[rousseau]

They're popping up like weeds. This will be the third brewery in Stratford.



But the big guys aren't taking this lying down.

Bitter battle between Big Beer and craft brewers gets uglier
Independent craft brewers say multinational conglomerates making it harder to tell what's 'true' craft beer

Small, independent brewers say big beer companies are stepping up a campaign to buy craft breweries and are employing other tactics that make it difficult for beer drinkers to tell if the suds they're quaffing are actually local.

But others say it's just good business and if the recipe and taste don't change, what difference does it make who owns the company?

The Big Beer tactics that are vexing local, independent brewers include opening up local brew pubs, allegedly controlling beer distribution, buying up hop farms previously used by craft brewers, and even quietly buying a stake in an online beer rating website.

...

Behemoths like Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world's largest brewer, have been gobbling up successful craft breweries. According to Forbes, AB InBev boasts annual sales of $55 billion US after its merger last year with SABMiller.

AB InBev recently bought Wicked Weed, a famed craft brewery based in Asheville, N.C., the 10th craft brewery added to its stable, which includes Chicago's Goose Island and Seattle's Elysian Brewing.

In Canada, this trend includes Toronto's Mill Street and Quebec's Microbrasserie Archibald (both owned by Labatt, itself a subsidiary of AB InBev), B.C.'s Granville Island, owned by Molson Coors, as well as Quebec's Unibroue, owned by Sapporo (which also owns Sleeman), makers of Blanche de Chambly.

http://www.cbc.ca/beta/news/business...lson-1.4202758