Craft brewers in Missouri are bemoaning action by Gov. Jay Nixon after he signed legislation allowing beer companies to lease coolers to retailers.
Jeff Schrag, president of the Missouri Small Brewers Association, said the new law will give big companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev an unfair advantage in dictating what beers could be stocked in coolers, limiting access to smaller, independent brewers.
“This is about the slow annihilation of craft beer in America. They are going to do it by a thousand tiny cuts,” said Schrag, owner of Mother’s Brewing Co. in Springfield. “The Legislature and Gov. Nixon voted against Missouri small business. It’s just heartbreaking.”
The governor’s action comes against the backdrop of further consolidation in the brewing industry.
The merger of A-B InBev and SABMiller, announced last fall, has already gained antitrust approval from the European Union, Australia and other countries. Approval in the United States is expected soon, according to Reuters.
If finalized, Belgium-based A-B InBev would control about 29 percent of beer sold worldwide.
A-B InBev plans to sell Miller brands in the U.S. that are partly owned by SABMiller to its joint venture partner, Molson Coors, to address antitrust concerns. With the sale, Bud Light would have separate ownership in the U.S. and still compete with Miller Lite domestically.
Craft brewers are worried about the implications of competing against an even larger rival. Schrag called the lobbying for the cooler bill by A-B InBev “unseemly” and its signing another example of the company “slowly strangling independent brewers.”
Up until now, the ban on leasing coolers has kept the playing field between Big Beer and the smaller players level, he said.
In addition to the cooler legislation, the new law also allows for the expanded sale of so-called “growlers” of beer, which are containers between 32-ounces and 128-ounces.
Growlers would now be able to be filled and sold in grocery stores, liquor stores and convenience stores.
The provision for growlers could help offset any losses small brewers see from the coolers, said Rep. Robert Cornejo, R-St. Peters, who sponsored the legislation.
“I think the small brewers are blowing this out of proportion,” Cornejo said. “I think this will help them tremendously.”
Marcelo Abud, region vice president for Anheuser-Busch, said the company was pleased with the governor’s action.
“This new law helps enhance the position of beer in an increasingly competitive retail landscape by giving retailers the ability to provide more consumer choice and improve the customer experience with more options to refrigerate product and wider sales of growlers,” Abud said in a statement issued Friday.
The changes go into effect Aug. 28.
The legislation is Senate Bill 919.
An “online exclusive” is an article or story that does not run in the print edition of the Houston Herald. Typically 2-3 are posted online every Wednesday morning. It is another feature for users who purchase full web access from the Herald.
Click here to subscribe for print, digital or both.