USA, CA: AB InBev’s Golden Road Brewery open in Midtown, Sacramento

It's hard to miss the new Golden Road Brewery in Midtown, Sacramento.

The large brewery, which started in Los Angeles and was bought by Anheuser-Busch in 2015, is entirely outdoors on 19th and L Streets and is made out of five, re-purposed shipping containers painted turquoise, ABC10.com reported on May 10.

While it was visibly packed during the opening night on May 9, a controversy over its arrival is already, well, brewing among local brewers.

Claimstake Brewing in Rancho Cordova posted a statement on their Facebook page suggesting Golden Road Brewery makes "faux 'craft' beer" that has "infiltrated the neighborhood."

"Anheuser-Busch InBev, owners of Budweiser and other 'Big Beer' brands, is the antithesis of local slow, craft and independent," the statement said.

Tom McCormick with the California Craft Brewers Association accused Golden Road of not being transparent about their parent company, saying "Golden Road Brewing is Anheuser-Busch InBev."

J-E Paino, who owns Ruhstaller Brewery in Dixon and is currently opening up a tasting room downtown, said he had a chance to rent the same, prime space Golden Road did but the rent was just too high.

"Here's a brewery from LA trying to come in to the center of the soul of Sacramento," Paino told ABC10, "And one of the main reasons they can do that is because they are funded by the largest brewery in the world."

But Paino said Anheuser-Busch is not all bad, and pointed out that they fund the prestigious beer making program at UC Davis.

"Anheuser-Busch plays a role in the community," he explained. "Their reality is they're struggling to compete with the little guys, so they buy the little guys like Golden Road and stick them in communities like this."

"Is that faux craft brewery?" he added. "Sure it is. It's not real. But it's a slippery slope."

Adam Levoe, Golden Road's Director of Operations, told ABC10 that the brewery is proud of their parent company and that they still have full, creative control over all their beers.

"We have hired 40 local people in the area. We're friends with a bunch of people who work at the other bars and brewers," Levoe said. "I think there's plenty of room and the space for all of us."

13 May, 2018