So the merger of Bud and Stella—okay, of Anheuser-Busch and Belgian-Brazillian beer-maker InBev—is the talk of the town today. And we're not saying we predicted this merger five years ago but if you happen to have the April 12, 2002 issue of the Wall Street Journal hanging around your desk, you might find a certain John Carney quoted as describing Stella as the Budweiser of Belgium. (Also, you might want to clean up your desk).
At the time we were mortified to realize we had managed to insult two potential clients—the biggest brewers in the United States and the biggest in Europe. But we were wrong. They weren't insulted. They agreed. And now they want to make the marriage legal and all that.
So, the question is what to call the combined entity. We've already got one nomination from one of our favorite readers: InBusch. Enter your favorite combined brewer name in the comments section below. The best entry will receive some sort of prize. (Probably one of our usual prizes: drinks with Bess, a copy of Jack & Suzy Welch's book or perhaps an autographed copy of John Carney's painkiller prescriptions.)
Anheuser-Busch, InBev Rally On Report Of Merger Talks [Dow Jones Newswire via Cnnmoney.com]
Posted by Anon , Feb 15, 2007 2:28PM
AStellaBusch--And a humble attempt to get drinks with Bess.
Posted by Jon , Feb 15, 2007 3:04PM
no offense to ms. levin or mr. carney but does carney's return mean an end to keith hahn? it seems like a carney-heavy couple of days...
Posted by Texas Energy , Feb 15, 2007 3:09PM
Keith's China report was great stuff.
Posted by Fox , Feb 15, 2007 3:17PM
Domestic Disturbance Brewing, Inc.
Posted by , Feb 15, 2007 3:21PM
listen you assholes, i'm winning this contest so don't even bother making any entries. the date with BL will be mine...and BL: wear the shoes:
http://www.fashionista.com/2007/02/post_1.php
Posted by , Feb 15, 2007 4:19PM
I agree with TE...what's the deal? Keith has been completely absent the last few days. Permanent vacay or just vacay? He was verbose but witty (which is hard to do). I liked reading his stuff.
Posted by bizwriter , Feb 15, 2007 4:26PM
could care less about what they call this monstrosity but likening Stella Artois to Budweiser is akin to calling Rock and Rye the Jameson of Appalachia.
Posted by Zbignew , Feb 15, 2007 4:26PM
He was probably hit by a car.
Posted by ian , Feb 15, 2007 4:45PM
No, Stella is the Budweiser of Europe, for sure. My English friends call it "wife-beater" beer.
Posted by Lermontov , Feb 15, 2007 5:15PM
I bet JC has a framed copy of said WSJ issue on his wall...Oh, and I'm glad Keith Hahn is MIA. His copy was painfully overwritten, though he tried hard to be witty (usually without success).
Posted by John Carney , Feb 15, 2007 5:39PM
You can be sure you'll be seeing more of Keith Hahn. I'm personally very happy with the job he did while I was out and very grateful for all his efforts. But after jumping in so quickly and with both feet, we thought he should take a little time off. He's working on some other writing projects but will return to these parts soon.
And he definitely appreciates all your comments calling out for more of his stuff. Keep it up and maybe we'll get him back sooner.
Posted by EC , Feb 15, 2007 5:39PM
Call it Budella - it's all the Belgians ever wanted... who cares about Belgians anyways?
Posted by Keith Hahn Appreciation Society , Feb 15, 2007 5:50PM
Yea, definitely keep Keith on. He makes John's stuff seem readable.
Posted by Anti-Keith Hahn Fan Club , Feb 15, 2007 6:27PM
Please tell KH to take an extended vacation. More Bess, less Keith.
Whatever happened to the "Meet a Trader" profiles...? And where's Brock...?
Posted by :) , Feb 15, 2007 6:36PM
The ironing of that last statement is delicious
Posted by ira saltz , Feb 16, 2007 10:20AM
BudInStella
Think of the advertising possibilities!
Posted by Zbignew , Feb 16, 2007 10:30AM
It doesn't really matter what it's called. In the end, guys buy beer based on how hot the models in the ads look, not what it's called or how it tastes. Since 50% of anybody's marketing budget is always wasted, the scrap half of beer marketing is time and money spent on names. The winning half is the time and money spent on sexist advertisements.