Louisville Zoo considers selling beer? Depends on what they mean by beer.

Rather than reprise various "Brew at the Zoo" lamentations appearing in this space for what seem like several decades, I'll merely repeat a link to non-accredited but entirely credible local source, River City Craft Wear:

Will Twerk For Transformers ...

... More than a few eyebrows raised when the title sponsorship of this year's 'Brew' went to Chicago's Goose Island Brewery. Famous for 312 Wheat Ale and Honkers Ale; Goose Island calls itself 'Chicago's Craft Beer.' Only, with minor harnessing of the power of Google, anyone can uncover the following:

1.) ABInBev purchased 58% of Goose Island (Fulton St. Brewery, LLC) in 2011.
2.) The remaining 42% of the company was then owned by the Craft Brewers Alliance (CBA). Phew, at least craft beer folks control SOME of Goose Island, right? Wrong. The CBA is a 'partner' of ABInBev, and sold their remaining stake in Goose Island to them. 'Chicago's Craft Beer' is anything but. It may as well be 'Budweiser Waterfowl Ale.' Or, as Roger Baylor (owner of New Albanian Brewing Co.) so perfectly put it, a 'Trojan Goose.'

Year in, year out, there comes a point during the discussion about Brew at the Zoo and the event's conceptual linkage with local craft beer when the civet cat comes tumbling from the bag, and the organizers concede that maximum fundraising revenue is the primary concern ... and there's nothing intrinsically wrong with this so long as it isn't labeled deceptively.

Don't sell it as "craft" if non-craft Goose Island (read: AB InBev) is greasing the wheels. Make it Goose at the Zoo, and watch as my objections evaporate.

Meanwhile, the zoo's everyday management now is floating a trial hippo with reference to beer sales. Readers are free to conjure their own backroom linkages between those conclusions borne of our Brew at the Zoo experiences, the fabulous propensity of concessionaires to fluff (and be fluffed by) corporate multi-national business, and the likely sources of future beer in your cup. I hope I'll be surprised, but breaths should not be held.

Louisville Zoo wants to start selling beer, by Sheldon S. Shafer (Courier-Journal)

Lions and tigers and beer, oh my!

The Louisville Zoo wants to allow beer sales as part of its effort to bring in more money and reduce its reliance on Metro government funding.

Many of the details — such as when beer sales would start — remain to be worked out between the zoo and its new concessionaire, said zoo spokeswoman Kyle Shepherd.