CNBC program on Anheuser-Busch

In what is a case of either perfect or terrible timing, tomorrow night (July 17), CNBC will air a one-hour documentary about Anheuser-Busch. The program is part of its ongoing series called "American Originals." CNBC commissioned the film months ago, and production began in February. I flew to Chicago to film my part in it in March? April? Something like that. So it's been in the works for some time. Even this premiere date of July 17 was set back in May.

I have not seen the finished product, of course, so I have no idea what angle the director took; nor do I know if the production company has added voice-overs to acknowledge the, um, significant development that has unfolded since it wrapped production a few weeks ago. (*1) Anyway, it airs on CNBC Thursday July 17, 9 pm eastern time. Be there or be square.

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*1: So, you may ask, if she's not seen it, how the heck does she know she's in the program? Maybe she ended up on the cutting room floor. Good question! A few days ago, I had occasion to talk to a producer for one of CNBC's daytime news programs, and she told me that her boss had seen the final cut and that yes, I was in it. But I hasten to clarify: my role in this documentary is minuscule. I've done a great deal of on-camera work, and my experience is that one hour in front of the camera = one minute of actual air time. For this CNBC program, the director filmed me for two hours, which should translate to two minutes or less of air time.

The Cosmos Has Tilted

On May 23, I posted a blog piece titled "As the Cosmos Tilts..." Well ---- indeed. The cosmos has tilted. According to Reuters, the deal is official. You can find more info anywhere on the internet, but see this and this. When the moon rises tonight, I expect it to be green or blue, and located in the wrong quadrant of the sky. More later.

Me? In preparation for this moment, I've had a six-pack of Bud bottles in my fridge. I plan to pour one for my husband and one for me, and we will toast six generations of a remarkable family.

Well, well, well.............

So much for getting my hopes up (they soared earlier this week on the news that A-B had returned InBev's dump-the-board move with a lawsuit of its own). I'm sad to learn this. And there's more here at the Wall Street Journal. But as always, I'm pragmatic. Time to look ahead at the impact on brewing, which, oh! Right! I just did in five easy blog entries.....

[Added after the fact: Then I wrote another series about the specific impact of the InBev/A-B deal on American brewing. You can read it here.]

Odds and Ends a la Busch

A few last-minute odds and ends as this week gallops to a close.

First, reader Tracy Mehan sent me a link to a short piece he wrote for the American Spectator. I suspect many people share his memories. (And in the spirit of Jeff Alworth at Beervana, we're keepin' politics out of it!) (See his blog entry of July 10 titled "Beer Is Not Political.)

Second, another reader posted a comment to Part Five of my (probably too long) series about the future of brewing. He asked a GREAT question, one that I'd not even thought of. (See? This is why I'm not in charge....)

He asked: assuming the Busch family sells the company, what do they do next?

Great question. (Wish I'd thought of it.) And the answer is -- you tell me! What do you all think August IV will or should do next? He's only in his forties, and he's got plenty of dough.The floor is open!

Finally, my sincere thanks to everyone who responded this week to the op-ed piece in the Washington Post, to my blog entries about the future of brewing, and to the online discussion at the Post's website. (*1) (That, by the way, was a total blast. As exhilarating as any live talk I've ever given.)

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*1:  You can read the discussion transcript here. You have to scroll down a bit to find the start of the discussion.

Busch Family Tree

A number of people have emailed me to ask about the Busch family tree. (Eg: "Who ARE all those people?" "How does an Adolphus end up being an uncle to an August, and why isn't Adolphus running the show?" "Where are you coming up with six generations?" Etc.) I know the answers, but a graphic is much easier to understand. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch to the rescue. The newspaper has published an e-family tree. It's a bit tricky to navigate, but if you click the little gizmo in the lower left corner, you can zoom in and out. Right-click your mouse to move the entire tree.

Patriots, Man Your Barstools!

Today's Washington Post contains an op-ed piece I wrote. You can read it here. Tomorrow (Monday, July 7), I'll be "live" at washingtonpost.com answering readers' questions. And every day this week, I'll be blogging about the impact of the InBev/Anheuser-Busch deal on the craft brewing industry. Thanks for reading!