Saint Arnold owner: Anheuser-Busch, Karbach recruiters are trying to poach my sales team

Beer is on tap at Saint Arnold Brewing Co. on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, in Houston. ( J. Patric Schneider / For the Chronicle ) Beer is on tap at Saint Arnold Brewing Co. on Tuesday, June 3, 2014, in Houston. ( J. Patric Schneider / For the Chronicle ) Photo: J. Patric Schneider, Freelance Photo: J. Patric Schneider, Freelance Image 1 of / 41 Caption Close Saint Arnold owner: Anheuser-Busch, Karbach recruiters are trying to poach my sales team 1 / 41 Back to Gallery

Houston's craft brewery scene is getting heated after the owner of Saint Arnold Brewing Company called out Karbach and their now-parent company Anheuser-Busch for trying to poach their sales team.

Saint Arnold owner Brock Wagner tweeted a screenshot of an email sent to one of his employees from a recruiter saying he is from Karbach Brewing Co.

"I support our recruitment efforts at Karbach Brewing Co. I'm working on a Regional Sales Manager role based in Houston that will be directly supporting our sales efforts in Texas," the email reads. "I would love to see if any names came to mind within your professional network that might be of interest. Please let me know if you have some time this week or next to connect."

Amused ABI is trolling several of our sales team today. And just in case you might want to work for ABI/Karbach. pic.twitter.com/nz7ewZwONf — Brock Wagner (@brockwagner) March 21, 2017

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The Saint Arnold employee's response to the email? They directly forwarded it to Wagner.

"Three of my people were contacted," Wagner told Chron.com "I'm sure they are trying to poach our people. You know, people ask me what I'm most proud of - some think it's the beer or the brewery - but really it's the people. We have a really amazing group of people that work here."

Chron.com has reached out to the recruiter and he released a statement.

"It's pretty clearly stated in the email that was tweeted, but my intent was to reach out and see if the recipient knew of anyone that might be interested in the role. It's a common practice to reach out within the industry and get recommendations for open positions," said Tommy Arkins of The High End. Story continues below.

Last November Karbach announced it was being acquired by brewing mega-company Anheuser-Busch InBev. Following the news of the sell, many craft brewery fans were upset with Karbach "selling out" to the largest beer company in the world.

MORE DETAILS: Karbach to be acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev

When Wagner was sent the email, he admits he laughed that they were "trolling" his workers. But he isn't worried, saying he feels Saint Arnold strives to treat their employees well.