Anheuser Busch:

Zachary Stewart: UWRT-1104-004

Introduction
Anheuser Busch has grown their way onto many consumers and has become part of
everyday life of some. For myself, I am somewhat partial to Anheuser Busch because they are
the provider of my favorite beer, Budweiser. Also on a personal note, I am not a fan of most craft
beers. I have found most craft beers I have encountered have been extremely bitter, or just have
odd tastes. My favorite craft beer comes from a brewery called Small Town Brewery and goes
by the name of Not your fathers root beer, which as you may guess tastes exactly like root
beer. Although I do enjoy other beers I remain to be partial to Anheuser Busch for not only
Budweiser, but many of their other products as well. I am intrigued on how Anheuser Busch has
gotten to where they are today and what challenges they have to overcome. Including the
introduction of the craft beer market.
Anheuser Busch was founded in St. Louis, Missouri in 1852. Over the past 164 years it is
intriguing to see what Anheuser Busch has accomplished. They have grown substantially into a
thriving business. Anheuser Busch along with others have completely changed the adult
beverage market, and theres no telling where it would be today without them. Even with all of
their accomplishments in the past their future has shown it will certainly not be a given. With the
upcoming of small breweries and craft beer, along with constant business mergers, Anheuser
Busch is faced and will continue to be faced with many challenges. And how they adapt and
choose to approach these challenges will determine their ultimate destiny.
Some of the challenges they are going to have to adapt their products and advertising to
the ever changing consumer base and market. I am planning on educating myself and hopefully
be able to inform others on Anheuser Buschs history and how exactly they are adapting to the
future thus far. Also once I have completed my research I would like to conduct a study. The

study will be to try and come up with a solution to the market/ consumer shift happening. Once I
have completed my study, I plan to develop a new and improved product that the consumer will
love. I hope to be able to work with Anheuser Busch or be able to share my studies in order to
help ensure their spot in the future of corporate brewing.

Literature review
Over the past 150 plus years Anheuser Busch has grown into a thriving adult beverage
brewing company in America as well as around the world. The rich history of the company has
shown tremendously through their evolution, along with adding to Americas history. Anheuser
Busch was founded in 1852 in Missouri. When the company was first bought, Anheuser soon
hired his son in-law Adolphus Busch. Starting off was very slow. Their products remained very
local and restricted until the refrigerated railroad allowed access throughout the states and all
over the country. Which in turn, leveled the field between large breweries and regional
breweries. (Stewart, 2016) The company has a rich heritage on which it was established. They
even helped the military during the world wars. During prohibition the company produced malt
syrup, yeast, ice cream, soft drinks, along with starting a refrigeration car company. By midnight
on April 7th, 1933 when prohibition ended, Anheuser Busch was rolling out barrels of Budweiser.
Anheuser Busch jrs sons then gave him an antique red wagon which was pulled by a team of
Clydesdale horses that delivered a case of Budweiser to the white house. (American Original,
2009) If they benefited in any way from prohibition, it would be that they definitely are not
afraid to adapt to new situations in order to survive. Since prohibition, Anheuser Busch grown
tremendously and some think they have peaked and are struggling to keep up in the market.

Most beer before prohibition was homemade and very generic in taste and variety. After
prohibition though is when things took off. Major breweries ruled the market, but things seem to
be making a turn. Craft beer can be many things, but in general craft beer is a beer produced by a
small brewery. Also craft beer is seen as non-tradition, and could be any product not produced by
a large manufacturer such as Anheuser Busch. Since 1980 craft beer breweries have been gaining
ground in the market. Most large breweries think quantity is the answer to cutting down costs
and gaining consumers. But craft brewers are doing the exact opposite. Today you if you buy a
12 pack of Anheuser Busch its generally going to cost you about half the price of the same
quantity pack of a craft beer. But people are buying the craft beer more and more each day. This
shows in the market that the economics of authenticity can compete the economics of scale, and
are. (Krill, 2013) So why does this seem to be happening now? I mean beer technically is older
than bread. The market for overall beer sales are falling, and large beer companies are beginning
to panic. Craft beer breweries see large corporations as cut throat, which is why craft brewers
work together. The small breweries are working together more and more every day by sharing
resources, business pans, ideas, and overall creativity to try to educate one another. (Barley,
2013) The German beer used to be the worlds best beer, but today its the American craft beer.
(Krill, 2013) In order to try to keep up with not only the craft beer but with the world market as
well, Anheuser Busch was bought out by Belgium brewer INBEV for 52 billion dollars. Now
named Anheuser Busch INBEV, the company is now the worlds largest brewer. (American
Original, 2009) Furthermore, the company is looking to make a merger with SAB Miller.
Together the company would create a monopoly in America, controlling about 70 percent of the
US market. According to the critics, they say beer drinkers could face higher prices and fewer
choices. Also small brewers say they just cannot compete on that scale. Nikos Ridge, CEO and

co-founder of Ninkasi Brewing in Oregon, says were happy to compete on quality of product,
on consumer engagement, on value. But its just really hard for us to compete just in terms of
market power. The deal still has to be approved, so nothing is set in stone yet. (Greene, 2015)
Until then Anheuser Busch will search other means of growth. Means such as advertising.

Anheuser Busch produces 100 million barrels of beer a year, with Miller producing only
40 million. How could a company manage to get that much product to consumers? By gaining
more consumers of course. In 1933 the first television sets were sold to tavern owners. Thus
creating the opportunity for television advertisements. For the past 10 years Budweiser has been
the USA Todays best super bowl commercial. Every year Budweiser spends 500 million in
advertising, much of which goes towards the super bowl commercial. Just the 1 minute window
to play your commercial can cost in excess of 6 million. But you can guarantee that the iconic
Budweiser Clydesdales will be shown. Over time these horses has stood for the strong tradition
of Anheuser Busch. Today the company owns more than 250 Clydesdales, and has five teams
that tour the country for advertising. Bud light even had their own mascot, Spuds Mckenzie, but
was removed because people thought it was promoting partying and underage drinking to
underage viewers.(American Original, 2009) Also in the 1970s, breweries would hire college
students who were of age. Not to make beer, but to promote their brand on campus. (Noll, 2014)

Apart from advertising, another way Anheuser Busch has tried to broaden their market is
in their products. The overall process of making beer is pretty generic as you can see in my
observations. (Stewart, 2016) But Anheuser Busch has a whole department dedicated to nothing

but trying new variations of specific recipes in hopes of coming up with a new and improved
beverage. In the 1970s came the light beer craze. Anheuser Bush had to come up with something
to compete with the low calorie, less filling beer market. Thus Bud Light was born. In 1982 Bud
Light took over as Anheuser Buschs number one selling beer leaving Budweiser at number two.
(American Original, 2009) Just last year in September of 2015, Budweiser teamed up with
legendary rock band Metallica to channel the brute force of this historic show and be inspired by
its vibrations, its energy, and its decibels to create a beer in the image of the power of rock. A
Budweiser subsidiary at the Labatt facility sent a 48 foot tanker filled with Metallica-branded
beer to Quebec, Canada to celebrate the band opening up a new venue. (Chappell, 2015)

Entering the conversation

In my studies, it has become clear that something new needs to be added to the brewing
industry. The rising of small craft breweries across the world, causing the market for large scale
breweries to decline, shows it is time for a large brewery to introduce something new to the table
if they want to ensure a spot in the future of corporate brewing. (Barley, 2013) With such a rich
history as Anheuser Busch, I feel as though new ideas and products should be launching out to
the consumers daily. But it doesnt seem as such, so I am planning to conduct my own research.
In developing a solution to the issue of producing a new product that will gain new consumers,
along with capturing the taste of existing consumers of Anheuser Busch, I hope to assist in
regaining the market share that seems to be declining.
The issue being addressed is the development of a product thats so new and original to
consumers that it takes over the market. In order to do such a task, I plan on developing a study

to see which particular beverages is the favorite among a group of a variety of consumers and
non-consumers. To gather the greatest amount of nonbiased information, I plan on studying four
groups of ten people. The groups will be separated by the age groups 21-30, 31-45, 46-60, and
60+. Each group will consist of five males, and five females. Two males and females will be an
avid consumer of beer, two will be a social/ not active drinker, and the last will be from a foreign
county. The male and female from a foreign country will probably be from an area around the
world who consumes the most alcohol as a whole. The groups will be given 20 different samples
of beer from all over. A few of the samples will be from Anheuser Busch, the rest will be from
other competitors. The observers will be given a chart to rate their choices 1-20, with 1 being the
best and 20 the worst. Once the beer is sampled, there will be three brief questions to help get the
consumer brainstorming on what their view is on the substance. There will also be a comment
section where it is encouraged to talk more about the opinions you feel strongly about each
sample.

Rating:

Sample#
1-20

2
3
4

Question 1:

Question 2:

Question 3:

Comments:

What do you
like/dislike
visually?

What do
you
like/dislike
about the
scent?

What do you
like/dislike
about the
taste?

Please give a
few sentences
on what you
wish there was
more or less of.

Beer:

*not visible to
test subject

Gambrinus
(Czech
Republic)
Bud Light
(USA)
Snow
(China)
Tsingtao

5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

18
19
20

(China)
Krombacher
(Germany)
Budweiser
(USA)
Carlton Draught
(Australia)
Heineken
(Netherlands)
Miller Light
(USA)
Corona
(Mexico)
Skol
(Brazil)
Baltika
(Russia)
Asahi Super Dry
(Japan)
Coors Light
(USA)
Anartica
(Brazil)
Stella Artois
(Belgium)
Three
Horses Beer
(Africa)
Victoria Bitter
(Australia)
Harbin
(China)
Guinness
(Australia)

Once I have collected and analyzed the data, I will study every aspect of the top 5
products and figure out what it consists of. With this information I will conduct several
experiments and come up with possibly 5-10 new products. Then I repeat the procedure I did in
the beginning to see what sort of reactions I get to the products I created. I hope that this
experiment will result in a new product that the consumers will love.

Conclusion
As I researched the history of Anheuser Busch, I found myself realizing more and more
of what they are up against in their future. In order for Anheuser Busch to keep up with the
industry and craft beer, they are going to have to expand their horizon. The craft beer market is a
new market, in comparison to the overall beer market, where small breweries come up with a
variety of products that have very distinguishing qualities. The new market only started coming
up with in the past 30 years or so, and are taking more of the corporate breweries market every
day.
As I started wrapping up my study it dawned on me. The exact study I had conducted, is
what the craft industry has done with the beer market. Instead I feel it should be the large
manufacturers leading the way in the crafting of new beers since they definitely have greater
funding and resources at their exposal. Although I feel as though the bonding of the small
breweries has helped them gain traction in the market. (Barley, 2013) Also by not selling their
ideas out to larger manufactures, they have kept the profit to themselves.
In my near and distant future, I plan on traveling around the world. I hope to study abroad
in Australia in the fall of 2018. Along with that I plan on visiting Sweden, Canada, and China

one day. As I travel I hope to non-formally continue my research and studies on the beer market.
Knowing along the way I can compare them to my personal favorite, Budweiser from Anheuser
Busch.

References

American Originals: Budweiser. Films On Demand. 2009. Accessed March 15, 2016.
fod.infobase.com/PortalPlaylists.aspx?wID=149262&xtid=40548.

Barley, John. "Culture of Beer: John Barley at TEDxNaperville." YouTube. December 18, 2013.
Accessed March 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxHmfh0Krx0.

Busch, Anheuser. "Brewing Process | Anheuser-Busch.com." AnheuserBuschcom Brewing

Process Comments. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/ourheritage/commitment-to-quality/brewing-process.

Busch, Anheuser. "History | Anheuser-Busch.com." AnheuserBuschcom History Comments.

Accessed March 16, 2016. http://anheuser-busch.com/index.php/our-heritage/history/.

Chappell, Bill. "... And Beer For All: Budweiser Makes A Metallica Beer In Canada." NPR.
September 16, 2015. Accessed March 16, 2016. http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwoway/2015/09/16/440860959/-and-beer-for-all-budweiser-makes-a-metallica-beer-in-canada.

Greene, David. "Craft Brewers Raise Red Flag Over SABMiller, Anheuser-Busch Merger." NPR.
October 14, 2015. Accessed March 16, 2016.

Krill, Ryan. "Nature and Nurture of Beer: Ryan Krill at TEDxCapeMay 2013." YouTube.
November 19, 2013. Accessed March 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=QkEbKp8PPfo.

Metzger, Scott. "TEDxSanAntonio - Scott Metzger - Crafting Better Businesses - Insights from
the Beer Industry." YouTube. December 28, 2011. Accessed March 16, 2016.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihyQddLd4xU.

Noll, Chuck. "How Beer Drinking Changed My Life... | Chuck Noll | TEDxEvansChurchill."
YouTube. November 21, 2014. Accessed March 16, 2016. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=nvlyA2eEJFM.

Stewart, Zachary. "Assignment One." Anheuser Busch, February 27, 2016, 1-5.

Stewart, Zachary. "Assinment One." Compiled by Brian Modlin. Interview, February 27, 2016,
3.

Instructors comments:
Background

You mention craft beers in the first paragraph--I advise you add a very short description of craft
beers as a footnote. Some readers may not be familiar with what makes them distinctive from
large company beers.

Describe more specifically what your study is going to do--you have the ETC section, now take
some of these details and add to the intro.

Literature Review

There needs to be some sort of brief introduction to the literature review. Tell your readers what
the main topics are for the lit review and what you intend to provide background on. Figure out
your themes (based on your paragraphs) and add this to a brief intro to the lit review.

Shorten some of your summaries--these should be about 3-4 sentences MAX for each individual
source.

Entering the Conversation

GREAT inclusion of the chart for the proposed survey--this works really well.

Add some sort of short interview that gives background on each potential participant--5 questions
max.

How are you going to "code" the data? Just a brief couple of sentences explaining how you will
code the data will suffice.

Conclusion
Say more in the conclusion about how this traveling will impact your personal preference/experience with
beer. Do you see yourself doing some sort of professional work in the beer industry? Why will studying
abroad connect to what you have discussed throughout your paper?