Anheuser-Busch history

In 1861, Adolphus Busch and Eberhard Anheuser’s daughter Lilly were married.

Anheuser gave over the day-to-day operations to Busch in the 1870’s.

In 1876, he and his friend, Carl Conrad, created an American-style Lager beer that exceeded everyone’s expectations.

The largest brewery in Peru, the Backus and Johnston Brewery, was formed in 1879 by Jacob Backus and Howard Johnston.

In the 1890’s Pabst, a competitor, was the best selling beer in the United States.

The beverage became increasingly popular, as cowboys reportedly deserted their beloved red-eye whiskey for the light Bohemian beer, which became known as Budweiser in 1891, when the company purchased the rights to the name from the Bohemian brewer of 'Budweis.'

In 1901, the company broke the 1 million barrels of beer sales mark for the first time, making it one of the nation’s leading breweries.

To prepare for the Prohibition, Anheuser-Busch released Bevo, a non-alcoholic cereal beverage, in 1916.

Anheuser-Busch had already stopped producing beer in October of 1918, but it did not wait for imminent collapse.

On April 7, 1933, beer was legalized again.

Recovery from Prohibition was slow but steady under Adolphus Busch III, who became president of the company in 1934, upon the death of his father, August Sr.

The introduction of Budweiser cans in 1936 exemplified this tradition and created a legacy that continues to be celebrated at each one of our breweries.

By 1938, Anheuser-Busch hit the two-million-barrel mark.

Despite its successful promotions, Anheuser-Busch entered a close competition at the beginning of the 1950’s with Carling beer.

In 1953, Anheuser-Busch bought the St Louis Cardinals baseball team, targeting sports fans as a new category of consumers.

Busch countered with a low-priced lager beer in 1954.

1955: The Busch brand is launched.

In 1957, Anheuser-Busch became the leading United States brewer, a position it still holds today.

1959: Company's first amusement park, Busch Gardens, opens in Tampa, Florida.

1964: Annual production reaches ten million barrels.

In 1980 Miller was 5% behind Anheuser-Busch in beer sales.

The corporation formed Anheuser-Busch International, Inc. in 1981 to expand its presence in the global beer market through joint ventures, licensing agreements, and equity investments in foreign brewers.

1982: Bud Light is introduced.

The company introduced LA, the first low alcohol beer on the market, in 1984.

Anheuser-Busch also acquired the eight-park Sea World chain of mostly aquatic theme parks in 1989 for $1.3 billion.

With a nine percent market share worldwide, Anheuser-Busch had the largest export volume of any American brewer in 1993, accounting for more than 45 percent of United States beer exports.

Although Anheuser-Busch invested substantially in the craft-brewing phenomenon--including signing a distribution and equity partnership agreement in 1994 with Red Hook Brewery, a leading craft brewer--the company's primary focus was on its core brands.

In 1995, the company announced it was severing its ties with Eagle Snacks after 17 years of losses.

1997: Worldwide annual production eclipses 100 million barrels.

By then Anheuser-Busch Companies had become the world’s largest brewer, but it was surpassed in 2004 by InBev, a corporation formed by the merger of AmBev and Interbrew.

In July 2008 Anheuser-Busch agreed to be purchased by InBev for approximately $52 billion.

In 2016 the company acquired SABMiller, a beverage company based in London, for more than $100 billion.

©2021 Anheuser-Busch Companies, LLC. One Busch Place.