MillerCoors DUI

First the Brewers are knocked out by the Cub$... now the good people of Milwaukee are going to loose their jobs. And for what? So that Adolph Coors the III can try to bloody the nose of of August Busch IV.

Is this good business? They'll save on marketing.

The pairing of the U.S. operations of Molson Coors Brewing Co. and SABMiller PLC, unveiled Tuesday, is expected to save $500 million a year, a healthy sum that analysts say will give the combined company a larger war chest to use in its battle against Anheuser in a slow-growing market for mainstream beer.

But some of those cost savings will come from cutting redundant functions, a fact certain to spark worries from Milwaukee, where Miller's U.S. business is based, to Chicago, home of the agencies that do much of Coors' and Miller's adverting work.

Milwaukee could suffer job cuts, while some of Miller's and Coors' advertising work is likely to be consolidated, analysts say. Draftfcb in Chicago is Coors' lead agency. Starcom in Chicago is Miller's media buyer, while Y & R's Chicago office handles the Miller Genuine Draft account.

Consolidating their work forces and some redundant ad buyers in the two organizations doesn't make enough sense for this to work.

Miller has 6,000 employees and eight breweries, and Coors has 4,000 employees and two breweries. Executives estimated the new company would have 10,000 employees and said they do not expect brewery closings. Stand by for updates.

The business pages are covered with clever titles 'Merger On Tap'. Oh, God, that's punny.

What's really at stake here is that there are two distribution centers joining forces against the mighty Bud. The mighty Bud makes a beer called Budweiser Select. Why is it called Select? Because they 'selected' it. Perhaps if Miller or Coors spent just two minutes in R&D to deliver a beer with flavor, hops, or any character - they wouldn't have to put jobs on the line with a worthless merger. Any guess which product line gets the ax first? Well you can't have the Banquet Beer distributed by the Champagne of Beers. That's just an anti trust suit waiting to happen...

Which brings up point two. Why isn't this automatically shut down by anti-trust regulation?

The companies said the combination will have to pass an antitrust review by either the Federal Trade Commission or the Department of Justice.

Few analysts expect the government to try to block the deal, however, despite close scrutiny by regulators.

Swell.

Or is that Swill?

Dear reader, I recommend highly that you go outside the mainstream here and discover those 'other' beers that you may have passed by before. The ones in the funny looking six pack holders. You know, those things called bottles?

I, as a supporter of small craft beers and large hops flavor, can try my best to point out a few beers to help you in your quest.

One to start you off on would be Sierra Nevada - I prefer their Pale Ale.

Feel free to send me your selections. I look forward to toasting along with you.