Interestingly when I was down south both in Charleston and Asheville the grocery stores that had beer had a local section and highlighted that fact.  So at least in the near term I do not see this hurting the little guy.

Then end game here is that InBev will utilize their power to squeeze the true locals and independents off the shelves in the liquor stores.  This is a very poorly concealed strategy.  This is why, despite quality, I have in issue buying InBev beers knowing what they are trying to do. They wil literally force stores to stop giving shelf space to independents.

A good article on selling....

 

http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/what-wicked-weeds-kick-in-the-dick-sale-to-inbev-means-for-charleston-craft-beer/Content?oid=8357300

 

Comment from Westbrook co-owner Edward Westbrook, which echo my sentiment on what is really the only aspect of it that I find annoying.....

 

"The only thing that annoys me is it's the same press release that everyone puts out. 'We want to grow the company and do what's best for the employees and everything is going to be exactly the same as it was.' I don't believe almost any of that," Westbrook says. "Just be honest and say, 'some of our investors wanted to cash out and this is the way we decided to go.' I think people would accept that and move on."

That was a good article and the quote hit the mark. Thankfully there are so many craft breweries out there to try I may forget about WW in a year or so.