Golden Road Brewery has gone flat with hopheads after being bought by Anheuser Busch Inbev (fancy corporate name for Bud). In a gulp-worthy video announcement heard around home brew garages everywhere, Golden Road co-owner/president, Meg Gill explains that they, “wanted to be on a winning horse… no pun intended. This was just an opportunity that we couldn’t pass up.” She goes onto say that for now it’s “business as usual” and that the partnership will amplify their brand, help beer quality and consistency — before clanking a can of Heal The Bay IPA with Andy Goeler, the “CEO of Craft” for Anheuser Busch, who has overseen similar purchases of craft breweries such as: Goose Island, Blue Point Brewing, and 10 Barrel.
The deal brought bitter beer faces to craft purists, who started trolling with clever comments like “Point the Way (IPA)… to selling out.” Truth is, Los Angeles’ largest craft brewery was already on its way to achieving “macro-beer” status by producing 45,000 barrels of beer for more than 4,000 retail locations. Two additional locations (a brewery in Anaheim and a tasting bar at Grand Central Market) will open by the end of next year.
I'm no beer snob, but for me there’s no use crying over spilled beer, especially if it’s (allegedly) going to be watered down. If one savors local craft beers there’s still plenty to choose from in LA’s brewing micro-beer scene.
Header image by Mikki Brisk.
