BrewDog watch out: Columbus, Ohio and AB-InBev unite to reduce problem drinking
Who would have thought that choosing the city of Columbus, Ohio, as the site of their first US brewery, could turn into a bit of a PR challenge for BrewDog?
There were at least two reasons why the Scottish punk brewers went for Columbus as the site of their 300,000 hl brewery, which will open soon: one, Ohio is not really overcrowded with craft breweries yet, and two, it’s ideally located for serving both the Chicago and east coast markets.
That AB-InBev has a brewery in Columbus too would have been an extra boon. Because if there is a company the Scots love to hate, it’s the world’s number one brewer.
BrewDog’s frequent PR broadsides would have irked AB-InBev’s top brass no end, so much so that in December 2016 they retaliated in kind. They teamed up with the city of Ohio to reduce the harmful use of alcohol in central Ohio.
The nation’s first such citywide programme will involve studying dangerous behaviours and community needs, and it will create initiatives to reduce harmful drinking.
The Ohio programme is part of AB-InBev’s Global Smart Drinking Goals initiative. The larger initiative is to spend USD 1.0 billion on worldwide efforts by 2025. Similar programmes are being implemented in cities in Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, China and Mexico. The goal is to reduce the harmful use of alcohol by at least 10 percent by the end of 2020, it was reported.
Why AB-InBev selected Columbus for this initiative did not become clear to observers. After all, AB-InBev operates 12 large plants across the country. And to all appearances, Ohio is no exceptional social hotspot for alcohol abuse.
But the irony was not lost on us at Brauwelt International. Which beer is BrewDog best known for? The answer is: BrewDog brews world’s strongest beer. At the end of November 2016 it had just launched its 2016 edition of its The End of History beer, which is a 55 percent ABV blonde Belgian ale infused with Scottish nettles and juniper berries. Only 10 or so bottles were made and they came wrapped inside taxidermy road kill of squirrels.
Even in the lofty spheres of communication, BrewDog’s marketing appears gross, while AB-InBev’s initiative is laudable.
