Super Bowl Beer Boycott
Nothing could be more American than kicking back at a Super Bowl party with good friends and cold Buds -- at least until this Super Bowl.
A few months ago, Belgian brewer InBev bought Anheuser Bush. Things have changed -- and not for the better, so says a protest group calling itself the Belgweiser Rebellion.
"They're using an American icon to exploit the market. They're putting the squeeze on bars big to stock only their brands," says Rebellion leader John Patrick Gallagher, a.k.a. "Col. Patton Lee Beuagus."
"It's just plain wrong that you can't drink the beers you want anymore at your local bar."
Gallagher thinks its "patently bogus" that the company fired 1,400 Anheuser Bush workers after promising no layoffs -- and his troops are especially enraged that the company ended the long-standing tradition of free beer tastings at Busch Gardens and Sea World.
"Shamu just isn't the same without a free beer!"
You might laugh at the Colonel's machinations, but if American history has taught us anything its that beverage politics count.
When the British imposed a tax on our forefather's primary source of caffeine -- Tea -- it prompted a little riot better known as the Boston Tea Party. And at the heart of that rebellion was Samuel Adams -- the namesake of one of America's great breweries.
Now, Gallagher is calling on fellow Americans to kick back with a nice cool Sam Adams this Sunday. I called St. Louis to try to get a comment from Anheuser Bush. No one returned my call. Maybe I should have phoned Belgium.
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Related:
- Official Belgweister Rebellion Website
- 'What Beer Should I Serve at My Superbowl Party?
- Weird Protests
- Drinking Tales
Photo © John Patrick Gallagher
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Comments
I’ve been staging a very informal boycott of Budweiser for years now.
Course, my protest is mostly because other beers taste better.
It’s been fascinating to watch American beer drinkers get worked up about the takeover of AB by Inbev. Why didn’t the acquisition of Miller or Coors by foreign companies whip up the same passions?
Sam Adams is a nice alternative as it’s now the largest beer owned and brewed by an American owned company. But I always encourage people to bring it even closer to home. Buy from the regional brewer in your area that doesn’t distribute nationwide or, even better, head down to your local brewpub for a growler or two of fresh ale before the game.
I believe in this cause.. Forthright..
How can “this bud for you” be in the interest of anyone since they laid off so many workers.. No Buds in my house on Sunday.
This is all stupid!! Just stop selling beer and the whole stinken world would be better off!!!!!