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Budweiser is an
American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United
States. Budweiser is made with a proportion of rice in addition to
barley malt, for which it has received some criticism, though the
company takes the position that the rice gives the beer a lighter
taste. 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. It has 5.0% alcohol by volume
and 145 calories per 12 oz., except in Utah, Kansas, Minnesota and
Oklahoma where a 3.2% alcohol by weight (4.0% by volume) strength is
available due to state laws. Minnesota and Colorado require 3.2%
alcohol by weight beer only at select public events and beer being sold
in grocery stores and gas stations.
Name origin and dispute
The name derives from the Bohemian city Budweis (Budweiser meaning
"from Budweis" in the German language), which was part of the German
HRE until 1806, then Austrian Empire until 1918, then Czechoslovakia
until 1993, then Czech Republic (since 1920 using Czech name Ceské
Budejovice). The long tradition of brewing beer in Budweis started in
1265. In 1795, the German citizens founded a brewery named Budweiser
Bier Bürgerbräu. In 1895, Czech brewers followed, founding the brewery
called Budejovický Budvar.
In 1876, an Italian immigrant started to brew and sell a brand of beer
he called "Budweiser Beer" in the United States. During the ensuing
Budweiser trademark dispute, the original Bohemian breweries have been
able to protect their rights in most of the several court cases that
have been brought. Because of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) Convention, geographic names like Budweiser are protected
and, therefore, in many countries, Anheuser-Busch has to market its
beer under various other trademarks, such as "Anheuser-Busch Bud",
while the now Czech breweries have to use alternative names when
selling to the U.S.
Market share
Anheuser-Busch has a market share in the United States of 50.9% for all
beers sold. This is primarily composed of Budweiser brands. In 2008
Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch sold the majority of their stock to Belgian
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 three markets
outside of the U.S.:
in the People's Republic of China, where Anheuser-Busch has had a
brewery in Wuhan since 1995, 3.4 million barrels of Budweiser were
brewed in 2005.[citation needed]
in Canada, where Labatt Brewing Company brews and packages Budweiser
and Bud Light for the Canadian market; Budweiser is one of the
country's most popular bottled beers behind Molson and Labatt.
Budweiser is also widely available in Mexico due to Anheuser-Busch's
half-ownership of Grupo Modelo, through which Budweiser and Bud Light
(introduced in 1982) 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 Italy, UK, Brazil, Argentina, Finland,
Germany, Panama, Paraguay, Japan, India and Russia because of
partnerships Anheuser-Busch has with major brewers there.
Budweiser is under the name "Bud" 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's slowly gaining
market share by being a much-sought after alternative to the leading
Kingfisher, Fosters and Royal Challenge.
Marketing
One of the Budweiser ClydesdalesBudweiser is one of the major breweries
that emphasize humorous advertising campaigns, such as the "Real Men of
Genius" radio commercials for Bud Light, recently moved to television.
The spots feature an over-the-top, 1980s-style rock ballad sung by Dave
Bickler, the former lead singer of "Survivor", describing ordinary
activities as if they were heroic. The campaign originally was called
"Real American Heroes," but the name was changed after the terrorist
attacks of September 11, 2001.
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?". The company is known for
its sports sponsorships, video game sponsorship (Tapper), and (often)
humorous advertisements. Advertising campaigns have also included a
nude Ganymede grasping a beer bottle and borne aloft by a bald
eagle,[3] 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.Budweiser has a vast
presence in motorsports; Bernie Little's Miss Budweiser hydroplane
boat, sponsoring the Budweiser King Top Fuel Dragster driven by Brandon
Bernstein. Budweiser has been a sponsor of Brandon and Kenny Bernstein
for the last 27 years. Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and
1986-1987 CART championships sponsored by Budweiser. Budweiser is the
official beer of NHRA and was the official beer of NASCAR until 2007.
Budweiser has sponsored top NASCAR teams such as Junior Johnson
(including Darrell Waltrip, Terry Labonte, Geoff Bodine, and Bill
Elliott), Hendrick Motorsports (including Ken Schrader, Ricky Craven
and Wally Dallenbach, Jr.), and perhaps most notably DEI driver Dale
Earnhardt, Jr. from 1999-2007. In 2008, Budweiser will become Kasey
Kahne's primary sponsor, and will split some races with Allstate.
Budweiser has also sponsored many races, including the Budweiser
Shootout, and previously The Bud at the Glen, Budweiser 500, and
Budweiser 400.
2005-07 Dodge Grand Caravan (Budweiser)Even in the early 20th century,
the company was marketing through popular music; the company
commissioned a play-on-words number called Under the Anheuser Bush,
which was recorded by several early phonograph companies. Currently,
some of their commercials feature the song "Galvanize", by The Chemical
Brothers. In the last few years, a number of humorous advertisements
for Bud Light have been shown on television. Some of the company theme
songs, particularly "Here Comes the King", have been referenced by
Budweiser TV commercials for many years.
Budweiser is an official partner and sponsor of Major League Soccer and
the Los Angeles Galaxy Major League Soccer franchise, and was the
headline sponsor of the British Basketball League in the 1990s, taking
over from rival company Carlsberg. Budweiser is also an official
sponsor of the English Premier League.
The 2005 Hong Kong film Drink-Drank-Drunk heavily featured Budweiser
product placement, with the main character Siu Min working as a
logo-jacketed beer maid.
Bottle
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 once had the Conrad and Co. logo on it,
and now features an Anheuser-Busch stylization. Below that is a large
white box. In this box the words "Budweiser Lager (King of) Beer(s)
Brewed by our original (all natural) (Budweiser) process from the
Choicest Hops, Rice, and Best Barley (Malt)" (words in parentheses have
been added or removed over time). Because of Budweiser's "King of
Beers" mantra, Bud Light is sometimes known as the "Prince of Beers" or
simply "The Prince" to consumers.
Containers and packaging
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[4]. From 1936 to 1955, cans were
slow to catch on. In 1955, August Busch Jr.[5] made the 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 three large container volumes -- 1/2 keg,
1/4 keg, and beer ball. In smaller consumption volumes, Budweiser is
distributed in 8-, 10-, 12-, 16-, 22-, 24-, 32- and 40-ounce
containers. Smaller consumption containers vary in materials with
Budweiser offering glass bottles, aluminum cans, plastic bottles and
new-form aluminum bottles.
Package considerations are sometimes tailored to local customs and
traditions. Local distributors may stock certain sizes based upon these
regional customs. In St. Mary's County, Maryland, 10-ounce cans[6][7]
are the preferred package. Chicagoans widely prefer the 16-ounce can.
Budweiser drinkers in the western stretches of Ottawa County, Michigan
prefer the 8-ounce aluminum can. This Ottawa County preference for the
8-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 In
response to this blue law, brewers and distributors presented the
8-ounce can as a smaller alternative with the aim at paring back the
blue laws for alcohol served in lesser volume.
Budweiser has introduced many can designs with co-branding and sports
marketing promotional packaging. Today, most of these promotional
programs are represented only in the 16-ounce aluminum bottle
container; however, many major league baseball and NFL teams also
promote 24-ounce cans marked with team logos.
The words "Anheuser Busch" and "St. Louis Mo" appear in this box as
well.
Slogans
The original Budweiser pledge reads:
"We guarantee that this beer is brewed especially for our own trade
according to the Budweiser process of choicest hops, best barley and
rice. This beer is brewed in St. Louis and warranted to keep in any
climate. Take notice that all crowns are branded with our trade-mark."
The last sentence was altered slightly in the early 1900s to read:
"Take notice that all crowns bear our trade-mark."
It was altered again, albeit briefly, to read as follows:
"We guarantee that this beverage is healthful, refreshing, nutritious,
free from bacteria, fully matured and aged, will keep in any climate,
and fermented in St. Louis. Take note that all crowns bear our 'A' and
'Eagle' trade mark."
This pledge was reverted to the second pledge after only a few years.
An early post-Prohibition version of the label (containing U.S. Permit
number MO-U-900) reads:
"We guarantee that this beer is brewed especially for our own trade
according to the Budweiser process of choicest Cereals and Hops."
The current pledge was placed on the bottle some time around the end of
the Second World War. It reads:
"This is the famous Budweiser beer. We know of no brand produced by any
other brewer which costs so much to brew and age. Our exclusive
Beechwood Aging produces a taste, a smoothness and a drinkability you
will find in no other beer at any price."
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