CHICAGO – Goose Island Beer Co. President Ken Stout knows a little something about competition. The youngest of 15 children, he was also a tenacious walk-on for DePaul University's basketball team in the 1980s.

So, no, he doesn't feel bad for craft brewers in China bemoaning Goose Island's growing presence there, part of a global expansion backed by parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev's considerable muscle.

"What good would it do us here in Chicago to be bellyaching with all the new breweries that have opened up in the last 10 years? It's just competition. It's the same with any industry. For some reason, beer gets a little more scrutiny because it's a more personal thing," said Stout, 53, who became Goose Island president in 2015.

Some die-hards swore off Goose Island forever when Anheuser-Busch acquired Chicago's oldest craft brewery for $38.8 million in 2011. In the years since, there's been a blurring of lines between Big Beer and craft beer as consolidation continues.

Stout makes no apologies. Before the deal, Goose Island was struggling to meet demand in other states, he said.

Now, Goose Island brews more varieties of beer in Chicago than ever before, employs more people, distributes nationally and exports to 13 global markets, he said.

Q: So, you were the youngest of 15 kids. What was that like?

A: First one up was the best dressed. My mom would always say, the best thing you can do is show me how much you don't need me. Self-reliance. Get good grades at school. Stay out of trouble. Those were the best things you could do.

Q: What are some of the most significant changes for Goose Island since the acquisition?

A: When we partnered with Anheuser-Busch in 2011, we had about 110 full-time employees. Now we have 150 and growing. … We're providing more advancement opportunities. The other major thing is, because of our partnership with Anheuser-Busch, we have access to quality control and quality assurance measures that most breweries anywhere near our size can only dream of.

Q: Some people no longer consider Goose Island a craft brewery because of its ownership. In terms of Goose Island's identity, does the word craft even really matter at this point?

A: We can't dwell on any criticism we receive. We're aware of it. And yeah, it stings. Most of us were here before the acquisition. There's a reason why we're still here. Listen, if we concentrate on what we do and what we do well and keep doing that and taking the high road, I can't help but think that criticism will die down.

Q: Are the limited release Bourbon County beers a way of staying connected with the craft beer community?

A: We've been making Bourbon County stout since the mid-1990s. We've always been into barrel aging. Goose has always been a leader in the barrel-aging process for craft brewing. That hasn't changed. But yeah, it's a way now — it wasn't intended this way from the beginning — but it's a way now to help us retain credibility as a brewer.

Q: What's your biggest global export market?

A: It's still the U.K., but we're over in Belgium now, over in Netherlands. We just opened up France, Italy. In the Far East, a lot of interest in craft beer. We're in South Korea, we're in China.