AB Inbev buys 4 Pines

[MetalRooster]

http://4pinesbeer.com.au/our-thoughts/joining-abi/

Must say i'm a little gutted. Could be a good thing but the cynic in me says unlikely.

 

[fletcher]

just read the same. 4 pines are a great brewery, and i'm hoping it stays that way. trying to think positive.

 

[mtb]

Hoping for the best but preparing for another Fat Yak..

 

[laxation]

Fortunately for this: https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/whats-in-the-glass.19438/page-435#post-1475043

we can still enjoy their beer

 

[homebrewnewb]

Yes. 4 Pines did treat themselves to a case of Crownies to celebrate.
righto...

 

[BKBrews]

Pretty gutted about this. Surely they were successful enough as it was, to not need to do this for the money? Unless they're trying to step away from the business a little, but even that rings alarm bells for how this pans out.

 

[Mardoo]

Zero surprise. Having sat through a few years of the American acquisitions, any successful brewery will land in the crosshairs.

 

[earle]

Yes. 4 Pines did treat themselves to a case of Crownies to celebrate.
righto...

To reacquaint themselves with what **** beer tastes like

 

[homebrewnewb]

Pretty gutted about this. Surely they were successful enough as it was, to not need to do this for the money? Unless they're trying to step away from the business a little, but even that rings alarm bells for how this pans out.

these are the craft wars my son, market share and al that. matilida bay n carlton, mountain goat and asahi and now this, if you have market share in a market a big guy does not have, guess what, they will throw dollars at you till you come round.

 

[GalBrew]

I predicted this exact event.

 

[manticle]

Hoping for the best but preparing for another Fat Yak..

That suggests fat yak was ever any good.
4 Pines make great beer and hopefully continue to do so under the new banner.

There are some decent beers in the Inbev range (loads of ****** ones too) and I still enjoy Mountain Goat and Little Creatures, despite the big ownership.

 

[mtb]

That suggests fat yak was ever any good

It had some malt backbone before it became a watery hop-flavoured drink.. but yes, it never held a candle to 4 Pines.

 

[manticle]

I haven't tried the hop flavoured one

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Surely they were successful enough as it was, to not need to do this for the money?

AFAIK the majority of 4 Pines brews have been contract made for quite some time*, which says that their sales exceeded their capacity. Possibly they went shopping for a capital injection to increase capacity and that turned into a buyout offer.

* I was at a large brewery a while ago looking at QA systems and 4 Pines pale was coming down the line at the time.

 

[pcqypcqy]

Good on them. They had a good business and managed to cash out and earn a reward for all their hardwork. The owners may have had personal reasons for wanting to get out, or may have simply cashed in. If the beers change for the worse, that will be unfortunate, but we are spoiled for choice so who really cares?

Whenver news like this breaks, people are always up in arms about it crying 'how could they?' I never understand it, they're not doing it for a bunch of crazy beer enthusiasts on the internet. At least not solely.

 

[good4whatAlesU]

Another one bites the dust...

I tried their Stout, but wasn't really a fan. Perhaps AB will improve it.

Others seem to like their beers though, hence the takeover.

 

[Moog]

at yak was a great beer, you obviously never drank it when they first brought it out, must be 7 or 8 years ago now..

 

[earle]

at yak was a great beer, you obviously never drank it when they first brought it out, must be 7 or 8 years ago now..

It was better when it first came out.

Lots of people were trying to clone it back in the day. Not sure we'll ever be saying that about Iron Jack

https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/fat-yak-ag-clone.35586/
https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/fat-yak-k-k-clone.54243/
https://aussiehomebrewer.com/threads/anyone-done-an-ag-fat-yak-clone.40784/

 

[Andy_27]

I just got this email and was pretty ****** at the news. Call me cynical, but there's very few craft breweries that still made good beer after a multinational buy out. At some point, cost cutting takes precedence.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

It's called death by a thousand focus groups.

The bean counters come up with something that is slightly cheaper. This gets put before a focus group which reports no significant difference; the change is made and the slippery slope beckons.