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Budweiser ( /ˈbʌdwaɪzər/) is a 5.0% abv American-style lager produced by Anheuser–Busch InBev, introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt.^[1] Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world. It is a filtered beer available in draught and packaged forms.

History[link]

Budweiser Brewery is a landmark seen from Newark Airport

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.^[2]

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.^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

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.^[3]

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.^[6]

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.^[6]

Budweiser is available in over 80 markets.^[7]

Name origin and dispute[link]

In 1876, Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad, a liquor importer, developed a "Bohemian-style" lager, inspired after a trip to the region. Brewers in Bohemia (today's Czech Republic) generally named a beer after their town with the suffix "er." Beers produced in the town of Pilsen (today's Plzeň), for example, were called Pilsners. Busch and Conrad had visited another town, only 104 km (65 mi) south of Pilsen, also known for its breweries: Budweis (or Böhmisch Budweis, today's České Budějovice). Beer has been brewed in Budweis since it was founded as Budiwoyz by king Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1245. The name Budweiser is genitive, meaning "of Budweis." In most European countries American Budweiser is not labelled as Budweiser but as Bud, and the name Budweiser refers to the original Czech beer, Budweiser Budvar, except for Ireland and the United Kingdom, where both beers are sold as Budweiser.

Anheuser-Busch has a market share in the United States of 50.9% for all beers sold.^[8] This is primarily composed of Budweiser brands. In 2008 Anheuser-Busch sold the majority of their stock to Belgian-Brazilian beer giant InBev, to create the largest brewing company in the world.

Marketing[link]

One of the Budweiser Clydesdales

Anheuser-Busch uses what is in many jurisdictions a legally-protected mark-of-origin indicating Czech provenance and humorous advertising campaigns to promote Budweiser, such as the "Real Men of Genius" radio and television commercials for Bud Light.

The Budweiser from Budějovice has been called "The Beer of Kings" since the 16th century. Adolphus Busch changed this slogan to "The King of the Beers".^[9] The Czech Budweiser is sold in some countries as Budejovicky Budvar but is known as Budweiser in many other countries throughout the world.

Some Bud advertising campaigns have entered the popular culture in the United States. They include a long line of TV advertisements in the 1990s featuring three frogs named "Bud", "Weis", and "Er", the Budweiser Ants, and a campaign built around the phrase "Whassup?".

Anheuser-Busch is known for its sport sponsorship, video game sponsorship (Tapper), and humorous advertisements. Advertising campaigns have also included lizards impersonating the "Bud-weis-er" frogs, and a team of Clydesdale horses commonly known as the Budweiser Clydesdales. Commercials starred the infamous Brody Chillston, of ChillMilk.com fame.

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Budweiser car in 2007

The Budweiser brand is promoted in motorsports, from Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser hydroplane boat to sponsoring the Budweiser King Top Fuel Dragster driven by Brandon Bernstein. Anheuser-Busch has sponsored the CART championship, and top NASCAR teams such as Junior Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports and DEI. Budweiser is the official beer of NHRA and was the official beer of NASCAR until 2007. In 2008, Anheuser-Busch became Kasey Kahne's primary sponsor, and has also sponsored many races, including the Budweiser Shootout, and previously The Bud at the Glen, Budweiser 500, and Budweiser 400. In 2011, Budweiser became the sponsor for Kevin Harvick.

Anheuser-Busch has placed Budweiser as an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer and Los Angeles Galaxy and was the headline sponsor of the British Basketball League in the 1990s, taking over from rival company Carlsberg. Anheuser-Busch has also placed Budweiser as an official sponsor of the Premier League.

In the early 20th century, the company commissioned a play-on-words song called Under the Anheuser Bush, which was recorded by several early phonograph companies. Popular music continues to be used in advertisements for Budweiser. Some commercials feature the song "Galvanize", by The Chemical Brothers.

In August 2009 Anheuser-Busch partnered with popular Chinese video-sharing site, Tudou.com for a user-generated online video contest. The contest encourages users to suggest ideas that include ants for a Bud TV spot set to run in February 2010 during the Chinese New Year.^[10]

In 2010, Budweiser launched an international entertainment property called Bud United. Bud United’s first efforts were centered around the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The brand launched an online reality TV series called Bud House that followed the lives of 32 international football fans (one representing each nation in the World Cup) living together in a house in South Africa.^[11] Bud United’s next project is another reality series called The Big Time. Each episode of The Big Time will focus on a different vertical (Baseball, Soccer, Cooking etc.…) and will feature contestants competing for a chance to live their dreams. The show is being cast through the Bud United Facebook page and will air in Q1 2012.^[11]

Containers and packaging[link]

Containers[link]

Over the years, Budweiser has been distributed in many sizes and containers. Until the early 1950s Budweiser was primarily distributed in three packages: kegs, 12-ounce bottles and quart bottles. Cans were first introduced in 1936, which helped sales to climb.^[12] In 1955 August Busch Jr.^[13] made a strategic move to expand Budweiser's national brand and distributor presence. Along with this expansion came advances in bottling automation, new bottling materials and more efficient distribution methods. These advances brought to market many new containers and package designs. As of 2011^[update] Budweiser is distributed in four large container volumes: half-barrel (15.5 US gallons), quarter-barrel, 1/6 barrel and beer balls (5.2 gallons); and in smaller 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 18, 22, 24, 32 and 40 US ounce containers. Smaller containers may be made of glass, aluminum or plastic.

Lone Star State Edition Budweiser

^{[citation needed]} On August 3, 2011, Budweiser announced its twelfth can design since 1936, one which emphasizes the bowtie.^[14]

Packages are sometimes tailored to local customs and traditions. In Maryland, ten ounce cans^[15][16] are the preferred package. Budweiser drinkers in the western stretches of Ottawa County, Michigan prefer the eight ounce can. This Ottawa County preference for the eight ounce can may stem from a long-standing blue law held in many Western Michigan cities that prohibit sale of beer and wine on Sundays.^[17][18] In response to this blue law, brewers and distributors presented the eight ounce can as a smaller alternative.^{[citation needed]}

Anheuser-Busch has introduced many can designs with co-branding and sports marketing promotional packaging. Today, most of these promotional programs are represented only on the 16 ounce aluminum bottle container. However, many major league baseball and NFL teams in the United States also promote 24 ounce cans marked with team logos.

Bottle[link]

The packaging plant at the Anheuser-Busch headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Budweiser bottle has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1876. The top label is red and currently reads "Budweiser". The top of the main label is red with a white banner with a pledge on it, which has changed three times. Below the banner is a coat of arms of sorts, which features an Anheuser-Busch stylization. Below that is a large white box.

Cans[link]

During the Prohibition Era, Budweiser encountered its first major obstacle to profit and growth. As alcohol became illegal to sell and produce, all alcohol companies, including Budweiser, struggled to remain profitable. Budweiser began producing non-alcoholic beverages during Prohibition to counter its ill effects. Prohibition began in 1920, and lasted into the middle of the Great Depression in 1933. These are two major setbacks that this company experienced. Just as laws regarding prohibition were repealed, Budweiser was faced with more serious economic struggles, which made their success (like all other companies) very unlikely. In attempt to re-stimulate interest in their beer, Budweiser executed a hugely successful marketing strategy of introducing beer cans for the first time in 1936. This new packaging led to an increase in sales which lasted until the start of World War II in 1939.^[19]

Over the years, Budweiser has undergone various design changes to its can which are discussed in the table below. Many of these changes are in response to market conditions and consumer tastes. Since 1936, 12 major can design changes have occurred, not including the temporary special edition designs. The table below describes each of the 12 major can designs.

2011 Can Design Marketing Strategy[link]

Traditional Budweiser cans embodied a strong sense of American patriotism. They were red, white, and blue in color, and had images of eagles near the label. These cans also had a very classic appearance due to the cursive font and the Anheuser-Busch logo surrounded by wheat and barley. Red, white, and blue, being the colors of the American flag, identified the cans strongly with the American market for this product. Moreover, the eagles remind viewers of the Bald Eagle, America's national bird. These facts strongly suggest that Budweiser was targeting a primarily American market. In contrast to this previous design, the newest can takes on a much more modern appearance and eliminates blue as a main color in the design. Red, white, and gold are the predominant colors on this new can, which makes the can look much less traditionally American, and much more modern. On this new can, there are aspects that continue to resonate with an American market, such as the red and white colors, as these are two of the nation's primary colors. The presence of the yellowish-gold color is not typically American, though, and is surprising to see in the can design of the self-proclaimed "Great American Lager."

This change in can design was very shocking for a brand that had remained relatively static since its beginning. The new design was largely in response to the huge sales decline in recent years that is threatening to lose Budweiser its title as the best-selling beer in America.^[21] One cause of this sales decline is the unemployment struggles that many Americans have been facing recently. A large group of individuals affected by unemployment are young men, who are the main demographic of Budweiser's target market. In order to regain the domestic market share that Budweiser has lost, the company is trying to update its appearance by giving the can a more contemporary look that is more appealing to this demographic. The company hopes that the new design will offset the effects that unemployment had on its sales.^[22]

Although the more modern design is intended for young male Americans, the new design, according to the vice president of Anheuser-Busch Frank Abernante, "is one of many steps in our quest to reinforce Budweiser's role as a truly global beer brand."^[23] This statement means that the new design was intended for foreign markets as well. In fact, Budweiser began selling its beer in Russia in 2010, and is currently expanding its operations in China.^[22]

Statistics show that China is the world's leading consumer of beer in terms of volume, which suggests that Budweiser is trying to capitalize on this market's potential in order to recover from these losses. Currently, of the 15 Anheuser-Busch breweries outside of the United States, 14 of them are positioned in China, which shows how interested the company is in this growing market. Budweiser is already the fourth leading brand in the Chinese beer market, and the company hopes that this new design change will push them further up the list as one of China's most dominant brands.^[24] Budweiser's attempt to target China is not sudden, though. There have actually been several advertising campaigns geared toward Chinese consumers. One such campaign was in 2009 when Budweiser sponsored a competition for the creation of a Budweiser commercial involving the Budweiser ants. Here, Chinese consumers were prompted to compete in this process of submitting their ideas online for the chance to have their idea become the newest Budweiser commercial.^[25]

The company hoped that the new design would appeal to a younger crowd in the American market, while simultaneously gaining the interest of Chinese consumers. Americans can continue to identify with the brand because the can is primarily red and white, which are dominant colors on the American flag. In addition, Chinese consumers can identify with the brand because the red and gold colors in the new design are reminiscent of the Chinese flag. This demonstrates how Budweiser is using the can to break into new markets with hopes to improve the company's overall revenue.

Beer[link]

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Budweiser is brewed using barley malt, rice, water, hops and yeast. It is lagered with beechwood chips in the ageing vessel which, according to Anheuser-Busch, creates a smoother taste. While beechwood chips are used in the maturation tank, there is little to no flavor contribution from the wood, mainly because they are boiled in sodium bicarbonate [baking soda] for seven hours for the very purpose of removing any flavor from the wood. The maturation tanks that Anheuser-Busch uses are horizontal and, as such, flocculation of the yeast occurs much more quickly. Anheuser-Busch refers to this process as a secondary fermentation, with the idea being that the chips give the yeast more surface area to rest on. This is also combined with a krausening procedure that re-introduces wort into the chip tank therefore activating the fermentation process again. By placing chips at the bottom of the tank, the yeast remains in suspension longer, giving it more time to reabsorb and process green beer flavors, such as acetaldehyde and diacetyl, that Anheuser-Busch believes are off-flavors which detract from overall drinkability.

Budweiser beverage delivery truck, Romulus, Michigan

Budweiser remains one of the world's lowest rated beers on notable rating sites such as BeerAdvocate.com^[26] and RateBeer.com.^[27] Some drinkers prefer the lightness of beers like Budweiser and consume it as a refreshment or for its inebriating effects,^[28] Several beer writers consider it to be bland.^[29][30] The beer is light-bodied with faint sweet notes and negligible bitterness, leading to reviews characterizing it as a "...beer of underwhelming blandness".^[31] Even Adophus Busch didn't like it.^[32] Based upon sales, it is the second most popular American brewed pale lager among North American beer consumers.

Budweiser and Bud Light are sometimes advertised as vegan beers, in that their ingredients and conditioning do not use animal by-products. Some might object to the inclusion of genetically engineered rice^[33] and animal products used in the brewing process. In July 2006, Anheuser-Busch brewed a version of Budweiser with organic rice, for sale in Mexico. They have yet to extend this practice to any other countries.

Anheuser-Busch was one of the few breweries during Prohibition that had the resources and wherewithal to convert to "cereal beer" production—malt beverage made with non-fermentables such as rice and unmalted barley and rye, and able to stay under the 0.5% limit established by the Volstead Act. Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1933, the major breweries continued to use unmalted cereal grains to provide the full body and mouthfeel of a "real" beer while keeping the alcohol content low.

Budweiser brands[link]

In addition to the regular Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch brews several different beers under the Budweiser brand, including Bud Light and Bud Ice.

In July 2010 Anheuser-Busch launched Budweiser 66 in the United Kingdom. Budweiser Brew No.66 has 4% alcohol by volume, and is brewed and distributed in the UK by Inbev UK Limited.

See also[link]

	Beer portal
	Drink portal

• Budweiser trademark dispute between Anheuser Busch and breweries from Budweis in the Czech republic.
• Ulterior Emotions - An album released by Anheuser Busch.
• Beer Wars - Beer Wars is a 2009 documentary film about the American beer industry.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch)

• Budweiser official website
• Belgian official Budweiser website

Budweiser is a German adjective describing something or someone from the city of České Budějovice (German: Budweis) in Southern Bohemia, Czech Republic.

Beer brewing in České Budějovice (or Budweis) dates back to the 13th century.^[1] A few hundred years later, two breweries were founded in the city that made beer which they called "Budweiser," both being beers from the city of České Budějovice (Budweis), Czech Republic. In 1876, the US brewer Anheuser-Busch began making a beer which it also called "Budweiser." This led in 1907 to the "Budweiser trademark dispute" between beer companies claiming trademarks rights^[2] to the name "Budweiser."

The three companies are:

• Budweiser Bier Bürgerbräu, founded 1795 by German-speaking citizens of České Budějovice, which began exporting Budweiser Bier to the US in 1875. The company was expropriated by the state in 1945, when they changed the name of the company. However, the company reacquired the old naming rights in the 1990s after the fall of communism in Czechoslovakia.
• Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch), made by Anheuser-Busch in the United States, was first marketed in 1876 as "Budweiser" in the United States and Canada
• Budweiser Budvar, a brewery founded in 1895 by Czech-speaking citizens of České Budějovice

Dispute over right to use the name[link]

Anheuser-Busch cites prior registration of the trademark in the US and battles for the right to use it worldwide in many legal disputes against the Europe-based companies in several countries.^[2] The Europeans wish to maintain or regain their right to market their beer under their traditional trademark. Bürgerbräu has marketed its beer as Budweiser Bier since 1876, while Budvar has marketed its product this way since 1895. The two companies in České Budějovice point out that Budweiser is not a generic name, but refers to a beer actually made in the city.

The existence of several beers with similar names has caused problems in some markets. In 1907 the US and Czech brewers made an agreement that Anheuser-Busch could market its beer as Budweiser only in North America, while the Czech brewers had the rights to the European markets. Anheuser-Busch markets its product as "Bud" (in France and elsewhere) and "Anheuser-Busch B" (in Germany, Austria and Switzerland),^[2] where the beer brewed in the original city retains the rights to the name. The United Kingdom and Ireland are some of the few places where both Anheuser-Busch and Budvar beer are sold under the name "Budweiser."

In 2007 Anheuser-Busch signed a deal with Budějovický Budvar, the maker of the Czech Republic's Budweiser, to import Budvar Budweiser into the United States and sell it under the name Czechvar.^[3][4]

In 2009 the European Court of First Instance upheld a ruling that refuses AB InBev, owners of the US Budweiser brand, permission to register the Budweiser brand as a community trademark.^[5][6] After the ruling, AB InBev decided to keep the Budweiser or Bud name in 23 of 27 European countries. In the U.K., courts have ruled that neither company has exclusive rights to the name Budweiser.^[7][8] In Germany, Budvar has exclusive control over the Budweiser brand name since May 2009.^[6] According to the verdict of Court of Justice of the European Union in July 2010, Budweiser Budvar has exclusive control over the Budweiser brand name in the whole European Union.^[9][10]

According to the UK Budweiser Budvar website, "Currently [in 2011] there are about 40 trademark dispute cases pending in different jurisdictions and some 70 procedural issues up for consideration around the world".^[11]

From the 2011–12 season, Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) sponsored FA Cup. Therefore, the tournament title will be The FA Cup with Budweiser until 2014.^[12]

• 

  Budweiser Budvar in Europe, brewed in České Budějovice, Czech Republic

• 

  American Budweiser, marked "Lone star state Texas"

• 

  Bud and Budweiser on a beer shelf in Turkey

See also[link]

• Beer in the Czech Republic
• Pilsener (disambiguation)

References[link]