tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10691910.post347564181522288413..comments2024-01-26T03:21:23.696-05:00Comments on The Potable Curmudgeon: Play ball: Madison Mallards take the Louisville Bats to school -- and Bats ingloriously flunk out.The New Albanianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10757531658514051905noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10691910.post-48935191118160685262007-08-14T09:27:00.000-04:002007-08-14T09:27:00.000-04:00Ah yes, it's their own distributed product, but it...Ah yes, it's their own distributed product, but it's not their product. These buyout deals are weird mojo, and situations like this make suspicious intentions viable.<BR/><BR/>It's almost like they said, "Eventually these craft products are going to challenge our place in these stadium buyouts. If those brands are going to make it in, they should be ours, and we should have control of where they go, so they'll never unseat papa."<BR/><BR/>A-B has some sort of pseudo-disciplinary authority with its craft partners like Widmer, Redhook & Goose Island and I find it terribly odd.Beervangelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04269453693687492203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10691910.post-2414996199727606622007-08-14T08:51:00.000-04:002007-08-14T08:51:00.000-04:00Thanks for fleshing this out. It really was impre...Thanks for fleshing this out. It really was impressive to me that there was a choice throughout the ballpark, and not just the way Louisville's Bats handle it, i.e., with the sole tap of anything remotely approximating good beer (Redhook) being at the centerfield tap station, far away from the main part of the grandstand.<BR/><BR/>Has somehting to do with the football-field sized Budweiser billboard in right field, and yet it makes no sense to me that Bud woul acquiesce in the poor placement of its own distributed product.<BR/><BR/>They're Philistines, Fred. Really.The New Albanianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10757531658514051905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10691910.post-84059074753836141832007-08-14T08:47:00.000-04:002007-08-14T08:47:00.000-04:00Hey Roger - Glad you enjoyed Madison, it's a remar...Hey Roger - <BR/><BR/>Glad you enjoyed Madison, it's a remarkable slice of the Midwest and the Great Taste is legendary.<BR/><BR/>I agree with so much of what you say about chains and battles for choice in mainstream channels such as ballparks. I wanted to add though, that in my opinion, I think it's a positive thing when craft-brewers enter into sponsorships without the security of exclusive contracts. <BR/><BR/>I've said to many buyers, when organizing events and or negotiating contracts, that I am not going to create the same type of agreement that I've disagreed with when on the losing/locked out side. <BR/><BR/>In other words, it should always be about choice. Brewers, retailers and consumers ought to be considering each other and creating the best choices they can.<BR/><BR/>I believe in the end, this will produce the most dynamic market, but we are not without our man-made obstacles. <BR/><BR/>Take care -great blogging,<BR/><BR/>FredBeervangelisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04269453693687492203noreply@blogger.com