$12 Billion for Bad Beer????!!!!

I wasn't going to make anything of this, seeing I don't drink beers from Foster's regularly (unless I feel like putting myself through the pain of tasting it and then getting a hangover from being dehydrated from the chemicals in it...ahh, so much to hate), but have been interested to see it is in the process of being sold to overseas conglomerates that like to make money through beer.

I can't help but wonder, If they are willing to pay that much for a brand that predominately makes bad beer, I wonder what they would be willing to pay for a brewery that makes good beer. I know whether it makes good beer or not makes no difference in the matter (yes, that is enough to make my head spin anyway...silly humans), but what are they really getting for their money. A recognisable Aussie brand, a company with some power in the beer market here and overseas, or is it just a process of this massive corporation to take out its competitors? How that question is answered by SAB Miller, then brings up second stage questions, that depending of the influence Foster's has had on your life will mean different things for you. What will happen to the employees, will they keep the breweries they now own making the beer they do, how will the public react to whatever changes they may bring, what new opportunities or threats may come to the beer industry in Australia, etc, etc. I guess by the fact I am asking these questions just shows the influence Fosters has, whether I like it having that influence or not. Even though I don't (knowingly) drink Fosters beers, I know the influence they have on the market will bring change.

This, with the potential changes to the tax system in relation to alcohol in Australia, I hope will bring change for the better.

What is my idea of change for the better? As with most things with me, it is very simple...good beer, and better accessibility to it. However, I know it isn't that simple. Even just by wanting 'good beer', you have to ask what is good beer. It is going to be a bit different for all of us on a personal level, and as you may see in the 200 odd posts I have on here, I am still trying to define that for myself. I guess through the 5000 views to this blog, I guess there are others curious like myself in finding that answer.

For me then, the question from all this is, in the face of quite a bit of potential change in the beer and brewing industry, what sort of industry do we want for beer here in Australia?

Coming back to earth though, I have to accept that the reason this company has taken over Fosters is to gain the control it has over the industry, and they probably aren't planning to give it up.

So, all in all, this is 'pie in the sky' stuff, and I have been talking crap in the hope there could bring something better to the industry, which is why I wasn't going to put anything up here. Still, I guess with this hope, the only ones hurt are those that have wasted their time reading this, but that some of you have the same hope as me, and are also curious to see if this situation could get us closer to it...good beer.

Beef