Budweiser, the great American lager, is about to be purchased by Belgian beer makers In Bev. They say they can take the Bud brand and make it (more) global. Anheuser-Busch is playing the political card and calling on the state of Missouri and all Americans to rally around this unsolicited attack on not just their company but on America itself. My gut reaction to the news was to blindly agree. I love my Budweiser and I love America. End of story, or so I thought.

Where were the beer swilling patriots in 1999 when Miller was sold to South African Breweries? Did you even know Miller isn’t American owned any more? If In Bev can improve the A-B products and the distribution of them worldwide what is the problem here? Outside of the Busch family, who now own only 4% of A-B stock, the board seem to be in support of the proposed deal. The NY Times reports that In Bev’s “offer of $65 a share in cash is a 35 percent premium over Anheuser-Busch’s 30-day average share price. And get this: The offer represents an 18 percent premium over the company’s record high of $54.97, a price Anheuser-Busch’s shareholders haven’t seen in six years.” August Busch IV has run the family business into the ground. Shipments of Budweiser in the U.S. have slumped 33%, to 24.6 million barrels last year from 36.9 million in 1998, according to industry newsletter Beer Marketer’s Insights.

We can all agree here that Bud is a great beer. So why oppose a company who wants to share it with the rest of the world. But will it work? The Wall St Journal reports:

Many of the world’s beer drinkers can’t understand Americans’ passion for light beer, thinking it is a few notches in taste above water. “Really only in the U.S. is light beer the phenomenon that it is,” says Harry Schuhmacher, editor of industry newsletter Beer Business Daily. “Europeans and really the entire rest of the world look at us with just curiosity.” He says that when he wrote about low-carb beers like Anheuser’s Michelob Ultra a few years ago, his European readers thought he meant “low-carbonation.”

Although it is the world’s top-selling brew by volume, Bud Light is only sold in five countries outside the U.S.: Canada, Ireland, Mexico, Colombia and Sweden. Budweiser has far greater reach and awareness around the world, with availability in more than 80 countries.

People on the internets are rallying to try and stop the deal. Web site, saveab.com, already has some 30,000 signatures, including those of the governor of Missouri and the mayor of St. Louis and savebudweiser.com has over 40,000. Because internet petitions always work so well.

Bottom line, I’m pretty sure that beer inside that can will remain the same. My High Life hasn’t changed in the last decade and neither will my Bud should In Bev take over. This blog is making my head hurt. I think I’ll go back to not paying attention to current events and have myself a cold one.