Northern Brewer was the place I got my first beer kit after I started homebrewing. They have been the source of most of the recipes I’ve used, and a lot of the gear I’ve purchased. Mr. Scout told me today they’d been bought by Anheuser-Busch Inbev, which is the equivalent of having your kid’s lemonade stand bought by Pepsi.

A-B Inbev has been buying large, established breweries for years and consumers have complained that they’ve watered down the recipes and lowered the quality of the ingredients. I drink craft beer because the taste is superior to that of giant megabreweries. I brew my own beer for the same reasons. I can only hope that Inbev doesn’t use its huge market position to water down Northern Brewer’s quality as well. In the meantime, there’s always Austin Homebrew Supply or my local brewing store.