BarrelAged Stout and Selling Out, Josh Noel
BarrelAged Stout and Selling Out, Josh Noel
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Barrel-Aged Stout and Selling Out
Goose Island, Anheuser-Busch, and How Craft Beer Became Big Business

Author: Josh Noel

Narrator: Charles Constant

Unabridged: 12 hr 17 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/03/2018


Synopsis

Goose Island opened as a family-owned Chicago brewpub in the late 1980s, and it soon became one of the most inventive breweries in the world. In the golden age of light, bland, and cheap beers, John Hall and his son Greg brought European flavors to America. With distribution in two dozen states, two brewpubs and status as one of the twenty biggest breweries in the United States, Goose Island became an American success story and was a champion of craft beer. Then, on March 28, 2011, the Halls sold the brewery to Anheuser-Busch InBev, maker of Budweiser, the least craft-like beer imaginable. The sale forced the industry to reckon with craft beer's mainstream appeal and a popularity few envisioned.

Josh Noel broke the news of the sale in the Chicago Tribune, and he covered the resulting backlash from Chicagoans and beer fanatics across the country as the discussion escalated into an intellectual craft beer war. Anheuser-Busch has since bought four other craft breweries, and from among the outcry rises a question that Noel addresses through personal anecdotes from industry leaders: how should a brewery grow?

About Josh Noel

Josh Noel writes about beer and travel for the Chicago Tribune, where he has worked since 2005. He has also contributed to the New York Times and This American Life, as well as other publications. He has become one of the nation's most recognizable beer journalists, writing about the subject as both a business and lifestyle story, and winning multiple awards from the North American Guild of Beer Writers, most recently consecutive first place honors for Best Local Reporting. He lives in Chicago with his wife and son.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Koen on June 19, 2018

A most excellent read which takes an immediate spot in a select list of essential books about American craft beer. Roughly divided in two equal parts the first part, ‘Barrel-Aged Stout’ deals about Goose Island, AB InBev and beer in general pre-takeover, the second part, ‘Selling Out’ post-takeover.......more

Goodreads review by Eli - on March 06, 2020

Very well written and extremely well researched.......more

Goodreads review by Brooks on October 20, 2018

As a beer guy, the topic of craft breweries “selling-out” to international macro breweries and venture capital is a hot topic of debate. This book focuses on the story of John and Gary Hall, the leaders behind Goose Island Brewery. John Hall was an executive at Container Corporation of America – a c......more

Goodreads review by The Speculative Shelf on June 21, 2018

4.25 out of 5 stars An engrossing read about the birth of the craft beer revolution and the way in which "Big Beer" dealt with that market disruption. A must-read for any craft beer enthusiast who is interested in the history and business side of beer in the United States.......more

Goodreads review by Ptarrant5 on March 28, 2020

I love beer. I was in college during the mid to late 70's, when the only important feature of beer was how much it cost. Old Milwaukee was a big favorite. As I was beginning my teaching career in the early 80's, still with next to no money, a bar I frequented in Stroudsburg, PA., offered a 3 for 1 R......more