At this point, it isn't uncommon to hear that AB-InBev, the company that owns Budweiser and most of the rest of the beer consumed on planet earth, has purchased another craft brewery. But the recent announcement that Wicked Weed Brewing sold out, came as a surprise to industry watchers. The Asheville, N. C. operation always was thought to be a stalwart independent brewer and one of the leaders in the rising sour beer trend. In fact, their sour beer production was one of the things that made them so attractive to the brewing giant, according to The Full Pint.

But within 24 hours one of Wicked Weed's long-term partners, Jester King a prominent Austin, Tx. brewer canceled a collaboration deal.

Jester King wasn't the only one caught off guard by the move. Twitter never reacts well to big beer buyouts, and anti Wicked Weed sentiment popped up pretty quickly.

Even though craft beer's growth has slowed from its meteoric growth over the first part of this decade to something a little more sustainable, it still is an outrageously profitable endeavor.

But with growth come legal battles from within and without. Over the last few weeks, trademark disputes have caused a little trouble in the craft beer industry, as growth from within has made territorial skirmishes part of doing business.

For its part, Wicked Weed sees the move as an opportunity to stop fighting against big beer machinations, according to an interview reported by Business Insider.

In fact, they're apparently so happy to be part of the Budweiser family, they took back all the mean things they've said over the years.

Wicked Weed, Budweiser, and Super Bowl 50

Super Bowl 50 featured an ad by Budweiser mocking the craft beer industry generally and the fawning over odd exotic beers like the ones made at Wicked Weed specifically.

While Bud (which had at the time just then finished a craft brewery buying spending spree) endured some social media backlash, mostly it shook off the criticism.

Or so it would have appeared. Apparently, Wicked Weed had a post from that time that Budweiser not only remembered but had them remove sometime over the last two weeks. Here's a screenshot of the deleted post:

This is the kind of event that sends chills through the industry. Apparently, the sale to Budweiser doesn't just include your future, it includes your past as well.

For many craft beer lovers, this is the kind of behavior that gives the lie to the "nothing will change" assertion that breweries make when they sell out to Bud. Something obviously will change, not only who the brewers are, but also who they were.
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