Damn Yankees

I posted this over at Pointbuzz, but thought the discussion here might be a little more nuanced. This is an observation we made today on our week-long stay at Cedar Point.

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Budweiser products have been systematically removed from Cedar Point. Had a nice discussion with our bartender at the Red Garter Saloon about the quite removal throughout the park. Her expression said it all as we briefly discussed its absence. Bartender at the Last Chance Saloon said "good luck finding anything Bud Light related at this park".

Ted Nugent (Damn Yankees) must be doing cartwheels in his camouflaged speedo at this news.

Discuss...

I don't believe this (the insinuation) for one second. A national park chain is going to decide what products they serve by the price they contractually negotiate for a very large supply. Cedar Fair will not completely sever ties with one of the worlds' largest corporations over something as petty as the Bud Light thing.

I believe you that the bartender inferred something, maybe they were subtly pushing their own belief system?

Of course, I don't even know what brand of beer Cedar Point ever served. Despite being a passholder for 23 years, I've never had a desire to drink even a single beer at a park. Beer and coasters would not mix well with me.

Here was my response over there-
“My hope and expectation is that Cedar Point isn’t participating in the foolish boycott of products. However, I fear the removal may be triggered by fear of loss of sales or having to deal with people who would unfairly protest against the park and cause a certain kind of trouble for them. Which I suppose counts as a form of backlash.”

Beer and coasters have been fantastic for me.

I can assure you that there are no politics involved here. First off, Bud Light sucks. It has always sucked, and I've never understood why it enjoyed the popularity it does other than it's cheap and only slightly better than Natty Lite, which is to say, still tastes like ****. I recall a decade or so ago, Ohio chain Winking Lizard dropped Bud in favor of Yuengling. The reason was price increases that they thought were ridiculous relative to the value of the product (they typically carry dozens of beers on tap, hundreds in bottles). When Cedar Fair dropped Pepsi for Coke, I recall the dynamic was even more extreme. The deal included a ton of signage budget that were like a fresh coat of paint, and I'm not sure if they actually paid for any of the product, at least at first, with Coke considering it more of a marketing expense than anything.

The distributor probably didn't play nice, the park put something else in the bar.

It’s definitely partially distribution at play, here. Stores and restaurants aren’t ordering as much because it doesn’t sell, so it sits at the distributor, and they don’t order as much. They start stocking more of the brands that do sell, and all the Bud Light goes to sports and concerts.

At the same time, if I have a seasonal business that depends on using all perishable product before closing day, I’m certainly not stocking my shelves with something that doesn’t move.

They have plenty of other AB-InBev beers still available, as well as other, better light/lite beers.

It is always interesting to see people state that a food/drink sucks. Is that statement of "fact" supposed to influence someone else's taste buds?

I freely admit it - I drink Bud Light, along with other beers as well. On a summer day I don't want something heavy so Bud Light or Bud Light Lime is my go to beer in that case. I find that a nice room temperature Guinness in that situation is simply not a good fit.

And Yuengling sucks.

I remember for my (first) wedding, the caterer was sure that I wanted Bud, and thought he was super clever about it. But I shocked him when I asked for Molson Canadian, which admittedly is kind of the Canadian Bud Light, but still better. These days, I don't drink beer at all. I'm a liquor guy, and keep a lot of the good stuff on hand, even though I really only drink it on weekends.

The only reason I imagine that I ever drank beer was because it was what you could afford as a college student. It took awhile to acquire a taste for it at all.

But I'm always surprised when I'm at a F&W festival, where they've trucked in all kinds of small-batch stuff from all over the country, and you see someone carrying around that aluminum blue bottle. I kind of get it, people like what they like (#autism), but quality isn't a totally subjective concept.

The only beer I have ever seen branded at Cedar Point has been Yuengling. Think of the "beer trucks" you see out on the Midways. I have no idea what is in the taps at the various saloons, but I assume it would be the same (contracts and all...)

Shades:

room temperature Guinness

Pushes glasses up - Well actually... Guinness should always be served cold.

Cedar Point has a weird mix of beers but I doubt they are curating it themselves. They tell their distributor that they want a mix of domestic and craft beers and they get what they get and iterate based on what's selling.

There are plenty of light lagers that have more flavor than Bud Light. Room temperature Guiness is not the only comparison point. That doesn't mean everyone wants more flavor, but still.

As an aside, Heineken 0.0 is mind-blowing. Unlike most NA beers (and Bud Light), it actually tastes like beer.

Shades:
And Yuengling sucks.

Yeah, but you don't like chicken tenders either, so your opinion kind of doesn't count. 😂

JK 😁

Tommytheduck:

A national park chain is going to decide what products they serve by the price they contractually negotiate for a very large supply.

Which makes it even stanger that, given all the current controversy, AB-InBev isn't making sure the price is right to put Bud Light as many places as possible.

Raven-Phile:
Stores and restaurants aren’t ordering as much because it doesn’t sell, so it sits at the distributor, and they don’t order as much. They start stocking more of the brands that do sell, and all the Bud Light goes to sports and concerts.

eightdotthree:
They tell their distributor that they want a mix of domestic and craft beers and they get what they get and iterate based on what's selling.

So the boycott is working?

eightdotthree:

Well actually... Guinness should always be served cold.

Room temp Guinness straight out of the bottle is the best for me. A cold bottle is not as good. And don't even get me started on my thoughts on it on draft.

...that's probably because on draft (if done properly) it is servied with a (primarily) nitrogen tap, not CO2. If you aren't used to that, it won't "taste right" because it will be a little under-carbonated compared to what you are expecting. But, it's the way that the good folks at Guinness intended it.

Jeff:

The only reason I imagine that I ever drank beer was because it was what you could afford as a college student. It took awhile to acquire a taste for it at all.

I still wonder if this is why I still don't like beer. I never drank it in college and never have had that time period where I have forced myself to adapt and acquire a taste for it.

Shades:

It is always interesting to see people state that a food/drink sucks. Is that statement of "fact" supposed to influence someone else's taste buds?

Some people are looking for validation of their tastes (applies to food and drink and other things as well such as entertainment and coasters/amusement parks). There is a status symbol/arrogance/mockery element to it for some as well.

People like what they like. The idea that your individual tastes/preferences are "wrong" is silly to me. Its all subjective.

In terms of beer, I have no comment. All of the beer I have consumed in my life would fit in a dixie dup with room left over for some water. Have tried what friends have said is "good" beer and it all tastes horrible to me. Can't get past the smell at this point. Made it 50 years without it so I am comfortable I can ride the rest of the way home without. Have some in basement fridge though. Family/friends come over who drink beer typically bring some if they want it and leave what they don't drink behind. Buy some too on occasion. Some may be here from my daughter's graduation 5+ years ago. Know we have bottles of wine from that graduation.

Lord Gonchar:

So the boycott is working?

I don't recall ever seeing Bud Light in the park to begin with so /shrug

Brian Noble:

As an aside, Heineken 0.0 is mind-blowing. Unlike most NA beers (and Bud Light), it actually tastes like beer.

I've been wondering about that. Waiting for a place that I see selling singles to test it out. There's a brewery that's making NA IPAs and other normally craft-style beers that are surprisingly good also.

I hated beer in college. Later I realized that I don't hate beer at all, I just don't like ****ty beer.

I would not have ever even tried it ("contempt prior to investigation") except that I was doing a trail race in Stockholm of all places, and it was part of the post-race refreshments. I figured I was just tired and thirsty, but when I got back to the US I bought some and sure enough...pretty darn good!

I was surprised at how many NA beers I saw in Europe. Almost everyone makes one over there.