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Fuller’s sold to Asahi

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 4:20 am
by GtownRandy

Re: Fuller’s sold to Asahi

Posted: Fri Jan 25, 2019 8:30 pm
by Tapsucker
So,the two takeaways I got from this article is that Fullers would prefer to be a hospitality brand (because they can't find a way to do all that well in brewing) and that Asahi now also owns Pilsner Urquell, which was a surprise to me.

I can't say I'm all that sentimental about this. Sure your brewery is a few centuries old, but there's so many young ones ready to take your place with something new. Give them a chance.

Re: Fuller’s sold to Asahi

Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2019 10:18 pm
by seangm
Tapsucker wrote:So,the two takeaways I got from this article is that Fullers would prefer to be a hospitality brand (because they can't find a way to do all that well in brewing) and that Asahi now also owns Pilsner Urquell, which was a surprise to me.

I can't say I'm all that sentimental about this. Sure your brewery is a few centuries old, but there's so many young ones ready to take your place with something new. Give them a chance.
New for the sake of new isn't necessarily a good thing. Fuller's Porter is a standby for me, and their Imperial Stout and Vintage Ale are both world class beers. In a world of trend-chasing adjunct-laden beers it's nice to have some constants. I'm not one who cares too much about ownership either, and while I predominantly support local, I'll keep buying Fuller's beers as long as the recipes remain unmolested.

Re: Fuller’s sold to Asahi

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 10:13 am
by cratez
I'm not thrilled about this, but as far as I can tell Pilsner Urquell has maintained its integrity/quality, so let's hope we see the same outcome with Fuller's. Reading the article it sounds like they have negotiated a guarantee to continue operating and brewing at the Griffin facility, but no specific mention of whether or not they will also start contract brewing beers at other breweries (always a possibility in these scenarios).

Re: Fuller’s sold to Asahi

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 11:43 pm
by Tapsucker
seangm wrote:
Tapsucker wrote:So,the two takeaways I got from this article is that Fullers would prefer to be a hospitality brand (because they can't find a way to do all that well in brewing) and that Asahi now also owns Pilsner Urquell, which was a surprise to me.

I can't say I'm all that sentimental about this. Sure your brewery is a few centuries old, but there's so many young ones ready to take your place with something new. Give them a chance.
New for the sake of new isn't necessarily a good thing. Fuller's Porter is a standby for me, and their Imperial Stout and Vintage Ale are both world class beers. In a world of trend-chasing adjunct-laden beers it's nice to have some constants. I'm not one who cares too much about ownership either, and while I predominantly support local, I'll keep buying Fuller's beers as long as the recipes remain unmolested.
By no means am I trashing Fullers beer. It just appears their business as a brewer has become less interesting to them (or their shareholders) than owning a pub chain. If they had focused on brewing, who knows? They might have failed altogether or perhaps done something innovative in order to survive. They might have also cut costs and sacrificed quality. These things can go many ways. It seems to me they were just screwed up by a few MBA's like so many companies. Maybe they will get into self driving cars next. It's a good fit for a chain of pubs to expand into. Call yourself a '"mobility company" and attract lots of investment. :roll:

Re: Fuller’s sold to Asahi

Posted: Mon Jan 28, 2019 11:48 pm
by Tapsucker
cratez wrote:I'm not thrilled about this, but as far as I can tell Pilsner Urquell has maintained its integrity/quality, so let's hope we see the same outcome with Fuller's. Reading the article it sounds like they have negotiated a guarantee to continue operating and brewing at the Griffin facility, but no specific mention of whether or not they will also start contract brewing beers at other breweries (always a possibility in these scenarios).
I've always maintained that since every brewery needs a source of capital, it's probably best for that source to be a brewer and not a bank. Even if it's a giant ''beverage'' company, they still understand the business better than a banker would.