Take a quick look at how much gas we use in America versus the rest of the world – EVERY SINGLE DAY. Amazing.
World Oil Consumption 2009
“With less than 5% of the world’s population, the US consumes 25% of the world’s oil production.“
With all the mergers of big companies, it’s important to remember ones that are…closer to our hearts, that’s right, beer. Today, Anheuser-Busch buys Rolling Rock beer brand, solidifying their stand as the biggest brewer in the world. ”Anheuser-Busch, the largest U.S. brewer, said Friday that it has purchased the Rolling Rock beer brand from Belgium’s InBev for $82 million to expand its portfolio of products. Anheuser-Busch acquired Rolling Rock’s global brand rights and recipes and will begin brewing Rolling Rock and Rock Green Light in August. … Anheuser-Busch’s press release says: “Introduced in 1939 by Latrobe Brewing Co. and acquired by InBev’s Labatt U.S.A. in 1987, Rolling Rock is an historic American lager that is well-known for its distinctive, full-bodied taste and painted green bottle. Rolling Rock has established itself as an authentic, iconic American lager with a loyal following.” … “We have an ideal opportunity to grow this historic brand,” said August Busch IV, president of Anheuser-Busch. “This beer is not like others, and its consumer following is equally distinctive. We live in a diverse world where consumers are hungry for variety. Acquiring Rolling Rock enables us to reach a new audience.” Uh huh, whatever you say. As for this diverse world, know that the major choices are pointing more and more to the Saint Louis brewer, ”Anheuser-Busch’s main brands are Budweiser and Bud Light. The company also owns owns a 50% share in Grupo Modelo, Mexico’s leading brewer and a 27% share in Tsingtao, the No. 1 brewer in China.” When I was younger I liked Rolling Rock, used to think the green bottle was pretty cool with the ‘painted on’ label, but it’s actually pretty bad when compared to micro-brews and good European beers.
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Commentary: AB sold to InBev
Where there's Life...there's Bud!
NOTE: As a St. Louis native, I was asked to comment on the sale of local St. Louis brewer Anheuser-Busch to European beverage conglomerate InBev. The following are my comments from the thread.
A couple of things here, AB has been a big STL employer for years sure, but just because they’re big doesn’t mean they’re good. Look at other big employers here; Boeing, AG Edwards and now AB – while they’re headquartered here, they’re not much more than bragging rights for St Louisans – just because they’re based here, they’re far from ‘local’. They’re all multi-national corporations which means the money is a) not staying here and b) is fluid, ready to be munched up by the next corporation up the chain, which leaves the employees as a line item – so much for loyalty. So why should a local market worry about a corporation that doesn’t care about them?