A Change is Gonna Come!

Well my friends, it didn't take long. The Danish firm InBev has only had possession of my fine beer company for four to six weeks and already there are changes to my favorite brew. No, not to the recipe itself, but still a change I feel I must share with you. First though, I have to let you know how I have gotten to this point in my drinking life.

My father was in the military and I grew up for much of my life in Germany. Thankfully, one of those tours was when I was the age of 15-17 years old. Well guess what? I have never had legal drinking age problems since they just don't exist in Germany. Yes, I was not able to drink at that age on the base, nor would my parents have been that happy with me drinking at the age of 15 or 16, but it did happen and quite a bit to be sure. You see, I view beer as an elixir sent to us from the Gods. It should be enjoyed in a responsible manner and in the company of hot, attractive women whenever possible. I love it when a woman enjoys an ice cold beer. My wife does not like beer, but she gets a pass as she willingly serves as my designated driver whenever needed. Can you beat that?

Back to my story. When my family returned from Germany for the last time, I took my first real job working at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. The great part about working for an Anheuser-Busch company is that you get free beer as a monthly benefit. I remember when I was told this and I thought, "Who needs a 401K?" Back in the day, every full-time employee got four free cases per monthl, which was eventually cut back to two free cases. However, given my ability to chat-up the ladies in my earlier days, I could get many of them to give me their beer if I needed extra for parties and such. It was a glorius time to say the least. My beer of choice then and now is Budweiser. The conversation as far as I am concerned ends there. If I am out somewhere and they don't have Budweiser then I drink Scotch. There is no barley substitute.

To make a long story even longer, the other dayI purchased an 18-piece of my favorite golden brew and started to load it into the refrigerator. Lo and behold, I notice that three of the bottle caps are silver instead of the usual gold worthy of the King of Beers. Part of me is excited as I think it is a mistake and the caps are actually Bud Light caps placed inadvertently on Budweiser bottles. But no, they have the Budweiser logo on the top of the cap which leads me to believe I really have a souvenir. Then I purchase another 18-piece a few days later, (I told you I like beer) and find that all of the caps are silver. Now I am pissed!

How in the hell can a company place a silver cap on the King of Beers? Ladies and gentleman, surely you agree with me that the King of Beers deserves a gold cap. Are you kidding me? What is this? Some kind of cost saving measure? No king worthy of his title wears a silver crown.

I voice my displeasure to my wife who asks me, "Are you going to stop drinkng Budweiser now in protest?" C'mon now, we're talking Budweiser not Wendy's. I can give up Wendy's, but not the nectar of the Gods I have come to love and worship. However, I am pissed that this has taken place in such a short time after the InBev purchase of Anheuser-Busch, especially when they said there would be no changes. I know you are thinking, "What a little thing for him to be worried about." But remember, the devil is in the details. That's how this shit starts. They think they slip something small like this by you and then they try some other shit later when you are not looking. Next thing you know, they start trying to sell you beer with fruit flavors. I can see this shit coming. Don't let them fool you. They know what they are doing and I hope you don't fall for it.

Well, tomorrow is another day. The sun will still rise in the east, the Minnesota Vikings will continue to break my heart and Budweisers now come with silver caps. I guess some things do change. In the immortal words of Sam Cooke, "A Change is Gonna Come."

Eat, drink and be merry!

Harry