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Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC is an American brewing company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been wholly owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV ( AB InBev), now the world's largest brewing company, which owns multiple global brands, notably Budweiser, Michelob, Stella Artois, and Beck's. The company employs over 19,000 people, operates 12 breweries in the United States, and until December 2009, was one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, with ten theme parks through the company's family entertainment division
Busch Entertainment Corporation SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...
.


History


Beginnings and national expansion

In 1852,
German American German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...
brewer and saloon operator George Schneider opened the Bavarian Brewery on Carondelet Avenue (later known as South Broadway) between Dorcas and Lynch streets in South St. Louis.Herbst, 32. Schneider's brewery expanded in 1856 to a new brewhouse near Eighth and Crittenden streets; however, the following year financial problems forced the sale of the brewery to various owners during the late 1850s. In 1860, the brewery was purchased on the brink of bankruptcy by William D'Oench, a local pharmacist, and Eberhard Anheuser, a prosperous German-born soap manufacturer. Jackson, Michael (1977). ''The World Guide to Beer'', pp. 210–211. New York: Ballantine. D'Oench was the silent partner in the business until 1869, when he sold his half-interest in the company. From 1860 to 1875, the brewery was known as E. Anheuser & Co., and from 1875 to 1879 as the E. Anheuser Company's Brewing Association. Adolphus Busch, a wholesaler who had immigrated to St. Louis from Germany in 1857, married Eberhard Anheuser's daughter, Lilly, in 1861. Following his service in the American Civil War, Busch began working as a salesman for the Anheuser brewery.Herbst, 33. Busch purchased D'Oench's share of the company in 1869, and he assumed the role of company secretary from that time until the death of his father-in-law. Adolphus Busch was the first American brewer to use
pasteurization Pasteurization or pasteurisation is a process of food preservation in which packaged and non-packaged foods (such as milk and fruit juices) are treated with mild heat, usually to less than , to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life. The ...
to keep beer fresh; the first to use mechanical refrigeration and refrigerated railroad cars, which he introduced in 1876; and the first to bottle beer extensively.Herbst, 34. By 1877, the company owned a fleet of 40 refrigerated railroad cars to transport beer. Expanding the company's distribution range led to increased demand for Anheuser products, and the company substantially expanded its facilities in St. Louis during the 1870s.Herbst, 36. The expansions led production to increase from 31,500 barrels in 1875 to more than 200,000 in 1881. To streamline the company's refrigerator car operations and achieve vertical integration, Busch established the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company in 1878, which was charged with building, selling, and leasing refrigerator cars; by 1883, the company owned 200 cars, and by 1888 it owned 850. To serve these cars and switch them in and out of their St. Louis brewery, Anheuser-Busch founded the Manufacturers Railway Company in 1887. The shortline operated until 2011 when Anheuser-Busch sought to shut down operations. During the 1870s, Adolphus Busch toured Europe and studied the changes in brewing methods which were taking place at the time, particularly the success of pilsner beer, which included a popular Budweiser beer brewed in Budweis. In 1876, Busch took the already well-known name Budweiser and used it for his new beer, even though his product had no connections to the city of Budweis. His company's ability to transport bottled beer made US Budweiser the first national beer brand in the United States, and it was marketed as a "premium" beer. The company was renamed Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association in 1879; in 1880, Adolphus Busch became company president upon Anheuser's death.Herbst, 37.Rhodes, Christine P. (1995). ''The Encyclopedia of Beer'', pp. 49–53. New York: Henry Holt & Co. . The Busch family fully controlled the company through the generations until Anheuser-Busch's sale to InBev in 2008. During the 1880s and 1890s, Busch introduced a series of advertisements and marketing giveaways for the company, including bottle openers, calendars, corkscrews, pocketknives, postcards, and prints.Herbst, 38. Among the most well-known of these giveaways was ''Custer's Last Fight'', a lithograph print of a painting by St. Louis artist Cassilly Adams. As a marketing tactic, Busch distributed thousands of copies of the print to bars in 1896, the same year Anheuser-Busch introduced its new "super-premium" brand, Michelob. Eventually more than one million copies of the print were produced, and it became "one of the most popular pieces of artwork in American history." At the turn of the 20th century, Anheuser-Busch continued to expand its production facilities to keep up with demand.Herbst, 39. In 1905, the company built a new stockhouse in St. Louis, and by 1907 it produced nearly 1.6 million barrels of beer. As demands for the prohibition of alcohol in the United States grew, Anheuser-Busch began producing non-alcoholic and low-alcoholic beverages (known as near beer); the most successful of these was Bevo, a
malt beverage A malt drink is a fermented drink in which the primary ingredient is the grain, or seed, of the barley plant, which has been allowed to sprout slightly in a traditional way called " malting" before it is processed. By far the most predominant ...
introduced in 1908. After the death of Adolphus Busch in 1913, control of the company passed to his son,
August Anheuser Busch Sr. August Anheuser Busch Sr. (December 29, 1865 – February 10, 1934) was an American brewing magnate who served as the President and Chief executive officer, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1913 to 1934. It became the wo ...
, who continued to combat the rise of prohibitionists. As part of an effort to improve the respectability of drinking, August Busch built three upscale restaurants in St. Louis during the 1910s: the Stork Inn, the Gretchen Inn (now known as the Feasting Fox), and the
Bevo Mill Bevo Mill is a neighborhood located in south St. Louis, Missouri. Populace The Bevo Mill area is direct to the west of the neighborhood of Dutchtown, which was a major center of German settlement in St. Louis in the mid-nineteenth century. Aft ...
.


Prohibition period

As with all breweries in the country, the Temperance movement and eventual
Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...
dealt a major blow to the company in the 1910s through the 1930s. Some of the products sold by Anheuser-Busch to survive during Prohibition included brewer's yeast, malt extract, ice cream, and Bevo, a nonalcoholic malt beverage, or "near beer".


Prohibition to last years of independence

In 1957, Anheuser-Busch became the largest brewer in the United States. In 1981, Anheuser-Busch International, Inc., was established as a subsidiary responsible for the company's international operations and equity investments. Prior to its 2008 acquisition, Anheuser-Busch operated 15 breweries internationally: 14 in China and one in the United Kingdom. In 1997, Chinese production of Anheuser-Busch products began after the company's purchase of a local brewery; later, the company operated both Budweiser Wuhan International Brewing Company and
Harbin Brewery Harbin Brewery () is a Chinese brewery founded in 1900 in Harbin, China. As China's fourth largest brewery and its oldest one, it has a leading position in Northeast China and owns the Hapi beer brand. Harbin has increased its annual beer produ ...
, which Anheuser-Busch fully acquired in 2004. In the United Kingdom, the Budweiser Stag Brewing Company produced and packaged Budweiser at the Stag Brewery in Mortlake. At one time, Anheuser-Busch International also held investments in Grupo Modelo in MexicoGrupo Modelo Appoints Anheuser-Busch as the Importer of its Brands in China
, ''Anheuser-Busch Press Release'', 2006. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
Tsingtao Brewery in China; Anheuser-Busch also held investments in Redhook Ale Brewery of Seattle, Washington"Anybody Watching Redhook's Stock..."
, ''What's on tap? Newsletter''. Retrieved March 24, 2008.
and
Widmer Brothers Brewery Widmer Brothers is a brewery founded in 1984 in Portland, Oregon, by brothers Kurt and Robert Widmer. It is part of the Craft Brew Alliance, Inc., the 12th largest brewing company in the United States in 2017. Details In 1986, the Widmer Broth ...
of Portland, Oregon. After the 2008 acquisition, most international operations were transferred to AB InBev zones where the interests are located.


Acquisition by InBev

On June 12, 2008, Belgian-Brazilian brewing company InBev announced that it had made a US$46 billion offer for the company, which if it was accepted would join two of the world's four largest brewing companies (based on revenue) and create a company brewing three of the highest-grossing beers in the world, namely
Bud Light Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...
, Budweiser, and Skol. InBev also stated that the merger would not result in any U.S. brewery closures and they would attempt to retain management and board members from both companies. On June 25, 2008, Anheuser-Busch officially announced that they would reject InBev's offer and provide a restructuring of the company to maintain shareholders and United States World Headquarters in St. Louis. On July 1, 2008, InBev urged Anheuser-Busch shareholders to vote in favor of the buyout as InBev felt the offer of $65 per share should be considered a reasonable offer in view of the falling stock market. The company had previously filed suit in Delaware, after the rejection of their offer, to ensure that the stockholders could oust Anheuser-Busch's 13 board members. On July 7, 2008, Anheuser-Busch filed a lawsuit against InBev to stop them from soliciting the support of shareholders, stating that the company's offer is an illegal scheme. InBev was also accused of concealing that they do business in Cuba, which might have created additional obstacles to their efforts to operate in the United States. On July 13, 2008, Anheuser-Busch and InBev said they had agreed to a deal, pending shareholder and regulatory approval, for InBev to purchase the American icon at $70 per share, creating a new company to be named Anheuser-Busch InBev. Anheuser-Busch would get two seats on the combined board of directors. The all-cash agreement, almost $52 billion in total equity, created the world's largest brewer, uniting the maker of Budweiser and Michelob with the producer of Beck's, Stella Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe,
Bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
, Labatt and Brahma. The two companies had combined yearly sales of more than $36.4 billion, surpassing the current No. 1 brewer, London-based
SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world's ...
. Grupo Modelo took InBev to arbitration for more than a year and a half after the deal was completed, attempting to block the deal. On October 7, 2009, parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev announced plans to sell the theme parks division to The Blackstone Group for up to . In July 2010, a panel decided that the takeover did not violate Anheuser-Busch's agreement with Modelo.


Post-acquisition changes

On November 18, 2008, the hostile takeover was completed, and the
parent corporation A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
was renamed Anheuser-Busch InBev; Anheuser-Busch became a wholly owned subsidiary of the new corporation, controlled within the North America zone unit of AB InBev. By early 2009, AB InBev "turned a family-led company that spared little expense into one that is focused intently on cost-cutting and profit margins, while rethinking the way it sells beer." AB InBev focused on reducing costs in the Anheuser-Busch Companies subsidiary and implemented performance-related pay, along with several other changes. They immediately laid off 1,400 employees and 415 contractors, sold Busch Entertainment Corporation, and sold company-owned aircraft For employees, AB InBev ended perquisites such as executive assistants for senior management, company contributions to the salaried employee
pension A pension (, from Latin ''pensiō'', "payment") is a fund into which a sum of money is added during an employee's employment years and from which payments are drawn to support the person's retirement from work in the form of periodic payments ...
plan, and company-provided
life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
to retirees; it also reduced the number of company-provided cell phones, taking back 1200 Blackberries; and ended tuition reimbursement, and
severance package A severance package is pay and benefits that employees may be entitled to receive when they leave employment at a company unwillfully. In addition to their remaining regular pay, it may include some of the following: * Any additional payment base ...
s. Perks like free tickets to St. Louis Cardinals baseball games and for
Busch Gardens Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously B ...
were taken away from employees. Anheuser-Busch stopped providing free beer to its employees and visitors to its theme parks. These internal changes accompanied changes in its advertising. These cost-cutting measures rapidly reduced AB InBev's debt from $56.6 billion in 2008 to $30.1 billion at the end of 2012. When the restructuring was complete, only three senior-level Anheuser-Busch managers remained. InBev auctioned off several large assets in an effort to pay off debt to the banks that financed the merger.p 334 ''Dethroning the King, The Hostile Takeover of AnHeuser-Busch, An American Icon'',
Julie MacIntosh Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...
It sold Anheuser's 27% stake in China's Tsingtao, sold a few beverage can and lid-making plants to Ball Corporation, and sold its own Korean beer business for $1.8 billion to private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts & Co. It put the 10 theme parks in Anheuser's Busch Entertainment Unit, which included its three SeaWorld locations, up for sale. Under InBev, Anheuser-Busch also lengthened accounts payable terms, and introduced zero-based budgeting. These changes caused concern from its suppliers when Anheuser-Busch announced it would take 120 days to pay its bills rather than 30 days, taking time to use that money for other purposes. The new payment policy often results in longer periods than 120 days, since the 120 days starts from the end of the month in which the invoice is 'approved' internally, which can be many days/months after an invoice is submitted. InBev signed a 10-year lease on 31,500 square feet of office space on Park Avenue in
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
, which led to speculation that they would move Anheuser-Busch InBev North American headquarters from St Louis. In February 2013, a widely publicized lawsuit accused AB InBev "watering down" products including Budweiser and Michelob. Such beers are intentionally brewed over-strength and then "watered down" to the intended level, creating a product of equal or greater quality. The lawsuit was dismissed. Of Anheuser's top executives, only three remained in their jobs following the acquisition: Dave Peacock as president of the merged company's US division; Gary Rutledge as general counsel for the company's North American business; and Bob Golden, Anheuser's former acquisitions head, as global head of the merged company's
mergers and acquisitions Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
effort.


Operations and products

Anheuser-Busch Companies operates as one of several subsidiaries in the North America zone unit of
Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...
SA/NV (AB InBev) and it produces and distributes hundreds of products from the AB InBev portfolio. On October 10, 2016, a $100 billion merger between Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller closed. The new company is trading as NewbelcoSABMiller.


Corporate leadership

Michel Doukeris is the current President and
CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...
, North America at Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, the parent company of the U.S. operation. Previous corporate leaders of Anheuser-Busch include: * 1860–1880 Eberhard Anheuser * 1880–1913 Adolphus Busch * 1913–1934 August A. Busch Sr. * 1934–1946
Adolphus Busch III Adolphus Busch III (February 10, 1891 – August 29, 1946) was an American brewing magnate based in St. Louis, Missouri, who was the president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch from 1934 to 1946 during World War II. Early life Adolphus Busch III was born ...
* 1946–1971 Gussie Busch * 1971–1974 Richard A. Meyer * 1974–2002
August A. Busch III August Anheuser Busch III (born June 16, 1937) is a great-grandson of Anheuser-Busch founder Adolphus Busch and was the company's Chairman until November 30, 2006. August Busch III is informally known as "Auggie" and as "The Third" or "Three Stic ...
* 2002–2006 Patrick Stokes * 2006–2008
August A. Busch IV August Adolphus Busch IV (born June 15, 1964) is an American businessman and former CEO of Anheuser-Busch. He was the last of the family to control the company, which was purchased in a hostile takeover in 2008 by InBev. Busch IV was known fo ...
After Anheuser-Busch's acquisition by InBev, August A. Busch IV was replaced as the subsidiary president by Dave Peacock. * 2008–2012 Dave Peacock * 2012–2014 Luiz Edmond * 2014–2018 João Castro Neves * 2018–2021 Michel Doukeris * 2021–Present Brendan Whitworth


Brewery operations

Anheuser-Busch Companies has operated 13 breweries, all located in the United States: * St. Louis, Missouri (opened 1852) * Newark, New Jersey (opened 1951) * Los Angeles, California (opened 1954) * Tampa, Florida (opened 1959, now closed) *
Houston, Texas Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
(opened 1966) *
Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...
(opened 1968) * Jacksonville, Florida (opened 1969) * Merrimack, New Hampshire (opened 1970) * Williamsburg, Virginia (opened 1972) * Fairfield, California (opened 1976) *
Baldwinsville, New York Baldwinsville is a Village (New York), village in Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 7,898 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Syracuse, New York, ...
(opened 1983) *
Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...
(opened 1988) * Cartersville, Georgia (opened 1993) The St. Louis brewery, which opened in 1852, is a National Historic Landmark District, and includes three buildings listed as National Historic Landmarks. Public tours of the brewery are offered. The tour takes visitors through the complex where they can see beer being made and packaged in a working part of the brewery. The company keeps a rotation of its famous Budweiser Clydesdales at its headquarters, and visitors to the brewery can observe the clydesdales in their exercise field and see their places in the carriage house. The brewery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966. and   The landmarked area includes 189 structures spread over , including many red brick Romanesque ones "with square crenelated towers and elaborate details." The Brew House, built in 1891–1892, is particularly notable for its "multi-storied hop chandeliers, intricate iron-work, and utilization of natural light".


Other operations

Aside from supply operations like brewing and packaging, Anheuser-Busch Companies includes Anheuser-Busch Wholesale Operations Divisions (WOD), Anheuser-Busch Agricultural Operations, Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corporation, Eagle Packaging, and
Busch Properties Busch Properties, Inc. (BPI), is a corporation, which operates resort, residential and commercial properties in the United States. It was established in 1969 as a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch, Anheuser-Busch, Inc. (AB), the largest brewing company ...
, which manages subsidiary-owned property. Anheuser Busch owns and operates aluminum can plants (Metal Container Corporation). MCC supplies Anheuser Busch breweries and Pepsi Beverages Group fillers across the US. Suppliers to Anheuser-Busch Companies include
Owens-Illinois O-I Glass, Inc. is an American company that specializes in container glass products. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of packaging products, holding the position of largest manufacturer of glass containers in North America, South A ...
, which provides glass bottles to several Anheuser-Busch breweries. Anheuser-Busch also owns glass production facilities, such as the former Longhorn Glass, which provides glass for the Houston brewery. Anheuser-Busch Companies delivers its products to retailers through a network of more than 500 independent wholesalers and 13 wholly owned distributors. On February 20, 1953, Anheuser-Busch purchased the St. Louis Cardinals major league baseball club and owned them until March 21, 1996, when the club was sold to a group of private investors. In 1966, Busch Memorial Stadium was paid for and built by the brewery and opened for business; Anheuser-Busch later purchased the stadium in 1981 for $53 million and removed the "Memorial" in its name. The stadium was demolished in late 2005 and replaced by a new ballpark in 2006. Anheuser-Busch signed an agreement to retain the "Busch Stadium" name on the new building through 2025. Up until 2009, Anheuser-Busch was also one of the largest theme park owners/operators in the United States, with ten parks throughout the country through its entertainment division, Busch Entertainment Corporation, including its three SeaWorld locations. The company is now known as SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.


Beverage products

Anheuser-Busch Companies is responsible for the production, importation and distribution of several AB InBev products, including three company-designated global brands, Budweiser, Stella Artois, and Beck's. Other multi-country brands distributed or produced by Anheuser-Busch Companies include Leffe and Hoegaarden, while local brands produced by the company include
Bass Pale Ale Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...
, Bud Light, Busch Beer,
Landshark Lager Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in othe ...
, Michelob, Michelob Ultra, Natural Light, and
Shock Top Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of AB InBev, Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 2 ...
. The company also produces nonalcoholic beverages,
malt liquor Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, most closely associated with North America. Legally, it often includes any alcoholic beverage with 5% or more alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common usage, it ...
s (such as King Cobra and Hurricane), and flavored malt beverages (e.g. the Bacardi Silver family and
Tequiza Anheuser-Busch, a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, is the largest brewing company in the United States, with a market share of 45 percent in 2016. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other ...
). On December 22, 2015, it was announced that Anheuser-Busch would purchase Breckenridge Brewery for an undisclosed sum.


Advertising

Prior to its acquisition by InBev, the company was known in the United States for its advertising presence, including a sports marketing division which created advertising material for the
Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
and many other sporting events. Budweiser has sponsored horse racing events and motor sports including NASCAR, the " Miss Budweiser" racing hydroplane, and the "Budweiser King" championship top fuel dragster of Kenny Bernstein. Since the acquisition by AB InBev, the company has significantly cut back its advertising, predicated on the belief that "changing demographics and media habits no longer require spending as much on mainstream sports events".


Controversies


Spykes underaged alcohol marketing

In 2007, the company introduced a flavored 12% abv malt liquor under the name ''Spykes''. It was sold in colorful, 2- ounce bottles. Available flavors included
mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...
, lime, melon and chocolate. It was withdrawn in the same year after criticism from
alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...
industry watchdog groups that it was being marketed to underage customers, and the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau found that the labeling of Spykes was illegal."A booze buzz for teenyboppers?"
March 30, 2007, NBC News


Environmental record

In 2002, the Political Economy Research Institute ranked Anheuser–Busch 40th among the "Toxic 100", a list of U.S. corporations most responsible for air pollution. The study found that Anheuser–Busch released 1,002,786 kg (2,213,657 lbs) of toxic pollutants annually into the air. This is mainly because large amounts of CO2 are released during the process of
fermentation Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food ...
. Anheuser-Busch has received numerous awards for its efforts to reduce its impact on the environment. In 1995 Anheuser-Busch's Baldwinsville brewery won an award for pollution prevention from the New York Governor for its use of a "comprehensive, energy-producing pollution-prevention system – bioenergy recovery – to treat wastewater from the brewing process." The brewery also reduced solid waste by nearly 70 percent from 1990 to 1994. In addition, the Baldwinsville brewery found markets for previous "waste" materials used in the fermentation of Anheuser-Busch beers. The Anheuser-Busch Recycling Corp. recycled more than 27 billion cans in 2006, a number far greater than what was used in its own packaging. Similarly, Anheuser-Busch has set short-term goals to reduce energy consumption 5% and increasing use of renewable fuel from 8 to 15% by 2010. Along with these goals, Anheuser-Busch has succeeded in cutting down its water use by 3% since 2002. Its parent company Anheuser-Busch InBev has recently announced a commitment to secure 100% of the company's purchased electricity from renewable sources by 2025. The brewery also operates an environmental outreach program to encourage recycling, energy conservation, and habitat preservation, as well as to prevent littering and water pollution. For past 18 years Anheuser-Busch employees have participated in "Green Week", which focuses on environmental conservation education for employees and their families."Anheuser-Busch Employees Seeing Green"
"Corporate Social Responsibility Newswire" April 11, 2008. Retrieved May 6, 2008
Anheuser-Busch states they do not use animal-derived products, artificial ingredients, additives or preservatives at any stage of the brewing process or as part of the packaging in any of their range, with the exception of three Michelob products and two Bud Light products, which contain honey and shellfish respectively, and are marketed as such. All other Anheuser-Busch beers are brewed using water, yeast, barley malt, hops, and additional cereal grains. Anheuser-Busch eliminates the need for isinglass finings by settling and removing particles before fermentation. The beechwood aging process also helps to attract and remove yeast from the brew before the lagering process has ended. This only applies to the beers the company brews itself. Anheuser-Busch became a pioneer for electricity-powered heavy trucks. It ordered hundreds of trucks from
Nikola Motor Nikola Corporation is an American manufacturer of heavy-duty commercial battery-electric vehicles, fuel-cell electric vehicles, and energy solutions. It presented several vehicle concepts from 2016 to 2020, the first of which was a natural g ...
, an Arizona company specialized in the development of hydrogen-fueled engines.


Budweiser Bill

In 2003, after numerous deaths in
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
stadiums, Brazil passed a law outlawing alcohol sales in stadiums. FIFA demanded that Brazil allow alcohol sales at the
2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...
because Budweiser, a major World Cup sponsor is the "Official Beer of the FIFA World Cup", a role it has played since 1986. In response, Brazil passed a law paving the way for alcohol sales in the World Cup, nicknamed the "Budweiser Bill".


"Up for Whatever" beer campaign controversy

In April 2015, Anheuser-Busch, in an effort to target new, younger consumers to buy its products, the company printed a slogan on Bud Light bottles that said "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night. #UpForWhatever." The label triggered a backlash, and the company was immediately criticized by people who charged that it could be interpreted as promoting rape. Bud Light’s vice president Alexander Lambrecht addressed the situation via Twitter, first saying that the slogans were meant to promote brand engagement in a “positive and lighthearted way”, but that the company had “missed the mark” with their "up for whatever" slogan. He ended his message by saying that Bud Light would “never condone disrespectful or irresponsible behavior”. His message was followed by a Twitter response from Lisa Weser; the former head of communications and marketing for
Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...
, who also responded to the situation via Twitter. Her response repeated Alexander Lambrecht’s concluding message.


Liquor law violations in Seattle

The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) issued a $150,000 violation to Anheuser-Busch in May 2016. Investigators determined that Anheuser-Busch entered into an illegal agreement of exclusivity with two concert venues in Seattle – the Showbox and the Showbox SoDo.


2017 Super Bowl advertising

In early February 2017, Anheuser-Busch's "Budweiser – Born the Hard Way" Super Bowl commercial was released online, prompting conservative political rebuke over its depiction of the immigration of founder Adolphus Busch from Germany to St. Louis. Although the ad had been conceived eight months before its release, some perceived the ad to be a political statement in opposition to President Donald Trump. A week before the ad's release, public controversy erupted over an executive order prohibiting entry of immigrants, refugees, and re-entry of permanent residents from seven countries into the United States. The script for the advertisement was finalized after the November elections, when Budweiser's internal marketing team settled on the twelfth revision of the script. Shooting for the commercial then took place in January. The ad controversy followed after controversy in May 2016 when then Presidential candidate Donald Trump was perceived by some to be hijacking Budweiser's 'America' branding campaign for his own political purposes.


2019 Super Bowl advertising

On March 21, 2019, Anheuser-Busch was sued for false advertising by rival MillerCoors over a Bud Light commercial that aired during
Super Bowl LIII Super Bowl LIII was an American football game played to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2018 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New England Patriots defeated the National Football Confe ...
. The commercial claimed MillerCoors' Miller Lite and Coors Light products contain
corn syrup Corn syrup is a food syrup which is made from the starch of corn (called maize in many countries) and contains varying amounts of sugars: glucose, maltose and higher oligosaccharides, depending on the grade. Corn syrup is used in foods to softe ...
, but the lawsuit argues that corn syrup is only used during the brewing process as a fermentation aid and neither beer contains corn syrup. The suit alleges that Anheuser-Busch is using "false and misleading statements" to confuse health-conscious consumers into thinking the beers contain high-fructose corn syrup, which has been linked with obesity. An Anheuser-Busch spokesperson called the lawsuit "baseless" and said it wouldn't deter Bud Light from "providing consumers with the transparency they demand." MillerCoors is seeking an injunction to prevent Bud Light from continuing the ad campaign, as well as a trial by jury and legal fees.


Ties with Washington University in St. Louis

Adolphus Busch joined Washington University's Board of Directors in 1895, back when the school was still located on its old downtown St. Louis campus. Adolphus would continue to serve on the board until his death in 1913, at which point his son, August Busch Sr. took over his seat. Though
Adolphus Busch III Adolphus Busch III (February 10, 1891 – August 29, 1946) was an American brewing magnate based in St. Louis, Missouri, who was the president and CEO of Anheuser-Busch from 1934 to 1946 during World War II. Early life Adolphus Busch III was born ...
and Gussie Busch never sat on the board, the ties between their company and the school were still strong. August Busch III, CEO of Anheuser-Busch from 1975 to 2002, would become a trustee of the university, a position he holds to this day. The Anheuser-Busch Foundation donation that gave its name to Anheuser-Busch Hall was made in honor of Fred L. Kuhlmann, an executive officer of both the company and the St. Louis Cardinals under August Busch III. Kuhlmann, who held these positions for most of the 1980s and early 1990s, graduated from Wash. U.'s undergraduate and law programs. Though the Busch family no longer owns Anheuser-Busch, the connection between the company and the university is ongoing. Jack H. Purnell, former CEO of Anheuser-Busch, where he worked for 36 years, is an executive in residence of the Olin Business School.


See also

*
Anheuser-Busch InBev Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, commonly known as AB InBev, is an American-Belgian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. AB InBev has a global functional management office in New York City, and regional headquarters ...
* Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association Building * SeaWorld Entertainment *
Manufacturers Railway (St. Louis) The Manufacturers Railway Company is a defunct railway company in St. Louis, Missouri. It was owned by Anheuser-Busch. History The railway company was founded in 1887 by Adolphus Busch, the President of Anheuser-Busch. By 1906, Busch was still P ...
*
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...
– former President of France worked at the St Louis plant in the 1950s during his summer term at Harvard University.


Notes


Further reading

*''Dethroning the King – The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon''.
Julie MacIntosh Julie may refer to: * Julie (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the name Film and television * ''Julie'' (1956 film), an American film noir starring Doris Day * ''Julie'' (1975 film), a Hindi film by K. S. Sethumadhava ...
(John Wiley & Sons Inc, 2011) *''Bitter Brew – The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer''. William Knoedelseder (HarperCollins, 2012)


External links

* *
Anheuser-Busch Web Page on the St. Louis Brewery Tour

Collection of mid-twentieth century advertising featuring Anheuser-Busch products
from the TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design. {{Authority control German-American culture in St. Louis Amusement park companies Beer brewing companies based in St. Louis American companies established in 1852 American subsidiaries of foreign companies Eclipse Award winners AB InBev 1852 establishments in Missouri Food and drink companies established in 1852 2008 mergers and acquisitions