How Budweiser built America

[@Bskeets1]

Carib Brewery in the US makes an "officially licensed " Duff beer at Universal Studios in Orlando FL. it's actually pretty good, and worth a try if you're ever there even if for nostalgia's sake. I also believe there's a German Brewery that makes "Duff" beer as well

[@deanzaZZR]

As a college librarian I am happy to say that we have purchased your book for our collection. I'm an American. Even before I discovered craft beer decades ago I never liked Bud. Many in high school preferred Coors. My friends spent a bit more and drank Henry Weinhard's Private Reserve (from Portland now defunct). Being in California Sierra Nevada Pale Ale was a natural progression. I even remember drinking Pete's Wicked Ale which is one of the earliest American craft ales. Being close to San Francisco Anchor Steam was always available too (not currently, sadly).

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Wow! very excited to be in a college library! Thanks for the support - and lucky you getting to taste SNPA and Anchor Steam for so long!

[@danhof5849]

Just as important, what was the sandwich you had? You referenced having the best sandwich at the beginning. Thanks for visiting our little city

[@tylerparsonage1774]

I really enjoyed hearing more of the history behind Budweiser, and american beer. I'm looking on Amazon right now at picking up a copy of your book!

[@metalmaniac1415]

Interesting to learn that the experience of watching the game at a bar is almost 100 years old

[@daikidetbilisi]

Budweiser got me into craft beer! After a couple of years drinking a mix of Bud and Galahad (Aldi Carling rip off), my friends and I were bored of how stale they tasted compared to “real ales” that our dads were drinking. We ended up pooling some money and buying the likes of Brooklyn lager, Six Points Bengali and probably something like og Punk IPA - the rest is history. Thanks Bud! ❤️🍻 Another fascinating chat. So the story of bud seems to be the history of modern day capitalism; the Madmen of beers.

[@andrewsteer8860]

It’s amazing how many people will stay drinking that same old stale beer though isn’t it? Nice one for branching out

[@thekentishpilgrim]

Great research Jonny! Nicely done.

[@schweigsamerdan]

great video lads! i need to to the pilgramge to St.Louis, Chicago etc one day. as brewer and german! :D

[@Tomtiburon]

You forgot "yuengling", the oldest brewery in the USA. Founded of an german immegrant, comes from Aldingen (swabia) nearly my hometown ,lol!❤

[@mrougelot]

Really cool insights, looking forward to reading more about it, specially the Simpsons chapter.

[@OttoStrawanzinger]

Two interesting details about Anheuser Busch: Budweiser wasn‘t the only brand where they used a Bohemian place name. The Michelob brand is named after the town of Michelob (Mecholupy in Czech) where Anton Dreher owned a brewery. Their beer was available in the US. Another early brand they had was Liebotschaner, after the German name of modern-day Libočany in Czechia. I think there‘s a pattern there, they simply used Bohemian town names known for their beer. As for Budweiser, AB InBev actually bought the other, older brewery in Budejovice, Bürgerliches Brauhaus Budweis, something like 10-15 years ago. So they legally, they would have had the right to brew and sell Budweiser in Europe from there. What did they do instead? They renamed the brand to Samson. AB InBev could have won that IP dispute through that loophole, instead they rebranded.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Great knowledge, appreciate the extra context!

[@rajvanegmond]

Really gives a more positive vibe to Budweiser! Cool stories Johny, I have pre ordered the book in the Netherlands! 🥳🍻

[@gregsheehan3541]

Did not think I'd here about Narragansett RI/Beer watching this. I also did not know about their place in beer advertising on TV history.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Lots more gold like this in the book!

[@eduardosanchez9341]

This is quite interesting! thanks for sharing.

[@kevinpayne3482]

Ok guys as I’m watching I’m enjoying a 4.7% Pacific Northwest lager from threes brewing called “false memory” made with some scarce hops, mt. Hood and sterling where both were on the verge of extinction but have been resurrected and really shine in this brew. Cheers! 🍻👍🏻

[@RoseyBone1932]

Thanks, lads, for drinking the original Bud rather than a Bud Light.

[@philneville5471]

Very intresting 😲 Thank you! Greetings 🫶🏻 from 🇨🇭

[@pv4669]

Nice video gents. I went to the St. Louis brewery a few years back; quite impressive. I couldn't help but notice that after Jonny poured the beer only Brad put it to his lips and I don't think even tasted it! 🤣 Maybe the history is better than the beer itself. Funny though, lots of U.S. craft breweries are now brewing a rice lager. Thank you!

[@ElCaminoMasLargoBrewing]

Fun fact: German immigrants also had a huge impact on our space progr… ohhhhhh 😂 looking forward to reading your book!

[@heindaddel7074]

Not fun fact: German immigrants also have a huge impact on the recent presidential mess that is the orange turd...

[@boxerdawg1818]

Hope you went to Side Project while in StL?!?!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@@boxerdawg1818 of course.

[@PhinClio]

In addition to whiskey, Americans in the 19th century drank enormous amounts of hard cider.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Very true, though I think this varied from region to region.

[@seancar1988]

When I first started drinking in my teens in Ireland it was budweiser I found most approachable. I then progressed to heineken and Guinness before discovering the wonderful world of craft beer. Still laugh about how the landlord in my local called a pint of bud, a pint of Buttwiper 😅

[@roryomoore5306]

Being a Yank, I, grudgeingly, admit that Bud has has a huge impact on American pop culture. Yeah, they are the epitome of the big corporate conglomerate that eats up the small guys. But, they know how to brew. Granted their flagship brands are mass produced, bare minimum efforts that net massive profit. They have made some awesome specialty beers. And their ability to make their products taste the same no matter what regional facility it come from taste exactly the same is a fete unto itself. They a r e the McDonald's of beer.

[@macehead]

Bud……. Weis….. Errrrrrrr….🐸

[@nicetheproject]

Definitely not the beer I'll do for.... But very interesting video. Great job!

[@jackhorzempa3962]

It should be noted that in the early - mid 1800’s there was a robust Ale beer industry in America. A German immigrant, David G. Yuengling, founded Yuengling Brewery in 1829. From my article: “Yuengling Brewery has the distinction of being “America’s Oldest Brewery”. There were other breweries operating in America before the 1829 founding of Yuengling (known then as Eagle Brewery) but it is the oldest continuously operating brewery in the US. The first beers brewed by Yuengling were not AAL beers but instead were beers brewed with ale yeast. On the Yuengling website they list as their first beers: Lord Chesterfield Ale and Porter.” One more example of a big brewery that produced a lot of Ale was Ballantine brewery which opened in 1840 by the Scottish immigrant Peter Ballantine. Ballantine did not produce lager beers until 1879 with the purchase of a separate brewery (Schalk Brothers Brewery in Newark, NJ). Another point of example is the Christian Schmidt brewery in Philadelphia where a German immigrant (Christian Schmidt) purchased an existing brewery (Robert Courtney brewery) in 1860. The Christian Schmidt brewery only produced Ales until 1880. It was in 1880 that Schmidt built a new brewery and ice house and only then was he able to produce lagers. Cheers!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

All these breweries get a shout out in the book, but we're pretty small concerns until later in the century and as you say making UK inspired beers for the most part

[@jackhorzempa3962]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Yes, the production of beer from these breweries in the early to mid 1800's were smaller but so was the US population during those times. In 1830 there were less than 13 million people in America but in 1880 there was over 50 million people. Much of that growth was via immigration. More people = more beer production. Cheers!

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@jackhorzempa3962 sure! Though from my studies it seems consumption per capita was miniscule (literally teaspoons per year) until the 1850s. Obviously not the case in towns with those breweries and strong German populations but outside that it was barely made or drunk.

[@jackhorzempa3962]

I was able to find out via surfing the web that in 1810 there was 180,000 barrels (5.6 million gallons) of commercial beer produced for a population of 7.3 million people. This would equate to a beer consumption of 0.77 gallons per capita. I wonder if this figure is ‘accurate’ since in the 1700’s the majority of beer was produced in the home (homebrewing) and likely the per capita consumption of beer was much higher in 1810 via homebrewing. By 1865 the listed per capita consumption of commercially produced beer In America is 3.4 gallons. With continued immigration in the later half of the 1800’s (e.g., Germans, Czech, Irish, Polish, etc.) the per capita consumption would continue to grow (e.g., 8.2 gallons per capita by 1880). Yes, whiskey was a preferred source of ethanol in the early 1800’s but there was still beer (i.e., ale) consumed then and as the 1800’s progressed the per capita consumption of beer increased with increasing immigration from Europe. Cheers!

[@VelkyAl]

Rice was an acceptable adjunct, along with potato starch and some others, in northern German brewing before the specifically Bavarian Reinheitsgebot became the law throughout German in 1906. This makes me wonder if it was a north German brewer working for Anheuser-Busch that suggested using rice to lighten the protein of American 6 row malt? On the IP front, why not mention that there was a German owned brewery in Budweis/České Budějovice before either Anheuser-Busch or Budvar existed, which was actually also the court brewery to the Kings of Wurttemberg...so genuine original Budweiser (Pivovar Samson, owned by AB-InBev these days) was indeed the "beer of kings".

[@FatherEarth93]

Given some of your merch, I am surprised they let you in at the brewery!😂 And if Budweiser from tank is quite a tasty beer, I would be very curious to know what makes it the exceptionally bland beer it in my experience is...

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Ha well that's an easy answer. What you drink from the tank at the brewery is unfiltered, unpasteurised and fresh as it can get. We always talk about IPAs being great fresh, but really pale lager is the beer that benefits most from being consumed at the brewery.... or ideally from a tank.

[@FatherEarth93]

@@TheCraftBeerChannel Damn you, filtration! Always you meddling with our beers!

[@AndrewLynch9]

Funny how not a drop was drunk on the video lol

[@kylereed9309]

Watching this drinking a pint of budweiser from weatherspoons brewed in the UK (so even more shit than the US version) £2,60 a pint. However love hearing the history of a macro brewery. Personally from Leeds, England my Macro beer was originally tetley and been honest, no one in leeds under 30 even knows the brand now and it had a unhealthy brand loyalty in the 80s and 90s. Great beer but sadly disappeared now

[@marklancaster2381]

It still baffles me everyday how such an unappetising beer can have such great influence

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

We have to remember taste is subjective. Many people love the light and bright flavour- and I think Bud is definitely one of the best light lagers. That said, even knowing its remarkable history I never drink it!

[@PhinClio]

However the founder Anheuser pronounced his name, the company is now pronounced "an-HIZE-er"

[@danieltaylor3737]

Its interesting to learn that beer was deprioritised by the US during war time. During WW2 I understand the Germans kept brewing beer as a priority, even into the last days of the war as it was seen as pivotal to keeping moral up (ie brewing in Berlin even as it was being besieged by the Soviets). I imagine the quality probably diminished somewhat. Here in NZ we kept brewing during WW2 as well and even shipped our beer all the way to Egypt for the troops such was the role it played in keeping spirits high. Just a couple of examples about the importance of beer in society, even during tough times.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

We were talking about World War I here. In WWII a slightly different approach was taken by the Americans, and soldiers even took beer across to Europe. Budweiser designed a special can for them that was gold and black so wouldn't glint in the sun and give away positions.... I held one in the brewery archive!

[@danieltaylor3737]

That's a really neat initiative. Thanks for the clarification that different approach was taken later on.

[@zachi3731]

Great video on Budweiser. Though Budweiser is not a great tasting beer by any means, it is much better than Bud Light. When I got into craft beer and then tried to drink Bud Light and Coors Light again, I was shocked at how bland and flavorless they were. I can still enjoy a Coors Banquet, Miller High Life, Budweiser, and Modelo if needed, but I cannot stand light beer anymore. With how little difference in calories there is between Bud Light and Budweiser, I am surprised that Bud Light ever caught on, let alone became way more popular than Budweiser. Suppose it is likely marketing efforts?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

Marketing definitely played its part, as well as good timing around a push to be low carb/cal. It lowered the expectation around beer generally

[@peteking8063]

Quite possibly the worst tasting beer there is.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

@peteking8063 haha not sure that's fair. Did ok in our blind taste tests! Some other beers brewed there did NOT however.

[@kw2142]

Funny they don't actually drink the crappy beer they poured

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

We're here for the history only. Though as we say, the unfiltered, unpasteurised and fresh beer from the tank at the brewery was rather tasty.

[@pac4life88]

But big beer is TERRIBLE for the industry!!!!!! 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄(edited to make sure sarcasm is noted!!!!)

[@lucaparolin5623]

Not true IMO, I don't like Bud but a lot of people do and especially people who don't care about craft beer, which is the big chunk of beer drinkers in the world and we need big quantities because of that. There are some amazing beers like Czech lagers for example, that are produced in enormous quantities and are better than most of craft lagers I had. If we were talking about Ipas or other styles I would agree...

[@pac4life88]

@lucaparolin5623 sorry. My sarcasm did not shine through in this comment.

[@lucaparolin5623]

@@pac4life88 oh shit sorry, it's me I didn't get it, now I feel like an idiot! 🤣

[@pac4life88]

@lucaparolin5623 hahah. All good!

[@terryostype9099]

Please can I get a free copy of the book for being a cheeky get and just asking?

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

It's an excellent try, but after taking three years to write it, I need that sweet, sweet 12% of net profits.

[@Sir_Racha]

Great rundown guys! I'd like to add to your discussion of pre to post prohibition in St Louis. Anheuser Busch was not really the biggest brewer in the region before. There were a few like Lemp Brewing (a brewer located up the hill from AB and it was bigger with underground cave with swimming pools and tennis courts!) and Griesedieck brothers (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Griesedieck_Brothers_beer) who sponsored the St Louis cardinals before AB bought it in 47! In St Louis, the oral history is that these other breweries pivoted to making other products like cheese instead of making the weak (sub 3% abv beer) like AB did to survive. After they did not return to making beer and sold their cheeses etc. to Kraft!. This also anecdotally highlights why American beer is weaker than other nations because AB kept making the lower abv beer even after prohibition ended.

[@TheCraftBeerChannel]

AB was the biggest brewery in the world by the turn of the 20th century, but the rest is a very interesting addition to my knowledge! And Lemp do get some time in the book, I even visited some of the cellars when I was in STL