InBud Deal is Final

InBev completed their takeover of Anheuser-Busch yesterday, and the new company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev. InBev is the contraction of Interbrew and AmBev, the company's last purchase, and the current name lacks none of the poetry of the previous iterations. It is no less lovely than MillerCoors, the spawn begat by SABMiller and MolsonCoors.

The whole thing makes me feel slightly gross. I know a lot of people in the beer industry have certain tender spots for their products, even if they're wholly bland and without character. At the very least, many of the larger plants offer good union jobs. But with the faceless consolidation happening among the mass market brands, it's hard to conclude that the standard tin can American beer is anything more than:



Sad.