AB-InBev to open first Goose Island pub in London
Those who thought that AB-InBev will have no truck with the pubs that came with their US craft beer acquisitions will need to think again. The maker of Budweiser will move into the UK’s pub-restaurant sector with a Goose Island site to open in London before year end, media reported.
The world’s number one brewer seems to have understood that an on-premise presence is the prerequisite for growing its craft beer sales. Hence, it will roll out a chain of pubs across Europe, based on its popular US craft beer brand Goose Island. After London, the chain’s next stop is Belgium. All pubs will offer food inspired by American smokehouses.
The launch may be the first non-US venture for AB-InBev’s so-called “brand experience” division which was set up in 2015 to grow its stable of craft beer brands.
But it was the old Interbrew that had already built a gastronomic experience around its Belgian beer brands. Its Belgian Beer Cafés were launched in 1998 as a franchise system and have been operated by independent owners ever since. According to its website, there are currently 60 Belgian Beer Cafés in 18 countries around the world.
AB-InBev’s USD 39 million acquisition of Chicago-based craft brewery Goose Island in 2011 kick-started a string of deals. Goose Island first opened for business as a brewpub in Chicago in 1988, with its larger brewery and a second pub following in the late Nineties before the boom in craft beers caught the attention of major drinks companies.
