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Budweiser

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For the original Bohemian beer, see Budweiser Budvar Brewery.
Budweiser
TypeAmerican lager
ManufacturerAnheuser–Busch InBev
Country of origin United States
Introduced1876
Alcohol by volume 5.0%
Websitewww.budweiser.com

Budweiser (pronounced /ˈbʌdwaɪzər/) is a 5.0% abv American lager 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 United States and the rest of the world. It is a filtered beer available in draught and packaged forms.

Name origin and dispute

Main article: Budweiser trademark dispute

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 miles) 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 a locative, 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. The United Kingdom is the exception to this, and both companies use Budweiser there.

Anheuser-Busch has a market share in the United States of 50.9% for all beers sold.[2] 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. The company's 2005 annual report cites figures which demonstrate Budweiser brands are proving to be quite successful in markets outside of the U.S. including China,[citation needed] and Canada, where Labatt Brewing Company brews and packages Budweiser and Bud Light for the Canadian market.

Budweiser is also widely available in Mexico due to Anheuser-Busch's half-ownership of Grupo Modelo, through which Budweiser and Bud Light are distributed. In Ireland, Budweiser is one of the leading lager brands; it is brewed, marketed, and sold by Guinness. Budweiser is also available in Australia, Italy, UK, Brazil, Argentina, Finland, Germany, Spain, Panama, Paraguay, Japan, India and Russia because of partnerships Anheuser-Busch has with major brewers there.

Budweiser, under the name Bud, is also available in Belgium and is imported by Corsendonk breweries and is distributed by Carrefour, the second largest retailer in the world.

Budweiser was recently launched in India, where it is slowly gaining market share from the leading Kingfisher, Fosters and Royal Challenge.

Budweiser is also available in Jordan and Lebanon. It is not brewed there though, it is imported from the UK Budweiser Stag Brewing Company. Usually Budweiser is sold for higher prices in Jordan ( a 500 ml '16 oz' is sold for 3.75 Jordanian Dinars '5 US dollars' compared to the more common Amstel which sells for only 2 dinars '3 US dollars'.

Marketing

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".[3] The Czech Budweiser is sold in some countries as Budejovicky Budvar but is known as Budweiser in 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", 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.

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.

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 English 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.[4]

Containers and packaging

Containers

Over the years, Budweiser has been distributed in many sizes and containers. Through the early-1950s Budweiser was primarily distributed in just three packages—kegs, 12-ounce bottles and quart bottles. Cans were first introduced in 1936.[5] From 1936 to 1955, cans were slow to catch on. In 1955, August Busch Jr.[6] 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 have brought to market many new containers and package designs. Presently, 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). In smaller consumption volumes, Budweiser is distributed in 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 22, 24, 32 and 40 US ounce containers. Smaller containers may be made of glass, aluminum or plastic.

File:A bottle of Budweiser.JPG
Lone Star State Edition Budweiser

Packages are sometimes tailored to local customs and traditions. In St. Mary's County, Maryland, ten ounce cans[7][8] 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.[9][10] 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 also promote 24 ounce cans marked with team logos.

Bottle

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.

Era Pledge Logo Beer title Top label
1870s 1 C. Conrad and Co. Budweiser Lager Beer Original Budweiser
Early 1900s 2 C. Conrad and Co. Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser Reg U.S. Pat Off
1920s 3 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Anheuser-Busch 'Budweiser St. Louis
1940s 2 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser Beer
1950s 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser Lager Beer
1970s 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser
1980s 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser
Today 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser

Beer

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 remains one of the world's lowest rated beers on prominent[11] rating sites such as Beeradvocate.com[12] and ratebeer.com[13].Some drinkers prefer the lightness of beers like Budweiser and consume it as a refreshment or for its inebriating effects,[14] beer writers consider it to be bland.[15][16] The beer is light-bodied with faint sweet notes and negligible bitterness, leading to reviews characterizing it as a "...beer of underwhelming blandness".[17] Based upon sales, however, it is the most popular of the American Style Lagers 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[18] and animal products used in the brewing process. Recently[when?], Anheuser-Busch has 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

Main article: Anheuser-Busch brands § Budweiser

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 UK market. Budweiser Brew No.66 is a 4% alcohol by volume is brewed and distributed in the UK by Inbev UK Limited

See also

Wikinews has related news:

References

  1. ^ Protz, R., The Complete Guide to World Beer (2004), ISBN 1844428656
  2. ^ Anheuser-Busch reports rise in Q1 sales, slight drop in profit - St. Louis Business Journal
  3. ^ "GAMHOF Adulphus Busch Biography". GAMHOF - German-American Hall of Fame. 2008. Retrieved 2010-04-14.
  4. ^ Madden, Normandy (August 26, 2009). ""Chinese Beer Consumers to Create the Next Budweiser Spot Through Online Contest"". AdAge.com.
  5. ^ [1][dead link]
  6. ^ August Anheuser Busch, Jr. - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  7. ^ St. Mary’s celebrates 10-ounce beer
  8. ^ Where the 10-Ounce Bud Is the King of Beers : NPR
  9. ^ wzzm13.com | Grand Rapids, MI | Sunday liquor sales in Holland begin
  10. ^ wzzm13.com | Grand Rapids, MI | Zeeland Considers Alcohol Sales
  11. ^ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rate_beer#RateBeer
  12. ^ http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/29/65/
  13. ^ http://www.ratebeer.com/Ratings/TheWorstBeers.asp
  14. ^ [http:// beer.themanroom.com/beer-memberrating.php?&id=54 "Member's forum Rating"]. themanroom.com. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  15. ^ Hops to lighten your step beerhunter.com
  16. ^ A Bud by any other name realbeer.com
  17. ^ Simpson, Willie (2007). The Beer Bible. Sydney: John Fairfax Publications. p. 84. ISBN 978-1-921190-86-5.
  18. ^ "Greenpeace Exposes Anheuser Busch's Use of Genetically Engineered Rice in Beer Brewing Process". Greenpeace. 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2007-12-26.
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