Tag Archives: AB InBev

AB InBev, Brewery Closures, Craft Breweries, Macro-brewers, Ownership

The De-Platforming of Platform: A Cautionary Tale

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Between 2011 and 2017, in their attempts to corner a share of the burgeoning craft beer market, AB InBev purchased ten American craft breweries. With each acquisition, craft beer drinkers and supporters of locally owned breweries, such as myself, felt a sense of dismay and disappointment. In 2019, AB InBev purchased yet another craft brewery. For me this one hit a little closer to home. Platform Brewing Company was located in my state, Ohio. Platform’s home city of Cleveland is only two hours west of where I live. To the owners of Platform, the acquisition was greeted as a harbinger of so many good things for the brand. Platform would have access to the vast resources of AB InBev, thus allowing them to build their brand, while retaining autonomy in day-to-day decision making – the best of both worlds in other words. Sadly, less than four years after acquiring Platform. AB InBev did the unthinkable – they announced the closure of their Cleveland brewery. To me this was a tremendously sad announcement, not only because of the inevitable job losses, but also because Platform had delivered so much to the Cleveland craft beer scene.

Platform Brewing Company opened its doors on July 2, 2014. The new brewery was located in Cleveland’s vibrant Ohio City neighborhood. As with many other craft breweries across the country it engaged in adaptive reuse, with the brewery moving into an abandoned space that started life in 1915 as a Czechoslovakian social hall, complete with bar and bowling alley.  In an nod to the building’s history, Platform’s owners Paul Benner, Justin Carson, Shaun Yasaki and Greg Benner reclaimed as much of the building’s original floor as they could and used it for bar tops, flooring and signage. They placed a bowling machine close to the taproom’s entrance.

In addition to brewing and selling beer, Platform’s owners had a much more expansive vision for the brewery. Their desire was that it function as a small business incubator for budding home brewers who had a yearning to commercialize their hobby. Four times a year, one lucky individual got the opportunity to work as a brewer’s apprentice at Platform. From designing the recipe, to brewing the beer, and learning about the business side of running a brewery, the brewery aspired to provide a “platform” from which budding commercial brewers could learn.

Platform was also good for the Ohio City neighborhood. Darren Cross, owner of a nearby Cleveland Brew Shop, a home brewing supply store, credited Platform with being “a catalyst for getting the neighborhood going a bit”.

Within a few years of opening Platform was posting impressive growth numbers, and by 2018 was producing 27,000 barrels of beer. In addition to an ever-broadening distribution footprint, Platform opened up taprooms in both Columbus, OH and Cincinnati, OH. Such was Platform’s success, it was soon on the radar of the behemoth that is AB InBev and, in August 2019, the Belgian-based multinational corporation announced the acquisition of Ohio brewery. This was good news (right?), At least it was to one of Platform’s owners Paul Brenner. Commenting upon the acquisition, Benner had this to say:

“In speaking with the other craft brewery founders in Brewers Collective [A-B’s craft brewery arm], we know partnering with Anheuser-Busch means we will have the resources and the autonomy to bring our vision for Platform Beer Co. to life”

Furthermore, according to Benner:

“Being able to continue leading the day-to-day operations was an important factor in our decision and we have no doubt that this partnership will benefit our loyal staff and passionate customer base.”

In short, AB InBev would bring resources to the brand, while also respecting Platform’s autonomy. Surely this would ensure a bright future for the brewery; sadly, it did not.

In announcing the closure of the Cleveland brewery, AB InBev noted that it would continue to produce three beers that had been part of Platform’s portfolio. Interestingly, these are all IPAs – Haze Jude IPA, Odd Future Imperial IPA, and Canalway IPA. AB InBev did not say where these three beers would be produced. Commenting upon the closure one loyal Platform customer, David Sefcik, stated, “It’s just sad. It’s a sad thing that a big company would close something that means so much to the community”. I have to agree with Mr. Sefcik. It is sad, incredibly sad. A brewery that had once been an integral part of Cleveland’s craft beer scene being gutted by the world’s largest brewer, now reduced to three solitary beers.

So, what happened to Platform (and its beers) under AB InBev’s stewardship. In a highly insightful article published on GoodBeerHunting.com, Kate Bernot provides us with some clues. Among other things, Bernot suggests that AB InBev oversaw a decline in the sale of Platform beers in chain retail outlets such as grocery stores. In 2018, before being acquired by AB InBev, Platform produced 28,000 barrels of beer. In 2021, after the acquisition, the brewery’s production levels had dipped to 22,500 barrels. A major issue, according to Bernot, with respect to AB InBev’s oversight of Platform was “Inconsistent sales priorities and changes within ABI’s craft sales force”. One former post-acquisition Platform employee told Bernot, “Sales priorities changed at Platform pretty frequently and it was hard to get a grip on what our goals were” with the result that “sales team often struggled to maintain focus to build particular brands”.

Bernot uses some interesting language to capture AB InBev’s attitude towards Platform. Phrases such as “minor irritation”, “lost in the shuffle”, “a footnote, and left “by the wayside” indicate, to me at least, an owner who was not fit for purpose and negligent in their duty of care. It wasn’t that AB InBev were incapable of making Platform a success in the marketplace. It was quite simply that they did not seem to care enough to do so. Platform was just another brand in its a huge portfolio of 500+ brands; a brand that was both dispensable and expendable.

Craft Breweries, International, Ownership

Defining Craft: Italians Do It Better

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On the website of Amaracord, a craft brewery in the Italian town of Appechio, there is a graphic that proclaims, “Italians Do It Better“. They are, of course, referring to Italian craft beer. Whether Italian craft beer is better than that produced by craft brewers in other countries is, of course, a topic of debate. What I can say is that having visited Italy half-a-dozen times since 2013, the country does produce some excellent craft beer.

My most recent trip to Italy was just last month. I was there to visit the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI) in L’Aquila where I made a presentation on craft beer at a workshop for PhD students and early career researchers. Part of my presentation addressed the issue of how craft breweries and craft beer are defined. Prior to my visit, I did quite a bit of research into the Italian craft beer industry, and discovered some interesting differences between how craft breweries and craft beer are defined in the United States and Italy respectively.

In the United States the generally accepted definition of a craft brewery is that provided by the Brewers Association (BA), a trade group representing the interests of craft brewers. According to the BA, to qualify as a craft, a brewery must meet three conditions:

  • It must be small. Annual production cannot exceed 6 million barrels (7 million hectoliters).
  • It must be independently owned. No more than 25 percent of the brewery can be owned or controlled (or equivalent economic interest) by a beverage alcohol industry member that is not itself a craft brewer.
  • It must brew beer and have a license to do so from The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

This is the definition that is used by most academic researchers, including myself. Its widespread acceptance and usage are also reflective of the fact that there is no legal definition of a craft brewery in the United States.

One of the shortfalls of the BA definition, in my opinion, is that while it defines a craft beer producer (i.e., a brewery), it does not define craft beer. The closest that the BA gets to defining craft beer is that it is “generally made with traditional ingredients like malted barley; interesting and sometimes non-traditional ingredients are often added for distinctiveness“. This leads me to ponder the question – can a large multinational corporation like AB InBev produce craft beer? In the absence of a definition of craft beer, this is a difficult question to answer. It is, as I will show later, an important question.

As I was to discover from my research, the question of defining a craft brewery and craft beer has been addressed by the Italian government. In 2016, Italy’s lawmakers passed legislation that defined a craft brewery as follows:

  • It must be small. Annual production cannot exceed 200,000 hectoliters (169,000 barrels).
  • It must be legally and economically independent.
  • It must be intellectually independent. A brewery cannot operate under license to use the intellectual property rights of others.
  • It must be physically separate from other breweries. Each brewery must have its own distinct production space.

In addition to the above, the 2016 legislation defined two key characteristics of the product, craft beer. To qualify as craft, beer must be both unpasteurized and non-micro-filtered.

For several reasons, the Italian definition of craft brewery and craft beer is superior to what we have in the United States, First, it is a legal definition. Second, it defines the required characteristics of both the brewery and the beer.

While some may not be particularly interested in how craft brewery and craft beer are defined, or whether they are defined at all, I would suggest that having legal definitions of these two concepts is important.

In 2020, Byron Jackson and Mario Mena Jr. filed a class action lawsuit against the brewing giant AB InBev. At the center of the lawsuit was Veza Sur Brewing Co., which is located in Miami, FL. In patronizing the Veza Sur Brewing Co., and drinking their beer, Jackson and Mena Jr. believed that they were drinking craft beer brewed by a craft brewery. Upon discovering that Veza Sur was owned by AB In Bev, they filed a class action lawsuit. As the plaintiffs’ complaint stated:

“Defendants make and sell beer under the name Veza Sur. Veza Sur pretends to be a craft beer made in Miami and with Latin roots. In reality, it is simply another one of the dozens of brands made by the largest brewer in the world, Anheuser-Busch. It has no authentic Latin roots, and is not even made in Miami. Defendants’ misrepresentations have deceived the Plaintiffs who thought they were purchasing a craft beer that was made in Miami by a small brewery”.

For purposes of full disclosure, I was retained by the legal firm (Twig, Trade, & Tribunal) representing the plaintiffs as an expert witness in this case. In August 2021, the lawsuit was dismissed by U.S. district court judge in Miami, FL. In other words, it never went to trial.

In dismissing the case, Judge Beth Bloom stated that the “Brewer’s Association’s definition of craft beer is but one definition of a term that is otherwise widely used and well known in day-to-day conversation. However, what a certain individual might determine to qualify as “craft” beer is necessarily a subjective one, depending on the individual’s tastes and interests.”

Judge Bloom’s statement was recognition of the fact that there is no legal definition of what constitutes either a craft brewery or craft beer. Of course, the definitional issue was only one aspect of this lawsuit. And so, even if there was a legal definition of craft brewery and/or craft beer in the United States, this would not have guaranteed a successful outcome for the plaintiffs. Indeed, if you read Judge Bloom’s opinion, it is unlikely that a legal definition of craft brewery and/or craft beer would have resulted in a positive outcome for the plaintiffs.

While a legal definition of craft brewery and/or craft beer may not have helped the plaintiffs in their case against AB InBev, it did get me thinking about the issue of having a legal definition of either or both of these. If a legal definition did exist, as it does in Italy, it would certainly un-muddy what are currently some very muddy waters. For example, is Shock Top, a Belgian Wheat beer brewed by Anheuser Busch, a craft beer? Can a multinational corporation produce craft beer? Is Space Dust IPA, brewed by Elysian Brewing Company a craft beer? Is Elysian a craft brewery. Elysian Brewing Company was established in 1995 in Seattle, WA by Dave Buhler, Joe Bisacca, and Dick Cantwell. In 2015, AB InBev purchased Elysian Brewing Company, with the result that the latter lost its status as a craft brewery with the Brewers Association. All the above questions, in the absence of a legal definition, are difficult to answer.

While I was at Rome Airport, waiting to board my bus to L’Aquila, I decided to have a beer. I opted for a beer called Birra ichnusa. From its label, it looks like a craft beer. It is also unfiltered. Brewed on the Italian island of Sardinia, Birra Inchusa has been around since 1912. Despite its appearance (on at least three criteria), it does not meet the Italian government’s definition of a craft beer. First, since 1986, the brewery has been owned by Heineken. Second, the brewery produces over 400,000 hectoliters of beer annually (making it too large to qualify as craft). Third, the beer is pasteurized.

I enjoyed a Birra Ichnusa at Rome Airport while waiting for my bus to L’Aquila

Whether we will ever have a legal definition of craft brewery and craft beer in the United States, I have no idea. If we did it would certainly bring clarity to a very unclear situation.

Marketing, Ownership

Purchasing Authenticity

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Back in May, the Wall Street Journal ran an article about Grimbergen Abbey in Belgium. Like many European abbeys, Grimbergen, located in Brussels’ northern outskirts, has a long and storied history of brewing beer. It is not an unbroken history, however. The abbey’s first beer was brewed by Grimbergen’s Norbentine monks in 1128. Periods of unrest meant that brewing ceased three times during the abbey’s history, with the most recent occurring during the French Revolution (1789-1799). After the Revolution, brewing never returned to the abbey. and, in the middle of the twentieth century, the monks licensed the brand to a local Belgian brewery, Brouwerij Maes . In 2008, such was Grimbergen’s success, the brand name was purchased by the Danish brewing giant Carlsberg. And it was Carlsberg who made the decision that Grimbergen should once again be brewed at the abbey. With Carlsberg money, a new 10,000 square foot state-of-the art brewery has been constructed to bring brewing back to Grimbergen.

As I read the Wall Street Journal article, one sentence stood out and hit me squarely in the eye – “The resurrection has furnished its sponsor, Carlsberg, with its own kind of holy grail: unique and authentic brews.” In particular, it was the adjective authentic that struck me as an interesting choice. Earlier this year, I published a book chapter which I titled “Craft Beer Tourism: The Search for Authenticity, Diversity, and Great Beer“. In researching material for that chapter I read quite a bit about the concepts of authentic/authenticity.

To better understand the meaning of any word, a good place to start is a dictionary. Perusing online dictionaries reveals the following definitions of authentic – “not false or imitation“, “being what it is claimed to be“, and “not false or copied“.

But what about consumers? How do they perceive and define authenticity? In a paper published in the journal Organization Science in 2014, Balazs Kovacs, Glenn Carroll, and David Lehman, explored how the ownership structure of restaurants impacted consumer views of authenticity. Interestingly, the first step in their study was to survey consumers and identify both synonyms and antonyms that consumers associated with the adjective authentic. Consumer-identified synonyms for authentic included genuine, real, and legitimate, while antonyms included false, phony, and scam.

For a growing number of consumers, authenticity appears to be increasingly valued. Indeed, according to B. Joseph Pine and James H. Gilmore, in their 2007 book Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, “in industry after industry, in customer after customer, authenticity has overtaken quality as the prevailing purchasing criterion.” When it comes to authenticity it seems that ownership of the company producing the product or providing the service matters. Analyzing the language used by restaurant patrons in 1.2 million reviews of over 18,000 restaurants on the Yelp platform in three cities – Los Angeles, New York, and Dallas – Balazs and his colleagues found that consumers perceived independent, family-owned restaurants as being more authentic than chain, non-family-owned restaurants. In other words, when it comes to authenticity, ownership matters.

The relationship between ownership and authenticity has been something of a thorny issue for several decades within the world of brewing. Those of you who are craft beer enthusiasts have probably sampled one of the wonderful beers brewed by Trappist monks in one of their fourteen abbeys in Europe and the United States. Trappist beers are considered among the best in the world. For example, Westvleteren 12 XII, a Belgian Quad brewed at the Sint-Sixtus Abbey in Westvleteren in Belgium was recently rated the third best beer in the world by reviewers at RateBeer.com. Such has been the popularity and high quality of Trappist beers over the decades, other breweries started to brand and market some of their beers as “Abbey Ales”. One example of such an “Abbey Ale” is Leffe, which is brewed by the global behemoth AB InBev. While once brewed by monks at the Abbey of Leffe, today the beer is brewed at the Stella Artois Brewery in Leuven, Belgium. Mass produced “Abbey” Ales attempted to cash in on the popularity of Trappist beers. They did so by utilizing images that suggested a monastic connection, such as an image of an abbey or a monk drinking beer.

The Leffe label includes an image of an abbey

As noted by Michael Beverland and his colleagues in a 2008 paper published in the Journal of Advertising, the breweries who marketed these beers “successfully positioned their products as Trappist-styled products through subtle marketing and use of imagery, color cues, and font styles to suggest authenticity.”

Not surprisingly, the Trappists felt threatened by the growing number of “Abbey Ales” that seemed to be causing confusion among beer drinkers. As a result, they took steps to mitigate the confusion. In 1998, to protect the authenticity of their product, the Trappists established the International Trappist Association (ITA) and trademarked “Trappist”. According to the ITA website, the Association was established to “inform consumers of the origin and authenticity of Trappist products with no ambiguity.” In addition, the intent of the Association is to protect ” the fundamental values associated with every Trappist product” and to ensure that “the Trappist name is not used improperly” and “does not mislead anyone”. Only beers made within the walls of a member abbey may carry the “Authentic Trappist Product” label.

The “Authentic Trappist Product” seal on the label of a bottle of Trappist Ale brewed at Saint Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, MA

In some respects, the “Authentic Trappist Product” label is similar to the “Independent Craft” seal” that was launched by the Brewers Association in 2017. This label can only be used by authentic craft breweries. The creation of the Independent Craft seal was driven by similar developments that had necessitated the creation of the Authentic Trappist Product label. As a result of the emergence of “crafty” beers (think Blue Moon) and the purchase of craft breweries by mega-breweries (think AB InBev’s purchase of Goose Island Beer Co.), there was increasing confusion in the marketplace as to which beers were brewed by an authentic craft brewery and which were made by a brewery owned by AB InBev, Heineken, etc. Between, 2011 and 2017, AB InBev purchased ten craft breweries in the United States, including Goose Island Beer Co. in Chicago, Il (purchased 2011), Four Peaks Brewing Co. of Tempe, AZ (2015), and Wicked Weed Brewing of Asheville, NC (2017). Other former craft breweries purchased by large multinational brewing companies include Lagunitas Brewing Company of Petaluma, CA which was purchased by Heineken in 2015 and Atwater Brewery of Detroit, MI which was purchased by Molson Coors in 2020.

The Independent Craft seal on display at Sun King Brewing in Indianapolis, IN

Multinational giants such as AB InBev purchase craft breweries because it is the most straightforward route to gain a foothold in the lucrative craft beer market. They are, in effect trying, to purchase the authenticity that is associated with craft breweries. This was made quite apparent by Andy Goeler who worked for AB InBev and was assigned to Goose Island after its acquisition. According to Mr. Goeler, “we bought Goose Island for what Goose Island was: authentic, very credible”.

Why do companies value being able to promote their products as authentic. According to Kovacs and his colleagues in the aforementioned article “many modern organization go to great lengths to project an image of authenticity, believing that it will create value” for them. In other words, authenticity, or the appearance of authenticity, sells. With respect to beer, a 2018 study by Jarret Hart in the Journal of Wine Economics found that consumers were willing to pay between $0.72 and $1.04 more for a pint of beer produced by an independently-owned craft brewery than one produced by a “craft brewery” that was owned by corporate breweries such as AB InBev.

Ownership, and transparency regarding ownership, matters. Unfortunately, large multinational brewers are not always transparent when it comes to ownership. This is why labels such as “Authentic Trappist Product” and “Independent Craft” are necessary. They help consumers distinguish the authentic from the inauthentic. As stated by Michael Beverland and his colleagues in the aforementioned 2008 study, “identifying a product as authentic” helps “consumers gain control over their consumption decisions”.

Further Reading:

Beverland, Michael B., Adam Lindgreen, and Michiel W. Vink. 2008. Projecting authenticity through advertising: Consumer judgments of advertisers’ claims. Journal of Advertising, Volume 37, Issue 1, pp. 5–15.

Hart, Jarret. 2018. Drink beer for science: An experiment on consumer preferences for local craft beer. Journal of Wine Economics, Colume13, Issue 4, pp. 429–441.

Kovacs, Balazs, Glenn R. Carroll, and David W. Lehman. 2014. Authenticity and Consumer Value Ratings: Empirical Tests from the Restaurant Domain. Organization Science, Volume 25, Issue 2, pp. 458-478.

History, Macro-brewers

Folds of Honor

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I was in my local Kroger supermarket the other week. As I made my way down the beer aisle, a carefully placed display of beer caught my eye. I usually don’t pay too much attention to the beer selection at Kroger; it does not change much and I pretty much know what they have. But what caught my attention on this particular occasion was a display of a beer named Freedom Reserve Red Lager.

Freedom Reserve Red Lager on sale at my local Kroger

Freedom Reserve Lager is a new beer produced by the brewing giant, AB InBev. Released in May 2018, it is the second beer in AB InBev’s Reserve Collection. The first in the collection, released in October 2017, was the limited-edition 1933 Repeal Reserve Amber Lager. Freedom Reserve Lager is inspired by a 1757 recipe for beer that was hand-penned by George Washington.

As I reached the display, I reached down, grabbed a six-pack, and put it in my cart. Why did I, someone who normally buys beer brewed in small-scale, independently-owned, craft breweries, purchase a beer brewed by a large multinational brewer? It wasn’t because I anticipated that this beer would be particularly good. In fact, I expected to be quite underwhelmed by it. No, I bought it because on the side of the six-pack carton it noted that for every case of this beer purchased, AB InBev donate one dollar to Folds of Honor.

Freedom Reserve Red Lager bottle cap

You see, I am huge supporter of the U.S. military. I am highly appreciative of the men and women who serve our country; and of their families who sacrifice in different ways, but in equal measure.  Folds of Honor is a not-for-profit organization, which provides “educational scholarships to spouses and children of America’s fallen and disabled service-members.” During the calendar year 2016, Folds of Honor scholarships totaled almost twelve million dollars. So knowing that twenty-five cents of my beer purchase was going to such a worthy cause was enough to make me part with some of my money.

The name, Folds of Honor, refers to the process of folding an American flag. It is a process that is ingrained with tradition and respect. A properly-folded American flag has thirteen folds – each one representing the thirteen original colonies. According to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum:

”when the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, representing the soldiers who served under George Washington, the sailors and marines who served under John Paul Jones, and the many who have followed in their footsteps.”

In addition to partnering with Folds of Honor, AB InBev have a number of other initiatives and programs that support our veterans. Since 1987, Anheuser-Busch have donated close to $11 million to military charities including USO, Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, Hispanic War Veterans of America,  and the Korean War and Vietnam War Memorials. They also helped found the U.S. Military Sports Association, an organization that has donated over eighteen thousand pieces of sports equipment to U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A bottle of Freedom Reserve Red Lager

The men and women of Anheuser-Busch have also stepped up and served in the trenches, so to speak. Since World War I, more than 5,500 Anheuser-Busch employees have served in a variety of U.S. military campaigns. After serving their country, many of had the opportunity to return to work with Anheuser-Busch. Indeed, Freedom Reserve Red Lager is brewed by brewers who themselves are veterans. Anhesuer-Busch’s military connections date back to the Civil War, when both of the company’s co-fonders Adolphus Busch  and  Eberhard Anheuser enlisted in the Union Army’s home guard, which was stationed in St. Louis, MO.

As to the ‘quality’ of Freedom Reserve Red Lager, I will not comment. I rarely do. Taste, in my opinion, is such a personal thing. What I, or others for that matter, think of the beer is irrelevant. Taste it for yourself – you decide whether it is ‘good’ beer or not.

International

Imagined in India

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I just returned from four days in Goa, India. I went there to attend the 12th World Congress of the Regional Science Association International (RSAI). This was my first visit to India. It’s a big country, of course, no matter which measure you use. Its population is 1.3 billion (only China has more). It is 1.2 million square miles (3.2 million square kilometers), making it the seventh largest country in terms of land area. With a nominal GDP of $2.85 trillion, it is the world’s seventh largest economy.

In land area, Goa is India’s smallest state. It is located in the southwest of the country, with the Arabian Sea forming its western border. Despite its small size, it has the highest GDP per capita of any Indian state, while ranking fifth in terms of literacy rates. Being on the Arabian Sea, Goa has some stunning beaches. My hotel, the Park Hyatt Resort and Spa, had direct beach access. Add to that an open air beachside restaurant and bar, and I had the ideal spot to enjoy some Indian beers.

The beachside restaurant/bar at the Park Hyatt was the perfect spot to enjoy some Indian beer

Per capita beer consumption in India is relatively low – 5.1 liters per capita. This compares with per capita beer consumption of 74.9 liters in the United States. Indian per capita consumption even compares unfavorably with its regional neighbors – across Asia, average annual per capita beer consumption is 20.9 liters. Having said that, the Indian beer market is posituined for growth; an average annual growth of 6.9% is forecast for the 2018-2022 period.

Per Capita Beer Consumption in Liters in Selected Asian Countries. Source: BMI

Not surprisingly, beer sales in India are dominated by large multinational brewers – United Breweries (44.1% market share in 2016), AB InBev (24.6%), and Carlsberg (16.9%)  control close to eighty five percent of the Indian beer market. Heineken own a forty-four percent share in United Breweries and, at the time of writing, are poised to increase their share to fifty-eight percent.

Budweiser is becoming increasingly popular among Indian beer drinkers. Budweiser first appeared in the Indian market in 2007. Today, it has a five percent market share; up from one percent in 2011. Budweiser is aggressively marketed as a premium lager, targeted at India’s urban Millennials. AB InBev’s 2016 acquisition of SABMiller will help it expand Budweiser’s reach in India. In acquiring SABMiller, AB InBev acquired ownership of  the extensive brewery and distribution network SABMiller established in India. With the mature markets in North America and Europe offering little prospect for growth, multinationals such as AB InBev and Heineken turn their attention to developing markets such as India.

In addition to Budweiser, Indians are acquiring a taste for craft beer. Unlike the United States, however, where IPAs are the most popular style of craft beer, the Indian craft beer consumers prefers lighter, less bitter styles; wheat based ales, particularly German-style Hefeweizens and Belgian Wits, are especially popular. One of the craft beers that is making big headlines in India is Bira 91. The brand was launched in 2015, by Indian entrepreneur Ankur Jain. Jain had become familiar with craft beer while living in New York for ten years. When he returned to his native New Delhi, he started Bira 91. Unable to find a brewery in India which could meet his exacting brewing  standards, Jain contracted production to a brewery in Belgium. Because the beer was not brewed in India, the label on the bottle read “Imagined in India”. Such was the success of  Bira 91 that, by 2016, it was being brewed in India. In 2017, Bira 91 opened a second brewery in India, and a third is planned for 2018. Jain is ambitious and in addition to Bira 91’s Indian breweries, he hopes to open one in the United States. The ‘91’ in the name refers to the international dialing code for India. I enjoyed both Bira 91’s Blonde Lager and White Ale several times during my stay in Goa.

Despite now being brewed in India, Bira 91 bottles still carry the “Imagined in India” label

Imported and craft beer are proving popular among India’s growing middle class, particularly those who have traveled internationally. As Indian consumers are exposed to international tastes and trends, they return home and aspire to mimick some of the consumer behaviors they have witnessed.

In addition to the Bira 91, mentioned above, I sampled a number of other beers while in India. I arrived at hotel at 3am. After registering, I had anticipated on going straight to my room, Before I could do so, however, one of the hotel staff members offered me a complimentary welcome beer. I am sure that, after being in airports and on planes for the best part of twenty-four hours, he probably realized that a cold beer was just what I wanted. Surprisingly, the beer he offered me was not a standard Indian lager, such as Kingfisher, but was a Witbier called Jungle Wheat. Jungle Wheat is one of four beers brewed by Simba Beer. Simba is owned by Sona Beverages. Sony Beverages was established in 2006, as a franchisee of SAB Miller. Its brewery is located in the city of Durg, in east-central India. So whether my Jungle Wheat is a craft beer or, because of its connection with SAB Miller, is one of those “crafty” beers I’ll leave that for you to debate. All I will say is that, after a long journey, it tasted damn good.

Jungle Wheat from Simba Beer

Another beer I tried was Goa King’s Pilsner. Up until, 2015 Goa King’s beers (then just called King’s) were only available in Goa. It’s geographic exclusivity was part of its appeal. In 2015, the King’s brand was acquired by Vikiing  Ventures. In addition to changing its name, the new owner expanded distibution of Goa King’s, thus makimg available in cities such as Mumbai and New Dehli.

India’s most popular beer brand is Kingfisher. When I told friends that I would be visiting India, many made mention of Kingfisher. Brewed by United Breweries, Kingfisher has been losing market share recently. Still, it is the country’s most ubiquitous beer brand. Kingfisher premium lager, of which I had quite a few while in Goa, is a standard lager, which proved quite refreshing under the hot Indian sun.

So that was my first visit to India. I was only there for four days and only saw one tiny corner of this vast country. But I saw enough, and was sufficiently captivated by the friendliness of the people I met, that I hope that I have an opportunity to return some day.

My visit also marked something of a milestone in my world travels; as it was the fortieth country/territory that I have visited in my lifetime. Later this  year, I will add two other countries to that list – Switzerland and Liechtenstein. I look forward to seeing what beers those two have to offer.

Further Reading:

Knoth, Michael and Jonas Björn Borrit. 2014. The Indian beer market: The next “China” or a hyped market with little future growth? Scandinavian Brewers’ Review, Volume 72, Number 2, pp. 10-14.

Craft Beer, Festivals, International

A Pint of Science

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Earlier this week, I spent a couple of days in L’Aquila, Italy. I was there as a guest of the Gran Sasso Science Institute (GSSI), who had invited me to give a couple of talks. This was my second visit to L’Aquila. I had been there in September 2017, also as a guest of GSSI. To get to L’Aquila, you fly into Rome, and then travel by bus for two hours. L’Aquila has a population of approximately seventy thousand people. It is an interesting town for a number of reasons, one of which is the fact that it is earthquake prone. The most recent earthquake, on April 6, 2009, registered a 6.3 on the Richter scale and killed 308 people. Its impact is still visible throughout this picturesque Italian town. Since my last visit in September, however, I noticed visible signs of progress – buildings that had been empty were now inhabited and in use, while others were closer to being so.

The damage caused by the 2009 earthquake is still visible in L’Aquila

The purpose of my visit this time was to give two lectures – one to this year’s cohort of GSSI doctoral students in Regional Science and Urban Studies, and one to members of the general public as part of the Pint of Science Festival that was taking place in town.

My presentation to the GSSI students focused on the theme of consolidation and fragmentation in the global brewing industry. Both processes are impacting the industry simultaneously. For example, the October 2016, $106 billion acquisition of SABMiller by AB InBev resulted in an industry that is considerably more consolidated at the global scale. At the same time, at the local scale, the industry becomes more fragmented every time a new craft brewery opens it doors.

My presentation at GSSI was in the afternoon. In the evening, I was back at the podium again. This time the audience took on a very different composition – it was the good citizens of L’Aquila. The town had been chosen as one of the venues for the three-day Pint of Science Festival; a festival at which that scientists present their research to members of the general public in the informal setting of a bar/pub.

Pint of Science was started in 2012 by Dr. Praveen Paul and Dr. Michael Motskin, two research scientists at Imperial College in London, UK. At the time, Paul and Motskin were post doctoral researchers working on motor neuron and Parkinson’s disease respectively. While working in London, Paul and Motskin organized a “Meet the Researchers” event, in which they invited individuals impacted by the disease (both those with the disease and their families) to their laboratories to see, first hand, the research in which they were engaged. It was a huge success, and very quickly the idea of taking scientific research to the people emerged – hence, a Pint of Science was born.

According to the Pint of Science website:

“The Pint of Science festival aims to deliver interesting and relevant talks on the latest science research in an accessible format to the public – mainly across bars and pubs. We want to provide a platform which allows people to discuss research with the people who carry it out and no prior knowledge of the subject is required.”

In 2018, Pint of Science Festivals were held in over 260 cities, across twenty-one countries. In Italy, twenty cities hosted Pint of Science events. All Pint of Science events across the world were held on the same three days – May 14-16.  Three venues hosted the events in L’Aquila. Over the three days, in L’Aquila, a total of sixteen lectures were presented. The topics were wide ranging, and included Chasing Gravitational Waves, Who’s Afraid of Social Media, and Living Together: From Municipalities to Cohousing and Beyond. My own lecture was titled Making Your Beer Great Again.

The Pint of Science Festival in L’Aquila covered a wide range of topics

The venue for my lecture was Fratelli Il Bacaro, which describes itself as:

”a Venetian tavern with a wide selection of wines by the glass and small snacks, a few seats and . . .  a place where dishes from the local and Italian culinary tradition are also served . . . a place to make culture, where young singers and musicians, who want to express themselves and grow through music, alternate with great artists.”

My lecture started at 9:30pm. The venue was cozy, and comfortably full with somewhere between thirty-five and forty people. Recognizing that the audience’s knowledge of English was probably highly variable, my colleague Giulia Pezzi had translated my entire Power Point presentation into Italian. I covered five themes in my lecture:

  • The rise of large breweries and the homogenization of beer
  • The emergence of home brewing and the rise of craft breweries
  • The craft beer drinker and what attracts him/her to craft beer
  • The craft brewery as a unique drinking space
  • The geography of craft breweries

While most of my material came from the United States, I did incorporate some examples from Europe. The talk seemed to go well, and the audience appeared engaged. After I had finished, audience members were invited to ask questions. There were six or seven questions, and I was really impressed with their overall thoughtfulness and insightfulness.

My participation in L’Aquila’s Pint of Science Festival did garner some attention in the Italian press, including a mention in La Repubblica, one of the country’s most influential daily newspapers. The local L’Aquila website, NewsTown, also covered my visit.  I was also interviewed by Fabio Iuliano, who runs the website virtuquotidiane.it.  Fabio’s interview touched on a number of interesting issues, including the reasons behind the success of craft brewing in the United States, and status of craft beer in Italy. He also noted that Bob Dylan was a recent co-investor in a craft whiskey distiller, Heaven’s Door. Fabio was interested in the similarities behind craft distilling and craft brewing industries. Fabio’s final question had to do with the President of the United States, Donald Trump. He wanted to know if the title of my lecture, “Making Your Beer Great Again” had been inspired by President Trump”s slogan “Make America Great Again”. I explained that while my presentation’s title was a clear nod to the President’s slogan, it was not intended as a political statement; I was simply having a little fun with my title. As I reflected on my interview with Fabio, I must admit that I had not anticipated being asked about Bob Dylan and President Trump in an interview about craft beer.

So that was my trip to L’Aquila. I had a wonderful visit and was, yet again, overwhelmed by the generosity of my Italian hosts. Fortunately, it will not be long before I am back in L’Aquila. I will be there in early July to participate in a workshop on “The Geography of Craft Beer Brewing and Consumption: Local Entrepreneurialism and Tourism Development”, an event that I am co-organizing with my Italian colleagues, Alessandra Faggian and Giulia Pezzi.

Until then, Saluti!

My colleague, Giulia Pezzi, introducing my lecture at A Pint of Science

There was a nice sized crowd at my Pint of Science lecture

Further Reading:

Paul, Praveen and Michael Motskin. Engaging the Public with Your Research. Trends In Immunology, Volume 37, Number 4, pp. 268-271.

Ownership, Trends

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Jim Clark, one of my Formula 1 heros

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Craft Beer, Marketing, Trends

Last Call?

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