It’s official: the “Great American Lager” has been sold out.

InBev finalized its $52 billion takeover of Anheuser-Busch and opened the Belgium-based company on the Brussels Stock Exchange this week.

Shareholders received a measly $70 per share as Anheuser-Busch made its transition to become part of the now largest brewing company in the world – Anheuser-Busch InBev. This also marks the date of the beginning of my boycott of this company. That’s right, no more Bud, Bud Light, Michelob, Beck’s, Rolling Rock, Labatt, Bass, St. Pauli Girl, Löwenbräu, Fraziskaner or Stella Artois for me.

Now I’m not saying I won’t drink a free one. What kind of idiot turns down free beer? Not this one.

But I will say I’m done buying “American beer” from foreign-based companies. I stopped drinking Miller and Coors products years ago.

Since then, I’ve had many bar-room arguments about taste, calories and whatever other excuse my fellow establishment patrons tried to use to get me to switch.

My final argument was always “Bud is American owned and I’m American so I’m drinking it.”

Now, after years of my undying loyalty to Budweiser and its subsidiaries, I, like millions of other fine, upstanding American beer drinkers, have been hung out to dry by the company I’ve always stood up for.

Well, not anymore!

I’m taking my business elsewhere. Maybe I’ll start drinking Sam Adams, Boston Beer Company – now the largest American-owned beer company. Or Boulevard, the largest American-owned beer company in Missouri. Or maybe even Shiner Bock, another excellent American-owned beer company. I might even start drinking imports owned by companies that don’t try to hide their roots by selling brews like “American Ale.” Red Stripe, Guinness and Heineken are all sounding pretty tasty to me right now.

But whatever beer becomes my brew of choice, I can tell you right now, it’s not going to be a Bud.