The History of Anheuser-Busch
More than one hundred and twenty years have passed since Adolphus Busch first introduced Budweiser to the United States. And although much has changed over the years, the "spirit of Adolphus and his great dreams remain unchanged, as vibrant today as it was a century ago"(www.anheuser-busch.com). Through several successive generations of Busch family leadership, Budweiser has become an authentic, truly genuine, American beer. These superior qualities are the result of Busch’s original dreams and visions, the stable leadership through three major crises, and the diversification of a company over the years.
The story begins with Adolphus Busch. Born in July of 1839 in Kastel near Mainz, Adolphus was the second youngest of twenty-one children. After studying at the Gymnasium in Mainz in Germany, he immigrated to the United States in 1857, and soon after married Lily, the daughter of a successful St. Louis businessman Eberhard Anheuser. Anheuser was also a German immigrant, and had recently obtained a local brewery in St. Louis. Adolphus began as a salesman who sold brewing supplies to Anheuser. Adolphus soon worked his way into the family business and up the corporate ladder, and eventually became a partner and finally the company’s president. With great dreams and aspirations, Adolphus was considered the driving force of the company that would eventually transform it into an industry giant. Because of this, many see Adolphus Busch as the founder of the company, and the Father of Budweiser (www.beerhistory.com).
Adolphus was clearly a man of great dreams. His early aspirations included a national beer market as well as a national beer that would appeal to virtually every taste. In pursuit of his dream, Busch still needed to develop a beer that would be widely accepted by everyone’s taste. In 1876, Adolphus is said to have collaborated with a close friend and wine merchant, Carl Conrad, to create this new beer. The story says that while traveling in Bohemia, Conrad dined at a monastery in the town of Budweiser. There they served him a beer that he immediately said it was, "…the best beer I've ever tasted." (www.beerhistory.com). He offered the monks a small price for their secret recipe, and quickly returned to America. He introduced this new, light beer to Adolphus who also loved its great taste and soon after began to produce it. They named it Budweiser after the town of Budweiser, in which the secret recipe originated from. Adolphus took this secret recipe and used a unique brewing process to make this great tasting beer, a genuine beer that would never change and a process that would become a tradition. Each of these unique dreams set the stage for the success of a company that we now know as Anheuser-Busch. And because of these innovative dreams, Budweiser became a truly unique, superior, and high quality beer. But these dreams would have ended if it were not for the stable leadership of August A. Busch, Sr. Continuing the success of the Busch family, August A. Busch, Sr. is said to have guided the company through three of the world's worst crises. He struggled through a World War, Prohibition, and the Great Depression(www.budweiser.com). August was seen as a successful, prestigious businessman in St. Louis, carrying on the family traits and tradition. By innovating and diversifying the company, Anheuser-Busch survived the non-stop terrors. And although many of his ideas were discontinued after 1933, when Prohibition ended, such as producing corn products, yeast, ice cream, soft drinks, and refrigeration units, what August did for the company has never been forgotten. And because of him, the company remained seen as an authentic company that supplied America with quality products. It was from then on that the company was also seen as reliable, because they were a company that would always be there, no matter what went wrong. This was a unique and prestigious trait for any company to have, and made Anheuser-Busch one of the most superior companies in America, and Budweiser a superior beer.
As one of America’s superior companies, Anheuser-Busch not only continued its success, but also expanded and diversified it. To remain the best, it had to change with the times, and this was not easy. As a prestigious company with quality products as well as endeavors, Anheuser-Busch, under the continued leadership of the Busch family, turned to family entertainment, real estate, sports, transportation, and expansion. Through the guidance of August A. Busch Jr., the company began to expand. Within his presidency of the company, he built eight regional breweries, all of which he personally designed and periodically inspected, to ensure that the prestige of the Anheuser-Busch name was kept at the highest level.
His endeavors quickly paid off when sales increased from three million barrels in 1946 to more than thirty-four million in 1974.(www.anheuser-busch.com). This giant increase in sales was proof enough that his ideas, like his family, were remarkable, and that the company and the Budweiser name would remain on top. He also began exploring in the areas of real estate and entertainment. Busch, Jr. continued the success of Budweiser and brought it to an even higher level by maintaining its family tradition, a tradition of maintaining a superior standard of quality making a genuine beer with a smooth, unique taste. He kept the American-ness of Budweiser by paralleling their successes to that of the American economy, where industries were constantly improving by expanding. This tradition was continued once again by his son, August A. Busch III. Finally under the current leadership of August A. Busch III, more successful actions have been taken. He also sought to expand the company, and opened three more breweries, all of which helped increase sales incredibly, making Budweiser more popular than ever. August has also introduced several new beer products such as Natural Light, Bud Light, Michelob Dry, O'Doul's, Busch Light, Bud Ice and Tequiza in response to consumer’s requests, in which most have been widely accepted.(www.budweiser.com). In family entertainment, he has also continued to succeed, when in 1989 Anheuser-Busch purchased Sea World, it became one of the largest theme-park operators in the country (www.anheuser-busch.com). Now Anheuser-Busch was number one in brewing and also theme-park operating! And as if this wasn’t enough, he went on launch the largest brewery-expansion projects in history, diversify international brewing, and metalize label printing. So again, the family tradition continues. Under the same ideals as his father, August expanded and thus improved the company bringing it to an all-time superior standing. Budweiser's prestige became widely recognized and its unique, genuine taste could now be enjoyed by just about everyone. His diversification of the company by venturing further into theme park operating made Anheuser-Busch different and unique from other brewing competitors. Anheuser-Busch continued to expand and spread the Budweiser name, and because of this they remain known as a traditional, American, genuine beer with a unique taste that is enjoyed by everyone.
Through all of these new projects, Anheuser-Busch and the Budweiser name have continued to be number one, because of their unique products, Anheuser-Busch has become synonymous for distinctiveness and prestige. With so many accomplishments, the Busch family has clearly been well defined as the “King of Beers.” As production and sales will indicate, Budweiser is still the number one best selling name brand beer today. Its unique taste brought all the way from Bohemia, is still being brewed by Busch’s traditional methods. Budweiser’s history is definitely remarkable. How any one family can continue a success as large as Budweiser’s, is truly an achievement in and of itself. With continued outstanding leadership, Budweiser will surely continue to grow and succeed in all its endeavors, and will forever be seen as an authentic, American, great tasting beer.