Just saw this on FB: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=356551441067914&id=106217596101301. Never heard of Calfkiller Brewing, but I'm now ISO. http://www.calfkillerbeer.com
Pretty sweet rant hope it works out for Calfkiller ....Speaking of stealing… “King of Beers” they stole that from a German beer company many many moons ago. ha.
I think he is referencing a certain Czech brewery by the name of Budweiser whose slogan is "the beer of kings".
A lesson for all you BMC/macro defenders on this site. Shit beer, shit attitude, bullying shit people. Going to have to get me some Calfkiller beer. And I've been looking for a perfect beer match for my home made t-bone veal cutlets for years too. Talk about timing.
No need to be sorry for being wrong It is a long history thing, the beers from Budejovice were called "beer of kings", the area was known in Germany as Budweis. I remember when I studied abroad there in 97 that the slogan was around and on bottles quite often. Apparently, not 100% on this, more recently budweiser (american) won a law suit over that as well. So Budweiser from Czech is called Czechvar outside of Czech and cannot use "beer of kings" can find lots of info on the good ole net, oxford companion to beer, google books etc... I remember during my MBA we did a case study on Budweiser (czech) and Budweiser (american), interesting stuff. spoiler alert: the big guy with all the money wins
Budweiser Buergerbraeu formed an alliance with AB, not Budějovický Budvar. Buergerbraeu also holds rights to the Budweiser name, apparently, which is why AB formed an alliance with them: to put extra pressure on Budějovický Budvar (which markets their beer as Czechvar in the US). More reason to be pissed at AB....
Here's an article that backs you up: http://www.wweek.com/portland/article-1056-the_king_of_beers_vs_the_beer_of_kings.html Re Tuborg, I see on the web that's it's slogan was The Beer of Danish Kings. I don't remember seeing "Danish" on the label back in the 70s and I thought it was a direct shot at Bud.
I believe gatornation is referring to this back in 2007: Anheuser-Busch and Czech Brewer Budejovicky Budvar Form Historic Alliance in U.S. MarketCzechvar Beer to Gain Access to Anheuser-Busch’s Marketing, Sales Resources and Wholesaler Network ___ Czechvar is imported by the AB-I "Import Brands Alliance" division in the US, and in most markets is distributed through the A-B wholesale distribution network.
I had a 1L glass of Budvar after my high school graduation in a beer garden in Vienna Austria back in June of 1969.
Too cool. I had a quart of Coors and some Mad Dog 20/20 in the back seat of a Chrysler, after mine in '71.
Anyone genuinely ISO Calfkiller, let me know... They are draft only, but I think Trail Mix Ale, Wizard Sauce, and Serio's Ole Devil Ass are available for growler fills at this time., maybe Recluse Brown also... I could check if you send me a BM offering tasty locals (or of course DL '12 is welcome also )
This has gone WAY OT, but to the OP, this is ironic, considering I have photos documenting kegs owned by MIP Brewing in MI that were retagged with Bud logos (which means they were refilled and resold) that MIP had to BUY BACK from a reclamation company...
I hope bud loses this one. I may drink their beer occasionally but I do not agree with their company morals one bit. That goes for miller coors as well.
but that's not what the rant actually says: "After researching, and talking with St. Louis. St. Louis said "we know nothing about this". Calfkiller figured as much. Plus after 5 phone calls not returned it was pretty obvious it was on the local scale, and the So Called "King of Beers" had little if anything to do with it." The problem is apparently with the independent AB houses in TN.
This ain't a beer story this is a "this is how businesses in America co-exist while battling each other in pursuit of market dominance, and while praying to the all forgiving dual gods of greed and capitalism" story.
The distributor in question is apparently AB of Clarksville, TN. From what I hear (thirdhand), the distributor claims the kegs are stolen because they aren't etched as void over the AB logos. Apparently some other stuff being spread around, but not gonna get into that. That being said, a friend who has met the Sergio brothers (and is in the beer biz) speaks quite highly of them.
Yeah, I know. I'm just willing to piss in ABI's pocket when I can. And still, it's an ABI representative, and well.......
Were the kegs empty? I think calf killer needs to get the police involved. If kegs were full then it sounds to me that they stole not only from the bar the beer was in but the brewery also. There are so many kegs out there it is ridiculous. The burden of proof lies with them in proving those were " stolen" At this point the only theft that has occurred was CALFKILLERS kegs. And they could easily have that distributers rep arrested. I can't wait for the lumbering giant that is Budweiser to be brought to their knees to atone for their sins when craft beers truly go mideval on their asses! They are obviously shaking in their shit filled bitch boots already any way. DOWN WITH GOLIATH! INACTION IS INEFFECTIVE! Never forget the old adage: all that it takes for evil to succeed is for good people to do nothing.
Oh yeah, and to avoid future run ins- take a quick zip with an angle grinder over the info on the side
AB never sells used kegs. The brothers unknowingly (?) bought stolen kegs from someone. In brewing as in life - "I didn't know they were stolen when I bought them" is not a defense. Small guy, big guy...my stuff is my stuff. If someone steals it and sells it to you - it's still my stuff. When it has my name on it - you're kind of asking for trouble...
Interesting that nobody suggested this explanation before now. Too many people like to jump to conclusions without considering all the possibilities.
Per Calfkiller's facebook, they said the issue is resolved and they are losing zero kegs... The brothers even thanked Budweiser- so maybe they stepped in to help against the distributor? http://m.facebook.com/story.php?sto...06914501295:mf_story_key.-7089124855119401379
A lesson for all you BMC/macro bashers on this site: just because a craft brewery does or says something about BMC doesn't automatically make it true. This, as acknowledged above, is not a case of bullying. Cooperage is a HUGE expense for everyone in the industry, AB included, and Calfkiller has the right to purchase kegs second-hand. But when AB publicly acknowledges that they do not sell any kegs to third parties for anything other than scrap, then Calfkiller did not do their due diligence. I am sure it is just an oversight, as they were focused on making great beer. But again, rationality in responding. As Joe Maddon says, 'Nothing is ever as bad as it seems, nothing is ever as good as it seems.'
Always happy to bash BMC when the opportunity arises. Otherwise its like trying to defend the mafia or Halliburton. Anyway, we're here to advocate quality beer not promote companies who push mediocrity and marketing.
Aaaaand there is the rationality aspect. AB makes yellow water for profit. The mafia and Haliburton kill people in order to make a profit. Slight difference in MO's.
Just a bit of the old hyperbole to spice things up. Yellow water (and lifestyle marketing) for profit indeed.
Beer Business Daily has one of it's rare "no membership needed" posts up on this controversy. Keg Shrinkage Problem Goes Viral - Who owns this keg? (Including comments from Sierra Nevada's Ken Grossman).
BBD reports that there are incidents of Craft Brewers stealing kegs from other (larger) Craft Brewers. It's a big deal within the industry folks. Size does not matter (in this case anyway!). Another craft brewer told BBD: "There's a certain preciousness with a few upstart breweries -- not all mind you -- where they think that just because they're small, against the man, and use cool local ingredients farmed at a co-op, that they are somehow exempt from common standards of law and morality. The fact is, you buy a keg with another brewer's name on it, the chances are it was probably stolen at some point in the supply chain, usually at retail. If brewers quit buying these kegs, there would be no market for them and the theft would diminish. If you as a 'small cool brewer' are comfortable with stealing cooperage from another brewer, then I don't think you're as cool as you think you are."
