Chicago craft breweries are reacting to the announced merger of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, and some caution the likelihood of the newly merged company holding a monopoly over the beer industry.
“A lot of the places throughout the city restaurants and bar-wise, it’s hard to find a place anymore that doesn’t have a good local selection of breweries on tap, which in my opinion is a great thing. So I think the merger thing kind of maybe gets some people nervous,” said Adam Cieslak, brewer and co-founder of Maplewood Brewery & Distillery, in Bucktown.
On Oct. 13th, the $106 billion takeover of SABMiller Plc by Anheuser-Busch InBev was publicly announced along with InBev’s plans to sell $55 billion in bonds to help finance the takeover. In the wake of this
…show more content…
“It will definitely impact our business. It is designed to wash out the smaller beer companies. Because what’s happening is they’ve created a giant monopoly.”
“The U.S. Justice Department is probing allegations that Anheuser-Busch InBev is seeking to curb competition in the beer market by buying distributors, making it harder for fast-growing craft brewers to get their products on store shelves, according to three people familiar with the matter,” according to Reuters.com, who have secured an exclusive interview.
In the USA, there exists the three tier system, an alcohol distribution system created after the repeal of Prohibition. Designed to ensure product control and give the government a form of control over the industry as well as revenue from taxes, the system separates producers, distributors, and retailers. However, some craft breweries are concerned that the system is not enough to give them a level playing field against big businesses like InBev, and may in fact be working in the big businesses’