Lager Heads is back. Free beer at Anheuser-Busch theme parks is not.
Folks, Lager Heads has returned after a trip to the East Coast, during which we encountered heavy rains and a nasty flu. Uggh. But we’re feeling better now — ready to hit the new year with a vengeance.
By now, you may have heard the news. Anheuser-Busch will no longer provide free beer at its theme parks. A-B, now part of Anheuser-Busch InBev, is discontinuing the practice of giving small, complimentary samples at a half-dozen parks.
We seem to recall this being predicted when InBev bought Anheuser-Busch last year. This deal has been interesting for the speed with which prophecies of cost-cutting have become reality. Although, to be fair, this is perhaps the least painful cut A-B InBev will ever make.
InBev’s management may be stingy, but they ain’t stupid. Anheuser-Busch InBev is still giving free one-day passes to members of the U.S. armed forces and their families. “Here’s to the Heroes” has given free admission to more than 3.2 million members of U.S. and coalition armed forces and their families in the past four years, and the program has been extended through 2009. A wise move, especially given the nationalistic outcry against the takeover.
From an Associated Press story on the free beer, or lack thereof:
[Anheuser-Busch] has stopped giving free samples in hospitality centers at its SeaWorld theme parks in Orlando, San Antonio and San Diego and its Busch Gardens parks in Tampa and Williamsburg, Va.
Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks spokesman Fred Jacobs says the free samples had a narrow appeal among park customers.
The brewer plans to build more restaurants and other venues geared toward families with children. Customers can still buy beer at some of the parks’ existing venues.
An Orlando Sentinel editorial says it “surely is a sign of the end of days.” (We assume they are being tongue-in-cheek. Right, guys?) From the editorial:
The hospitality houses at SeaWorld and Busch Gardens are closing in a few weeks.
That means no more free beer samples enjoyed in a cool, adult sanctuary from the heat, the noise and the unrelenting expense of the theme-park experience.
InBev, the Belgian brewing titan that recently finalized its purchase of Anheuser-Busch, wasted no time dispensing with this beloved, 50-year-old tradition. The end of free beer samples also means the end of beer school, where visitors could learn the ancient wonders of brewing and discover the difference between lager and ale.
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Jeremiah McWilliams is a native Virginian who came to the Post-Dispatch in early 2007 to cover beer and other consumer products. He previously covered manufacturing for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper in Norfolk, Va. He is a graduate of Washington and Lee University. 
While maybe it’s annoying… seriously, I really doubt two 10 oz portions of beer lured anyone into their theme parks anyways. How could fifty cents worth of beer all of a sudden make it a bargain? It’s $65 for a one or two day pass to Sea World for ages 10 and up. $55 for 3-9! You want to take your family of 2 adults and 2 kids to Sea World, and it costs you over $200 to get in the gate. No way is anyone saying, hey, you know what, we can get TWO little cups of beer, let’s go spend $200 to get it.
It IS too bad that they’re closing the beer school, also. Most people know absolutely nothing about beer beyond the mis-leading commercials they see on TV.
Overall, it’s just the type of cost cutting measures expected out of InBev. This really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Everything free will likely disappear over the next year or two. Those that are still working at the breweries will likely loose their free monthly samples. That right there is probably hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of beer per year, if not millions.