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August Busch IV in 2006. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
August Busch IV will step down as a director of Anheuser-Busch InBev next month, ending his family’s direct involvement with the world’s largest brewer.
“For personal and health reasons August Busch IV has decided not to seek re-election at the annual shareholders meeting,” Anheuser spokeswoman Marianne Amssoms said in an emailed statement. Get the full story »
Goose Island brewmaster Greg Hall checks operations at the company's Chicago brewery in this photo from 2009. Hall will step down as part of Anheuser-Busch's planned takeover of Goose Island. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune)
By Josh Noel and Emily York | Goose Island Beer Co., the Chicago-based brewing powerhouse, announced this morning that it will be taken over by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) for $38.8 million.
Goose Island, whose legal name is Fulton Street Brewery LLC, is selling a 58 percent stake in the company to A-B for $22.5 million. The Craft Brewers Alliance, in which A-B holds a 32 percent stake, has agreed to sell its own Goose Island stake to A-B for $16.3 million. The Craft Brewers Alliance owns the remaining 42 percent of Goose Island. Get the full story »
Some of InBev's brands. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)
U.S. and Brazilian drinkers are paying more for their beer and moving to expensive brands, according to Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest brewer.
The maker of Budweiser, Stella Artois and Beck’s reported a better-than-expected 22 percent improvement in fourth-quarter core profit on Thursday as higher prices and cost cuts offset lower volumes in the U.S. and slowing growth in Brazil.
It saw a first-quarter drag on volumes as high U.S. unemployment and floods in Brazil kept drinkers out of bars, but improvement thereafter. Get the full story »
Chief Beer Officer Greg Hall checks operations at the Goose Island Brewery brewhouse in Chicago. (Michael Tercha/ Tribune)
Chicago-based Goose Island Beer Co. will begin shipping New Hampshire-made Goose Island India Pale Ale this week to serve growing markets on the East Coast.
The company also is testing Honker’s Ale there. It also likely will be made at the New Hampshire facility for the East Coast by spring.
Goose Island began testing its IPA in New Hamphire in September. Get the full story »
MillerCoors, the second-largest brewer in the United States, posted a 38 percent rise in fourth-quarter net income, as cost savings and better trends for its premium light brands offset soft industry volumes. Get the full story »
The girlfriend of former Anheuser-Busch CEO August Busch IV died at his home after accidentally overdosing on the painkiller oxycodone, the St. Louis County medical examiner said Wednesday. Get the full story »
Walgreen Co. has quietly rolled out a private label brew. The product, Big Flats 1901, will carry a suggested retail price of $2.99 for a six-pack of cans and $11.49 for a 24-pack, the company said.
It will be the private label beer for Deerfield-based Walgreens in states where it’s allowed. Prices may vary by region. The chain began selling the beer in mid-December and it’s now available in more than 4,000 locations, a company spokesman said. Get the full story »
Anheuser-Busch Inc, the maker of Budweiser beer, and Major League Baseball announced a multi-year renewal of their sponsorship agreement, averting a possible end to a more than 30-year relationship. Get the full story »
American Airlines will be hosting happy hour on certain flights during the month of December.
The company said Wednesday it will be selling cocktails, beer and wine for $5 on domestic, Canada, Caribbean and Mexico flights scheduled to depart between 5 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. The $5 price represents a discount of $1 on beer and $2 on liquor and wine. Passengers on American Airlines, American Eagle and AmericanConnection flights can take advantage of the promotion, which lasts the duration of the flight.
There was no mention of peanuts. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Chicago-based BDT Capital LLC has purchased City Beverage, Chicago’s largest wholesaler of Budweiser, Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch beers, for an undisclosed sum. Get the full story >>
MillerCoors said cost cuts and price increases helped it improve third-quarter profit 36 percent despite soft sales in a “sluggish U.S. beer market.” Excluding special items, net income increased to $334 million from a year ago. Get the full story »
The latest court quest by 10 Missouri beer consumers who tried to block InBev’s $52 billion takeover of U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch has fallen flat. Get the full story »
Something new is on the menu at a renovated Starbucks in Seattle: beer and wine.
A store that reopened Monday is the first under the Starbucks brand to offer alcohol. Get the full story »
Chrysler Group fired 13 workers at the same auto plant visited by President Barack Obama this summer after a local television station report showed some of them drinking on their lunch breaks.
Two other workers were also suspended for a month without pay, the automaker said.
Acting on a tip, a Detroit Fox News affiliate’s cameras and reporter captured workers from the Chrysler Jefferson North Assembly Plant guzzling beer and, in some cases, smoking what appeared to be hand-rolled cigarettes or other smoking material. Get the full story »
Brewing groups SABMiller and Asahi Breweries are looking at Foster’s Group’s beer operations, valued at more than $10 billion, but have not yet made any formal offers, sources said. Long-running interest in the Australian brewer’s beer business, know as Carlton & United Breweries, resurfaced on Monday after newspaper reports said SABMiller was considering buying Australia’s biggest brewer.
Foster’s said in May it would split the beer unit from its ailing wine business, putting its valuable beer operations with brands including Foster’s Lager, Victoria Bitter and Pure Blonde at the centre of takeover talk in the brewing world. Get the full story »
