What is the future of the U.S. beer industry? Who has the upper hand? And do changes at Anheuser-Busch open the door for competitors? Well, why don’t we ask Anheuser-Busch AND its top competitor? As the Guinness guys say…brilliant!

Anheuser-Busch president Dave Peacock gave a wide-ranging interviewing recently to Michael Bellas of Beverage Marketing Corp. at a New York conference. It makes for interesting reading, especially in regard to changes - or non-changes - at Anheuser-Busch as new owner InBev makes its presence felt.

Beer Business Daily reported on the conversation. We quote:

One observation Bellas made was that A-B seemed to be focused on profits now more than market share, a notion that Dave seemed to bristle at: “We have a market share meeting every week….It’s the foundation for making money and getting scale,” he said.

We’re not surprised Peacock would take issue with folks who suggest that A-B would be okay with trading away some of its market share for bigger profits. Controlling about half of the U.S. beer market and fighting rivals for every tap handle and inch of shelf space has long been entwined in Anheuser-Busch’s corporate DNA. (Just as InBev’s reputation has been built on cutting costs.)

Here’s another reason A-B might be feeling a bit tetchy: its chief U.S. rival, MillerCoors, is publicly licking its chops at the possibility of grabbing market share. Tom Long, president and chief commercial officer at Chicago-based MillerCoors, made some eye-raising comments to that effect at the New York forum.

Long said “it’s clear that a fundamental reset is happening in the beverage industry, particularly here in America,” according to Beer Business Daily. “Things are more up for grabs than they’ve ever been.”

Why? According to Long, Anheuser-Busch’s “once unstoppable momentum has been disrupted” by factors such as the steady growth of craft beer and what he called the “rejuvenation” of Miller and Coors.

Long said MillerCoors senses an opportunity to “change the basics of competition,” and for “big market share swings.” (Quotes from trade publication Insights Express.)

Very interesting indeed. Will MillerCoors be able to deliver on the bravado? We’ll know soon enough. Anheuser-Busch is unlikely to cede anything easily to MillerCoors - even a “rejuvenated” MillerCoors.

Our question is: What will happen at Anheuser-Busch if chasing market share (with more marketing, more sales reps with “boots on the ground,” etc.) runs into conflict with the goal of boosting profits? The two goals are not mutually exclusive, but neither are they necessarily the same. Will one have to give way? Something to ponder. We return to the article:

Dave also talked about how A-B has simplified processes and reduced paper reports, which they “have shrunk that down considerably and have gone paperless.” Dave said the new A-B won’t get distracted with “ancillary data” and are “focusing hard” on the areas consumers are willing to pay for. Dave also said that InBev has taught them to be more of an “answer seeking” company rather than always demonstrating that you have all the answers. “That’s a different mentality for us.”

As we’ve said before, we really want to know whether the exchange of “best practices” is a two-way street, rather than simply a case of InBev dictating terms to its latest acquisition. Anheuser-Busch brewmasters say some of their new technology is getting picked up at InBev’s far-flung breweries, which is an interesting sign. Whether it represents a trend or a departure from the norm at the new Anheuser-Busch InBev is still up for debate.