Dive Brief:
- Anheuser-Busch InBev has purchased 10 Barrel Brewing Co., a craft brewer based in Bend, OR.
- Terms of the deal, which also gives AB InBev control of a new brew pub in Portland, were not released. 10 Barrel has said it expects to sell 40,000 barrels of beer this year, up from 23,500 last year.
- The purchase comes eight months after AB InBev bought craft brewer Blue Point.
Dive Insight:
If social media is any indication - and it most certainly is - AB InBev may have some difficulty in winning over fans of 10 Barrel. News of the sale filled the brewery's Facebook page with outrage.
And therein is the challenge for the major brewers. The craft craze is based in emotion. People tend to get attached to craft beers, and choosing to drink a craft beer is a key factor in how such people identify themselves, i.e., they are not Budweiser drinkers.