Anheuser-Busch Accused of Watering Down Several Brands

[Big L]

I don't get the outrage. We already knew AB sells watered down crap.



http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/busine...html?hpt=hp_t3

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Two California residents are suing Anheuser-Busch, alleging that the company waters down Budweiser and other beers "significantly" to boost profits, their attorneys announced Tuesday.

The class-action lawsuit alleges that the maker of the "King of Beers" has the technology to precisely control the amount of alcohol in its beers but adds water so that the alcohol is well below the advertised figure of 5% by volume, the suit said.

"There are no impediments -- economic, practical or legal -- to AB accurately labeling its products to reflect their true alcohol content," the 18-page lawsuit said. "Nevertheless, AB uniformly misrepresents and overstates that content."

The beer maker rejected the lawsuit's allegations.

"The claims against Anheuser-Busch are completely false, and these lawsuits are groundless," said Peter Kraemer, vice president of brewing and supply for Anheuser-Busch. "Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws.

"We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world," he said.

The lawsuit alleges the other watered-down beers are Bud Ice, Bud Lite Platinum, Michelob, Michelob Ultra, Hurricane High Gravity Lager, King Cobra, Busch Ice, Natural Ice and Bud Light Lime.

But the suit doesn't provide figures for the allegedly watered-down alcohol content.

Nina Giampaoli and John Elbert, who reside in Sonoma County, California, are the plaintiffs who say they stopped buying Budweiser after learning of the alleged mislabeling, the suit said.

Their suit, filed last week in federal court in San Francisco, alleges violations of California's consumer protection laws and Missouri's Merchandising Practices Act.

"I think it's wrong for huge corporations to lie to their loyal customers -- I really feel cheated," Giampaoli said in a statement. "No matter what the product is, people should be able to rely on the information companies put on their labels."

The company's parent, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the world's largest producer of alcoholic beverages and made more than 10 billion gallons of malt libations in 2011, generating gross profits of more than $22 billion, the lawsuit said.

The parent company's 13 U.S. breweries alone produced more than 3 billion gallons of alcoholic beverages in 2011, and Anheuser Busch has a 47.7% market share of the U.S. sale of beer, the suit said.

"Because water is cheaper than alcohol, AB adds extra water to its finished products to produce malt beverages that consistently have lower alcohol content than the percentage displayed on its labels," the suit said. "By doing so, AB is able to produce a significantly higher number of units of beer from the same starting batch of ingredients.

"AB never intends for the malt beverage to possess the amount of alcohol that is stated on the label. As a result, AB's customers are overcharged for watered-down beer and AB is unjustly enriched by the additional volume it can sell," the suit said.

The lawsuit, which says the matter in controversy exceeds $5 million, seeks unspecified amounts for compensatory and exemplary damages and asks the court to require the beer makers "to fund a corrective advertising campaign," the suit said.

[Fishooked]

How is the guy buying Michelob even still alive?


http://gawker.com/5987199/budweiser-...wn-their-beers

Of course one of the plaintiffs is from NJ. Of course.

Exciting month for Anheuser-Busch. First, they convinced Marcus Mumford-collaborator Justin Timberlake to become the "creative director" for Bud Light Platinum. And now the company is being sued by beer drinkers in three different states for allegedly watering down its beer. The lawsuits, filed in Pennsylvania, California and New Jersey, accuse Anheuser-Busch of watering down 11 of their beers, including Budweiser, the aforementioned Bud Light Platinum, and Black Crown; each lawsuit is seeking damages of over over $5 million.

From the complaint: "Anheuser-Busch employs some of most sophisticated process control technology in the world to precisely monitor the alcohol content at the final stages of production, and then adds additional water to produce beers with significantly lower alcohol contents than is represented on the the labels".

The three plaintiffs include boozers with impressive enough qualifications. Thomas and Gerald Greenberg of Philadelphia say they buy four cases of Budweiser a month, Nina Giampoli of California bought at least a six-pack of Bud each week for the past four years, and Brian Wilson of New Jersey purchases, on average, a case of Michelob Ultra each month. All plaintiffs accuse Anheuser-Busch of keeping "the alcohol level for each batch of malt beverage at specifications above the desired final product at least initially then adds water and CO2 to the final stage of the brewing process," a process that lowers the overall alcohol content by three to eight percent.

According to Joel Boxer, the attorney for the plaintiffs in California, the watering down came to light via several whistle-blowing former Anheuser-Busch employees.

"Our information comes from former employees at Anheuser-Busch, who have informed us that, as a matter of corporate practice, all of their products mentioned [in the lawsuit] are watered down," lead lawyer Josh Boxer said.

Anheuser-Busch says the claims are unfounded, according to Peter Kramer, the company's vice president of brewing and supply.

"Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws," Kraemer said. "We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world."

In addition to five million dollars in damages, the plaintiffs are seeking a court order that would require a "corrective advertising campaign." According to Boxer, additional lawsuits are forthcoming in Ohio and Colorado.

[32green]

Originally Posted by Big L

Nina Giampaoli and John Elbert, who reside in Sonoma County, California, are the plaintiffs who say they stopped buying Budweiser after learning of the alleged mislabeling, the suit said.

"When I could drink bud all morning, then drive by 5 world class wineries to go to the gas station to get more beer, without swerving or closing one eye, I knew something was up" said Elbert.

"That used to **** me up royally. SOmethings up."


-

[Big L]

I'm confused about the whole thing. So the label on a can of Bud says, what, 4.5% alc. by volume? But Bud brews at say 6%, so they add water to get it to the 4.5%? Whats the outrage? If the can says 4.5%, then is that what you get in the can or not? Or does the can say 4.5% and you are only getting 3%? That's shady, then. Otherwise, WLF.

[Lone Star Lady]

This is truly bizarre. How would someone know what the % content is?
They found a whistle-blower and decided to sue?

"Dayum, my Bud just don't seem that alky-holic today."

What a bunch of boozer losers.






Go buy Old Mr. Boston Wild Cherry Brandy if you want a cheap kick. That's what we did in high school.

[Peebag]

Whatever they're doing it still tastes like piss

[cr726]

There def is a whistleblower, it's not an American owned company anymore.

Originally Posted by Lone Star Lady

This is truly bizarre. How would someone know what the % content is?
They found a whistle-blower and decided to sue?

"Dayum, my Bud just don't seem that alky-holic today."

What a bunch of boozer losers.






Go buy Old Mr. Boston Wild Cherry Brandy if you want a cheap kick. That's what we did in high school.

[crasherino]

Originally Posted by Big L

I'm confused about the whole thing. So the label on a can of Bud says, what, 4.5% alc. by volume? But Bud brews at say 6%, so they add water to get it to the 4.5%? Whats the outrage? If the can says 4.5%, then is that what you get in the can or not? Or does the can say 4.5% and you are only getting 3%? That's shady, then. Otherwise, WLF.

This.

My morning ice coffee guy has been putting too much ice in my coffee - essentially watering it down. I now have the name of a lawyer who is an expert in the field. Sweet.

Pretty sure I'll make enough to stop working.

[Fishooked]

Originally Posted by Lone Star Lady

This is truly bizarre. How would someone know what the % content is?
They found a whistle-blower and decided to sue?

"Dayum, my Bud just don't seem that alky-holic today."

What a bunch of boozer losers.






Go buy Old Mr. Boston Wild Cherry Brandy if you want a cheap kick. That's what we did in high school.

AB has deep pockets. That's the only reason, even these loser drunks know this.

[cr726]

I can't help but to laugh when a man orders or buys Mick Ultra.