Will You Make a Brand Switch?

You may have heard that Anheuser-Busch, brewer of the entire Budweiser, Busch and Michelob families in addition to Grolsch, Bass, Becks, Hoegaarden, Natty, Red Hook, Kirin (need I continue?), recently sold its company to InBev, making InBev the world's largest brewer.

I've always labeled Budweiser the unofficial beer of "America." Not that I'd ever put my lips to a bottle of the red label; I avoid it, along with its lighter counterpart, like the plague. However, when I see a commercial for Budweiser, or some grey-bearded, black-leather-wearing, scruffy-voice-sounding mid-fifties man in a dive of a biker bar ordering a "bud heavy," or hear mention of a true bible loving state like Arkansas, I can't help but assimilate these things to Budweiser. There's something so redneck about the beer, and this has, I'm sure, helped catapult Budweiser up the popularity chain over the years. It's the solid gold standard, and goes hand-in-hand with Marlboro Reds.

Shortly after this announcement, Pabst has upped its marketing a bit. They want you to know that they're still American, and, because of the Anheuser-Busch sale, are now the largest American Brewing company (although they don't brew anymore). Pabst has been around forever, and has definitely gained its reputation as a cheap, generally terrible tasting, yet American, beer. Pabst, for your reference, is also responsible for Schlitz, Schaefer, Lone Star and Stroh's. Yes, it's that kind of beer company. So my question is this: will the majority of Americans switch their economy beer of choice from Bud to Pabst Blue Ribbon? Will redneck America become angered at Anheuser-Busch's lack of loyalty? Remember, a common conservative belief is to keep jobs in America. The link I'm making of course is that most rednecks exist in southern states, and most citizens of southern states are conservative in their political beliefs.

I can tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to continue not drinking Bud, Busch, Michelob, Grolsch and Natty. I'm also, however, going to order a Pabst the next time I see it available in a bar. I've never tried it, and, although they didn't consciously or purposely become the largest American "brewery", I feel I owe it to them to try out their sewage, in the name of the United States of America.

If I may bitch for a second: why must we enter our age when visiting a beer website? I'm not drinking the beer, I'm just looking.

And don't ask me what I was doing in a biker bar. I got out of it alive.