Much has been written on this blog and other forums about the recent and impending changes at
Old Dominion Brewery. There's been plenty of teeth-gnashing over these changes. But what's really behind the vitriol?
Back up to last year when the brewery was
sold to Coastal Brewing, a joint venture of Maryland-based
Fordham Brewing and St. Louis-based
Anheuser-Busch. Almost immediately local craft beer fans began decrying the sale, and remarking how A-B would destroy the brand. Fast forward a year, and the Old Dominion brewpub is
now closed, and Coastal has announced the impending
shuttering of the Ashburn brewery along with the transfer of brewing operations to Delaware. When this last announcement was made, the discussions on DC-Beer and the web forums heated up. One common thread arises in the discussions: Anheuser-Bush. But why?
Recently on the DC-Beer list Greg Kitsock asked "Will you still consider Dominion brands to be local beers?" That's a thought provoking question. On DC-Beer and other forums, many folks have said they will no longer buy Old Dominion Beers because they are no longer "local". Many commentators also brought up Anheuser-Bush and have implied they would no longer buy the beers because of the ownership of A-B.
Is Old Dominion still a local beer? Well that really depends on your definition of local. Some commentators remarked that they wouldn't buy Old Dominion because it was no longer
brewed locally. Does that mean these folks also don't purchase Dogfish Head beers, also brewed in Delaware? Others make the local
ownership argument, pointing to Anheuser-Bush. Old Dominion is owned by Coastal Brewing. The majority of Coastal Brewing (51%) is held by Fordham Brewing, an Annapolis, MD/Dover, DE company. I find it very telling that the majority of the anger over the Old Dominion changes is directed towards A-B, not the
local majority owner. Why does Fordham get a pass?
Many craft beer drinkers seem to wallow in A-B hatred. A-B is an evil corporation they say, bent on destroying craft breweries. (Much of this discourse is undoubtably written on computers running Windows or Apple software, and maybe even sent via their Google email account. All of these companies decried as "evil" at one time or another.) With the impending buyout of A-B by the Belgian company InBev, things heat up even more. Do the folks who are upset at this change still buy imported Belgian beers? As a proud American, I do hate to see American companies being taken over by foreign firms. However, Anheuser-Bush employs thousands of
Americans workers at their numerous breweries. The company employed more than
30,000 people in 2007. Hundreds more are employed by associated distributors, retailers, etc. We should keep in mind that corporations employ
people. Coastal Brewing is 51% a local company, employing local people.
Let's also look at the case of Virginia's
Starr Hill. Last December, owner Mark Thompson signed a
distribution agreement with A-B to
expand Starr Hill's distribution. Despite Mark's statement that he retains control over the beer production, and that this move was about distribution, we saw comments on various online forums about the eminent destruction of Starr Hill by Anheuser-Bush. Again, arguments seemingly based on A-B hatred, despite the fact that the agreement means more people will be exposed to true
craft beer. By entering into this agreement, A-B likely gives up shelf space for it's house products by filling it with Starr Hill beer. That hardly seems like a way to destroy a product.
My remarks shouldn't be construed as a wholesale defense of macro-breweries. I generally don't drink most A-B brands, just as I don't drink Miller or Coors. That decision is based on my taste preferences. (I do admit to a bit of anger over the damage to beer's image caused by factory brewers' inane, and misleading, advertising campaigns.) Rather, this is a look at what I consider some of the misplaced anger directed at Old Dominion. Indeed some of the criticism is well-deserved and Coastal isn't blameless for the expressed anger. As recently as
last month a Coastal spokesman was assuring local drinkers that the brew pub at the Ashburn facility would reopen. It's hard to build brand loyalty with confusing or misleading statements.
I will likely continue to drink Old Dominion beers, as long as the qualities that attracted me the beer in the first place remain. Will I purchase
Beach House Pilsner next summer even if it is brewed in Delaware? Surely. I'm a fan of good beer, and I base my decisions first on flavor and the enjoyment I get from drinking the beer. Rejecting a brewery solely on the involvement of Anheuser-Busch is misdirected and short sighted.
I was driving through downtown Fredericksburg recently and spied a "Microbrews" sign hanging in the window of the William Street Market, a Shell gas station and convenience store. I decided to stop in and see what was inside. I was very surprised by what I found. One wall of the store is lined with coolers of craft beer, mostly six pack and half cases, but also a number of larger bottles as well. There's quite a large selection of breweries available. Anchor, Bell's, Blue & Gray, Brooklyn, Clipper City, Flying Dog, Green Flash, Legend, Magic Hat, Sierra Nevada, Southern Tier, among others, were well-represented. Of course, the usual macro-beers were stocked as well. All of the beer is kept chilled in the coolers.
