Assuming that the deal completes as expected, today is the day that, for some people, a little bit of the craft-beer dream will die. In a reported £85m deal, AB InBev will take over Camden Town Brewery (CTB), and one of the UK’s leading craft breweries will henceforth be run by the global giant that makes Budweiser.
This sale has, not unexpectedly, caused much angst among the craft cognoscenti, many of whom (particularly those who last year helped CTB crowdfund £2.75m) felt emotionally invested in the company’s David-and-Goliath-type struggle. That struggle ended, amid the usual PR spin about “partnership” and acting in the company’s long-term interests, with Goliath getting his wallet out and making David and his backers very rich.
Is this surprising? No. With its slick branding, rapid expansion and flexible attitude to local provenance (its “Camden” beers are regularly brewed in Belgium)…CONTINUE READING AT THE GUARDIAN
