Anheuser Busch bought Elysian Brewing in a high profile acquisition a few months back. Many were upset. You could see the discontent start to swell up with Dick Cantwell after the Super Bowl commercial. Cantwell was one of the founding members of Elysian Brewing. Last night he sent this email out:
“Just wanted to let you know that about half an hour ago I resigned from Anheuser Busch. The tenor of the deal, mainly from the point of view of my former partners and me, was such that I can’t possibly work with them into a future of any duration. My concerns were never even considered as a factor of whether we should or shouldn’t. From the start it was me against everyone else, with no regrets expressed. Enough about that.”
“In the past few months AB has treated me with consideration and seriousness, and they’ve presented me some pretty exciting future possibilities, should I be able to see my way clear to working for them. But I can’t. I am a craft brewer, past, present and future, no matter what I end up doing. Naturally I’m not one to whine about the Definition, about being on the wrong side of it, etc. I helped craft the thing while I was on the BA Board, and while I have my own personal reservations about some aspects, I think it’s important to recognize some differences in realms of the market.”
