Allagash Brewing owner Rob Tod is backing a crowdsourcing effort to raise $213 billion to buy AB InBev, the largest brewer in the world. Spearheaded by the national Brewers Guild, the effort takes aim at AB InBev, owner of Budweiser, because the global company is buying craft brewers around the U.S., a trend craft brewers see as anathema.
The Brewers Guild values being independent so brewers can focus on their communities, not just their bottom lines, Tod says in a very short YouTube video.
“We can focus on the things that are important to us, the values that are important to us. Philanthropy, giving back to the local community that has supported us so much,” he says.
The video is part of an online campaign promoted at www.takecraftback.com. The effort faces incredibly steep odds. There would have to be 213 million people willing to contribute $1,000 apiece for the attempt to work. According to the website, the campaign has raised close to $2.8 million in pledges – not actual cash – which represents 0.0014 percent of the money needed to buy AB InBev.
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