History
Adolphus Busch left Germany for the United States in 1857. He settled in St. Louis, Missouri, where he eventually established his own brewing supply house. In St. Louis, Busch also met and married a woman named Lilly Anheuser. Lilly’s father, Eberhard Anheuser, owned a small brewery that had been yielding lager beer for some time. In 1864, Busch partnered with his father in-law to form what would eventually become the Anheuser-Busch Company.
Busch traveled extensively throughout Europe in order to observe and study the latest brewing techniques. In the 1870s, Anheuser-Busch became the first American brewery to implement pasteurization, which greatly improved the shelf-life and transportability of its beers. In the mid-1800s, most Americans preferred robust, dark ales. Busch had encountered lighter lager beers during his travels and began brewing a light Bohemian lager. Anheuser-Busch introduced this lager in 1876 under the brand name Budweiser.
Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch enjoyed two decades of growth before the onset of prohibition in 1920. Anheuser-Busch had to suspend brewing of Budweiser during prohibition and launched a range of non-alcoholic products.
When prohibition came to an end in 1933, Anheuser-Busch began brewing Budweiser again. During prohibition the palate of the beer consumer had changed due to the popularization of sweeter homemade and bootlegged brews. The company dared consumers to drink Budweiser for five days, and if on the sixth day, if they still preferred the taste of other beers they could go back.
Growth was limited by economic conditions caused by the great depression but thanks in part to the introduction of the metal can in 1936 Budweiser’s sales began to climb again.
During World War II, the company diverted several resources to support the war effort and relinquished its West Coast markets to conserve rail car space. After the war Budweiser and Anheuser-Busch entered into an era of rapid growth.
August A. Busch Jr. became president of Anheuser-Busch in 1946 and began the creation of a national network of breweries. The first new brewery was opened in Newark, New Jersey in 1951, and was the first of nine to open over the course of the next 25 years.
Budweiser is available in over 80 markets.
After the InBev takeover, several cost cutting measures that were implemented have, according to some sources, negatively impacted upon the flavour of the beer. Whole rice grains have now been replaced by broken ones, and the high quality Hallertauer Mittelfrüh hop has been phased out. A former top AB InBev executive says the company saved about $55 million a year substituting cheaper hops in Budweiser and other U.S. beers for more expensive ones like Hallertauer Mittelfrüh.
Read more about this topic: Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)
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