo con las recientes notícias, Disney también es una de tantas marcas que ha mostrado su interés en los parques de la extinguída Anheuser-Busch que fue comprada recientemente por la firma bélga InBev.

InBev, la cual ha afirmado que se quitará de encíma los parques para pagar las deudas que acarrea la firma cervecera Busch podría darse el caso de que en Noviembre los parques ya tengan nuevo propietario.

La notícia menciona también que Blackstone (empresa del Grupo Merlin Entertainment la cual opera el London Eye, Alton Towers y los museos de Madame Tussauds) así como la española Parques Reunidos (propiedad del grupo de inversión Candover) y la empresa del Golfo Pérsico Dubai World podrían haber presentado ya ofertas para hacerse con los parques.

Los inversores de la firma InBev afirman que ‘Nos estamos apróximando a bastantes compañías del mundo del ocio y el trato estará basado en quien trae su dinero mas rápido a la mesa para deshacernos de la deuda que posee en la actualidad la antigua compañía’.

Fuente: WDWInfo.com / PKTK.com

InBev venderá parques de diversiones de cervecera Anheuser

La segunda mayor cervecera del mundo estaría por vender los parques temáticos propiedad de Anheuser-Busch por una cifra que oscila entre los 2,500 y 4,500 millones de dólares

La cervecera belga-brasileña InBev estaría cerca de vender los parques temáticos de Anheuser-Busch, su rival estadounidense recién adquirido, por una cifra que oscila entre los 2,500 y 4,500 millones de dólares.

Luego de acordar la compra de Anheuser-Busch, InBev estaría planeando vender los nueve parques temáticos, entre ellos el famoso Sea World, con que cuenta su rival estadounidense, quien además de ser la mayor cervecera estadounidense, también es uno de los más importantes operadores de parques temáticos en ese país.

El propietario de Parques Reunidos, uno de los principales operadores de parques temáticos de Europa, está planeando una posible oferta de 4,500 millones de dólares por la compañía estadounidense que opera Sea World y Busch Gardens, publica hoy el diario The Times in London.

El diario británico señala que con la venta de los parques temáticos propiedad de Anheuser- Busch, InBev podría reunir el dinero suficiente como para pagar parte de la deuda que obtendrá cuando adquiera Anheuser, por la que pagará 52,000 millones de dólares.

A mediados de julio la cervecera Anheuser-Busch aceptó la oferta de compra por 52,000 millones de dólares de su rival belga InBev, con lo cual sus accionistas recibirán 70 dólares en efectivo por cada una de sus acciones.

La combinación de ambas empresas se conocería con el nombre de Anheuser-Busch InBev, en cumplimiento de una promesa hecha por la compañía belga para lograr la operación. Además, InBev cederá dos asientos en el Consejo de Administración, uno de los cuales estará ocupado por August A. Busch IV, director ejecutivo de la cervecera estadounidense y heredero del grupo de control de la cervecera estadounidense

Fuente: El Seminario

Well, I’m back. My vacation of about 8 days was eventful, fun, relaxing, eye-opening, and worthwhile. I went to St. Louis and Sikeston. It was good to get away. Here are some exciting things I did with my family that I think you should do too if you ever make it to St. Louis and want to venture into areas other than the river front:

• Forest Park - Everyone who’s ever been to St. Louis more than once knows about Forest Park. Most people have no idea, though, how much it has to offer. We went all over Forest Park last weekend, and I was shocked at how large it is and how much stuff there is to see and participate in. We saw great show at the Muny and were really impressed with the Art Museum and Missouri History Museum. And of course, spend some time at the zoo. Map.
• The Delmar Loop – West of the city, this area is rich with activity and college kids. Definitely check out Blueberry Hill, which is owned by Chuck Berry, Fitz root beer brewery, and Vintage Vinyl. There are also some nice clubs, shops, restaurants, etc. Map. Website.
• Lafayette Square - This was probably the biggest delight of my trip. This is a fairly newly renovated area with a killer park and some mouth watering apartments. There are lots of cool shops and cafes to browse through. The coolest is definitely Bailey’s Chocolate Bar. Don’t ever go to St. Louis again without stopping here for a drink and some cake. Also, drive around Lafayette Square and just look at the old neighborhoods. Map. Website.
• Anheuser-Busch Brewery – Everyone knows about it, but surprisingly, not that many people have been there that I know. It’s a huge, old complex. The buildings alone are great to gawk at, giving you the nostalgic feeling that only industrial America can give. The simple tour is free and really interesting. It takes about an hour, and everyone gets two free 11 ounce samples of beer at the end. You can also take the Beermaster’s tour for $25. I haven’t done that one yet. Map. Website.
• City Museum – Walking into the City Museum is like stepping onto a set of a Guillermo del Toro children’s movie. They basically took anything they could find in a junkyard and glued it to the walls and said, “Climb on this.” It’s amazing. Take your kids, but don’t expect to ever see them again, because they can literally crawl through any wall in this huge old building for 5 stories. The people that created this live on the top floor, I heard. They must be the most creative people in town. Map. Website.
• Eat – We ate a lot. Two notables were Companion and the Schlafly Taproom. Companion is a little cafe in Clayton that bakes fresh bread and some incredible egg casseroles. You have to eat there. Schlafly is a microbrewery with a couple restaurants. My friend Campbell said the one called “Bottleworks” has a great sardine sandwich. I hope to try it next time. The sticky toffee pudding, however, changed my life. It’s the best thing that’s ever touched my lips. If you have even one ounce of respect for me as a food guy, drive to St. Louis tonight and eat some. They also have great root beer.
• Drive - Then if you have time, take a drive down Interstate 55 south from St. Louis. It’s beautiful – rolling hills, trees, pastures, vineyards, the whole bit. If you get all the way to Sikeston, MO, eat at the original Lambert’s.

Anheuser-Busch InBev.  Kinda just rolls off the tongue.  They are the new company formed by the InBev acquisition of Anheuser-Busch.  This, at least to me, seems to be yet another nail in the coffin type things for the U.S. economy.  The more businesses that are outsourced and run in other countries, the less money get circulated in the U.S., and the more dangerous this whole recession thing becomes.  I mean, come on, did they really have to sell out.  I guess this is yet another reason why companies should really not go incorporated.

Coors, Miller, and now Anheuser-Busch are all owned by foreign conglomerates. So where can a patriotic guy find an all-American brew these days?

Believe it or not, Pabst Brewing Company is now the largest American-owned brewer. But Pabst doesn’t even brew its own beer anymore. All 29 Pabst beers, from Schlitz, to Lone Star to Colt 45 to the legendary Pabst Blue Ribbon are outsourced to SAB Miller, based in South Africa.

Next on the list comes Boston Beer Company, which counterintuitively bottles its famous Sam Adams lager in Pennsylvania.

Third is D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc., known far and wide as America’s oldest brewery, operating in Pottsville, PA since 1829.

Here’s the full list of America’s top American-owned breweries according to the Brewer’s Association:

1. Pabst Brewing Co.
2. Boston Beer Co.
3. D.G. Yuengling and Son Inc.
4. Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.
5. New Belgium Brewing Co. Inc.
6. High Falls Brewing Co.
7. Spoetzl Brewery
8. Widmer Brothers Brewing Group
9. Redhook Ale Brewery
10. Pyramid Breweries Inc.

You can almost taste the freedom.

It was reported that InBev and Anheuser-Busch have come to an agreement to sell AB for $70 / share. About a year ago, I was in Rio de Janeiro drinking in a bar with two friends – Gabe and Marcela. Gabe and I were staying with Marcela, who works for AmBev (the Brazil unit of InBev). She works on Pepsi, but we ran into a bunch of her coworkers who were sales reps for their beer brands, most notably Brahma. Latinos in general are really interested in gringos and were engaging me in conversation. But when they found out I worked for Anheuser-Busch for two years, they went crazy. They told me that AB was in Rio that weekend for talks about InBev buying them. I cried foul. It couldn’t be true.  I had no idea what the truth was, but it just couldn’t be. When I worked for AB, it was the biggest brewery in the world with the most iconic brand. There was no way AB would sell to InBev. I went so far as to proclaim that if AB sold to InBev, I would leave the States. I would move out of America for my career, which had not occurred to me at the time but I said it in all seriousness of someone who had been drinking in Brazil for a week. I looked it up on the Internet that night and learned that, in June 2007, they were in merger talks as opposed to buyout talks. Well, low and behold, things have changed and InBev out-maneuvered AB to put themselves in a position to buy the company outright. But my favorite part of this story is that I made good on my promise months before buyout rumors even started. How’s that for foresight?

Click here to read my blog post I wrote when InBev made the unsolicited offer

Click here for a timeline of the events in InBev’s acquisition of Anheuser-Busch

InBev Buys Anheuser-Busch

BEER

InBev, a Belgium-Brazilian company, has bought Anheuser-Busch for US$52 billion.  The new company, Anheuser-Busch InBev, is now the largest beer brewing company in the world and the third largest consumer products company.  (number one being Proctor and Gamble and second Nestlé).

The assumption is now that Bud will be an international beer.  So how will one ask for a Bud in Portuguese….Budinho?

MEAT

In March of this year JBS, a Brazilian meat processing company, bought Smithfield Foods, the fifth largest meat processing company in the US.  In May, JBS bought Swift & Co, the third largest meat processing company.  Both Smithfield and Smith Co had operations in Australia.  JBS is now the largest meat processing company in the World.

TEXTLES

Santana Textiles of .., the fourth largest producer of denim in the world will build a $180 million plant in Edinburg, TX creating 800 jobs.

LINKS:

> InBev

> Anheuser Bruch

> The Economist’s View on InBev takeover

> JBS

> Santana Textiles (p)

InBev compra Anheuser Busch

La fusión permitirá a la compañía belga volver a ser la mayor productora de cerveza en el mundo.

La principal cervecería estadunidense Anheuser-Busch aceptó ser adquirida por su rival InBev en 52 mil millones de dólares, anunciaron ambas empresas. La fusión permitirá a la compañía belga volver a ser la mayor cervecera del mundo, liderazgo que le arrebató SABMiller.

InBev, fabricante de Stella Artois y Beck’s, acordó pagar 70 dólares en efectivo por acción de Anheuser, la productora de Budweiser, tras ofrecer inicialmente 65 dólares por papel.

La última propuesta representa un premio de 27 por ciento sobre el precio máximo histórico que alcanzaron las acciones de Anheuser, en octubre de 2002

La transacción, que será completada a fin de año, tendrá un efecto neutral sobre las ganancias normalizadas por acción en 2009 y elevará las utilidades a partir de 2010, estimaron ambas compañías.

Otra dimensión del acuerdo proviene de la mayor cervecería de México, Grupo Modelo, en la que Anheuser controla 50 por ciento de las acciones

El presidente ejecutivo de InBev, Carlos Brito -quien liderará la compañía resultante de la fusión bautizada como Anheuser-Busch InBev-, dijo que negocian con el productor de la cerveza Corona y previó que ambas podrían ser “grandes socias”.

El acuerdo, que InBev y analistas esperan que consiga el permiso de los reguladores, sería la transacción en efectivo más grande de la historia, según la firma de estudios Dealogic, y la segunda mayor adquisición extranjera de una empresa de Estados Unidos, de acuerdo a datos de Thomson Reuters

La compañía fusionada tendrá ventas netas anuales por unos 36 mil 400 millones de dólares, un 40 por ciento de las cuales vendrán de Estados Unidos, y producirá un cuarto de la cerveza en el mundo.

Fuente: La Jornada