Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager produced by Anheuser-Busch, currently part of the multinational corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, it has grown to become one of the largest selling beers in the United States, and is available in over 80 markets worldwideâ€"though, due to a trademark dispute, does not necessarily do so under the Budweiser name. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Produced in various breweries around the world, Budweiser is a filtered beer available in draft and packaged forms.
Name origin and dispute
Anheuserâ€"Busch has been involved in a trademark dispute with European beer companies, in particular the Budweiser Budvar Brewery of ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice, Czech Republic, over the trademark rights to the name "Budweiser". Beer has been brewed in ÄŒeské BudÄ›jovice (known as Budweis in German) since it was founded by King Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1245. The name Budweiser is a derivative adjective, meaning "of Budweis". In 1876, Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad, a liquor importer, developed a "Bohemian-style" lager in the United States, inspired after a trip to the region.
In the European Union, excluding the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Finland and Spain, the American beer is marketed as Bud, as the Budweiser trademark name is owned solely by the Czech beer maker, Budweiser Budvar.
In 2008, Anheuser-Busch had a market share in the United States of 50.9% for all beers sold. Budweiser brands account for about half of Anheuser-Busch's sales volume, a figure which has been steadily declining at 1½-2% per year. In 2008, the Belgian-Brazilian beer giant InBev bought the majority of Anheuser-Busch stock at $70 per share in an all-cash agreement, creating the largest brewing company in the world.
Marketing
Anheuser-Busch advertises the Budweiser brand heavily, expending $449Â million in 2012 in the United States. This made it the most advertised beverage brand in America and accounted for a third of the company's US marketing budget.
The Budweiser from Budějovice has been called "The Beer of Kings" since the 16th century. Adolphus Busch adapted this slogan to "The King Of Beers."
This history notwithstanding, Anheuser Busch owns the trademark to both slogans in the United States.
In 2010, the Bud Light brand paid $1Â billion for a six-year licensing agreement with the NFL. Budweiser pays $20Â million annually for MLB licensing rights.
Budweiser has produced a number of TV advertisements, such as the Budweiser Frogs, lizards impersonating the Budweiser frogs, a campaign built around the phrase "Whassup?", and a team of Clydesdale horses commonly known as the Budweiser Clydesdales.
Budweiser also advertises extensively in motorsports, from Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser hydroplane boat to sponsorship of the Budweiser King Top Fuel Dragster driven by Brandon Bernstein. Anheuser-Busch has sponsored the CART championship. It is the "Official Beer of NHRA" and it was the "Official Beer of NASCAR" from 1998 to 2007. It has sponsored motorsport events such as the Daytona Speedweeks, Budweiser Shootout, Budweiser Duel, Budweiser Pole Award, Budweiser 500, Budweiser 400, Budweiser 300, Budweiser 250, Budweiser 200, and Carolina Pride / Budweiser 200. However, starting in 2016, the focus of A-B's NASCAR sponsorship became its Busch brand.
Budweiser has been sponsor of NASCAR teams such as Junior Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports, DEI, and Stewart-Haas Racing. Sponsored drivers include Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (1999-2007), Kasey Kahne (2008-2010), and Kevin Harvick (2011â€"2015). In IndyCar, Budweiser sponsored Mario Andretti (1983-1984), Bobby Rahal (1985-1988), Scott Pruett (1989-1992), Roberto Guerrero (1993), Scott Goodyear (1994), Paul Tracy (1995), Christian Fittipaldi (1996-1997), and Richie Hearn (1998-1999).
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. Anheuser-Busch has also placed Budweiser as an official sponsor of the Premier League and the presenting sponsor of the FA Cup.
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.
In 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.
In 2010, Budweiser produced an online reality TV series, called Bud House, centered around the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, following the lives of 32 international football fans (one representing each nation in the World Cup) living together in a house in South Africa.
On November 5, 2012, Anheuser-Busch asked Paramount Pictures to obscure or remove the Budweiser logo from the film Flight (2012), directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington.
In an advertisement titled "Brewed the Hard Way" that aired during Super Bowl XLIX, Budweiser touted itself as "Proudly A Macro Beer", distinguishing it from smaller production craft beers.
In 2016, Beer Park by Budweiser opened on the Las Vegas Strip.
Containers and packaging
Containers
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 U.S. fl oz (355 ml) bottles and 1 US quart (0.95 l) bottles. Cans were first introduced in 1936, which helped sales to climb. In 1955 August Busch Jr. 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 Budweiser is distributed in four large container volumes: half-barrel kegs (15.5 US gal; 58.7 l), quarter-barrel kegs (7.75 US gal; 29.3 l), 1/6 barrel kegs (5.17 US gal; 19.6 l) and 5.2 US gallons (20 l) "beer balls". Budweiser produces a variety of cans and bottles ranging from 7â€"40 US fluid ounces (210â€"1,180 ml). On August 3, 2011, Anheuser-Busch announced its twelfth can design since 1936, one which emphasizes the bowtie.
Packages are sometimes tailored to local customs and traditions. In St. Mary's County, Maryland, ten ounce cans are the preferred package.
Bottle
The Budweiser bottle has remained relatively unchanged since its introduction in 1876. A small label is affixed to the neck of the bottle with the Budweiser "bow-tie" logo. The main label is red with a white box in the center, overlaid with a Budweiser logo resembling a coat of arms, with the word "Budweiser" below it.
Cans
In attempt to re-stimulate interest in their beer after the repeal of Prohibition, Budweiser began canning their beer in 1936. This new packaging led to an increase in sales which lasted until the start of World War II in 1939.
Over the years, Budweiser cans have undergone various design changes in response to market conditions and consumer tastes. Since 1936, 12 major can design changes have occurred, not including the temporary special edition designs.
Budweiser cans have traditionally displayed patriotic American symbols, such a eagles and the colors red, white, and blue. In 2011, there was a branding redesign of that eliminated some of the traditional imagery. The new design was largely in response to the huge decline in sales threatening Budweiser's status as America's best-selling beer. In order to regain the domestic market share that Budweiser has lost, the company tried to update its appearance by giving the can a more contemporary look. The company hopes that the new design will offset the effects that unemployment had on its sales. Although the more modern design is intended for young male Americans, the new design was also part of an attempt to focus on the international market. Budweiser began selling its beer in Russia in 2010, and is currently expanding its operations in China.
The beer
Budweiser is brewed using barley malt, rice, water, hops and yeast. It is lagered with beechwood chips in the aging vessel. 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 reactivating the fermentation process. By placing the beechwood 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.
Some drinkers prefer the lightness of beers like Budweiser and consume it as a refreshment or for its inebriating effects. Several beer writers consider it to be bland. The beer is light-bodied with faint sweet notes and negligible bitterness, leading to reviews characterizing it as a "...beer of underwhelming blandness." Even Adolphus Busch disliked the beer he marketed in the United States. But based upon sales alone, it became 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 may object to the inclusion of genetically engineered rice 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. It has yet to extend this practice to any other countries.
Budweiser brands
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.
Temporary "America" labeling
On May 10, 2016, Advertising Age reported that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau had approved new Budweiser labels to be used on 12-ounce cans and bottles from May 23 until the November elections. The name "Budweiser" was changed to "America" (even though the parent company is based in Belgium, a fact which resulted in objections on Twitter). Much of the text on the packaging was replaced with patriotic American slogans, such as E Pluribus Unum and "Liberty & Justice For All".
International production
Budweiser is licensed, produced and distributed in Canada by Labatt Breweries of Canada. Of the 15 Anheuser-Busch breweries outside of the United States, 14 of them are positioned in China. Budweiser is the fourth leading brand in the Chinese beer market.
See also
- Beer Wars (2009), documentary film about the American beer industry
- Ulterior Emotions (2002) â€" an album released by Anheuser Busch as part of their "Bud Light Institute" campaign
References
External links
- Budweiser official website
- Belgian official Budweiser website
- Collection of mid-twentieth century advertising featuring Budweiser beer from the TJS Labs Gallery of Graphic Design.