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Anheuser-Busch's Free Bud Sample Offer Confuses E-mail
Friday, 24 September 2010 07:46
NEW YORK - This free Budweiser's for you. But so is the job of figuring out when and where to get it.

Since Anheuser-Busch InBev announced a promotion to give away thousands of samples this week, drinkers have been calling distributors, posting on Facebook and checking in with local bars to learn when and where they can get the free drinks.

Because of local and state laws that regulate how people sample alcohol, the brewer can't give specifics, but others can. Anheuser-Busch plans to give away 500,000 free samples of 6 ounces to 12 ounces each - depending on local laws - through October.

The "Budweiser National Happy Hour" next Wednesday kicks off the promotion, which will include free samples at bars and restaurants across the country.

The samples are part of a new campaign to woo younger drinkers and generate new interest in the sagging brand.

Budweiser and other domestic premium beers have been hurt as shoppers either seek out cheaper alternatives in the weak economy or opt to spend more on higher-priced, often more flavorful craft beers.

Anheuser-Busch president Dave Peacock said the beer is sometimes taken for granted. Sales have been falling for 20 years as light beers continue to gain in popularity; they now make up about half the market. So new drinkers are key for Budweiser.

It's just that Anheuser-Busch can't tell them specifics about the samples.

"We're doing our best to make sure, where we can, coordinate and let people know, directing them through Facebook, to their local bar and restaurants," Peacock said Thursday.

The confusion is at least generating talk about the brand, he said.

The chatter comes as the company, along with the industry, takes another price increase this fall. Anheuser-Busch raises prices separately for its various brands and markets, so Peacock said he couldn't generalize how much prices were going up.

Reasons for increases vary too, he said, sometimes dealing with rising ingredient costs. The higher prices are rolling out now, so it's unclear how shoppers will react, he said.

Anheuser-Busch plans to shift the majority of its advertising to Budweiser in coming weeks, up from 30 percent to 40 percent. A new television commercial called "Great Times" features no talking, just images of people readying for a good time, carrying Budweiser, getting dressed, grilling brats and preparing for a barbecue, baseball game and concert.

"We're not looking for miraculous changes," Peacock said. "We want to begin the process of stabilizing the brand."

 

 

 

 Budweiser Donkey

 

 

Budweiser (pronounced /ˈbʌdwaɪzər/) is a 5.0% abv American lager

introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling

beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition

to hops and barley malt.[1] 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.

 

Contents

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Name origin and dispute

Main article: Budweiser trademark dispute

 

In 1876, Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad, a liquor

importer, developed a "Bohemian-style" lager, inspired after a trip to

the region. Brewers in Bohemia (today's Czech Republic) generally

named a beer after their town with the suffix "er." Beers produced in

the town of Pilsen (today's Plzeň), for example, were called Pilsners.

Busch and Conrad had visited another town, only 104 km (65 miles)

south of Pilsen also, known for its breweries: Budweis (or Böhmisch

Budweis, today's České Budějovice). Beer has been brewed in Budweis

since it was founded as Budiwoyz by king Ottokar II of Bohemia in

1245. The name Budweiser is a locative, meaning "of Budweis." In

most European countries American Budweiser is not labelled as

Budweiser but as Bud, and the name Budweiser refers to the original

Czech beer, Budweiser Budvar. The United Kingdom is the exception

to this, and both companies use Budweiser there.

 

Anheuser-Busch has a market share in the United States of 50.9% for

all beers sold.[2] This is primarily composed of Budweiser brands. In

2008 Anheuser-Busch sold the majority of their stock to Belgian-

Brazilian 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

markets outside of the U.S. including China,[citation needed] and Canada,

where Labatt Brewing Company brews and packages Budweiser and

Bud Light for the Canadian market.

 

Budweiser is also widely available in Mexico due to Anheuser-Busch's

half-ownership of Grupo Modelo, through which Budweiser and Bud Light

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 Australia, Italy, UK, Brazil, Argentina, Finland,

Germany, Spain, Panama, Paraguay, Japan, India and Russia

because of partnerships Anheuser-Busch has with major brewers

there.

 

Budweiser, under the name Bud, is 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 is slowly gaining

market share from the leading Kingfisher, Fosters and Royal

Challenge.

 

Budweiser is also available in Jordan and Lebanon. It is not brewed

there though, it is imported from the UK Budweiser Stag Brewing

Company. Usually Budweiser is sold for higher prices in Jordan ( a 500

ml '16 oz' is sold for 3.75 Jordanian Dinars '5 US dollars' compared to

the more common Amstel which sells for only 2 dinars '3 US dollars'.

 

Marketing

 

One of the Budweiser Clydesdales

Anheuser-Busch uses humorous advertising campaigns to promote

Budweiser, such as the "Real Men of Genius" radio and television

commercials for Bud Light.

 

The Budweiser from Budějovice has been called "The Beer of Kings"

since the 16th century. Adolphus Busch changed this slogan to "The

King of the Beers".[3] The Czech Budweiser is sold in some countries

as Budejovicky Budvar but is known as Budweiser throughout.

 

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?". Anheuser-Busch is

known for its sport sponsorship, video game sponsorship (Tapper),

and humorous advertisements. Advertising campaigns have also

included 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

 

The Budweiser brand is promoted in motorsports, from Bernie Little's

Miss Budweiser hydroplane boat to sponsoring the Budweiser King Top

Fuel Dragster driven by Brandon Bernstein. Anheuser-Busch has

sponsored the CART championship, and top NASCAR teams such as

Junior Johnson, Hendrick Motorsports and DEI. Budweiser is the official

beer of NHRA and was the official beer of NASCAR until 2007. In 2008,

Anheuser-Busch became Kasey Kahne's primary sponsor, and has

also sponsored many races, including the Budweiser Shootout, and

previously The Bud at the Glen, Budweiser 500, and Budweiser 400.

 

Anheuser-Busch has placed Budweiser as an official partner and

sponsor of Major League Soccer and Los Angeles Galaxy and was the

headline sponsor of the British Basketball League in the 1990s,

taking over from rival company Carlsberg. Anheuser-Busch has also

placed Budweiser as an official sponsor of the English Premier League.

 

In the early 20th century, the company commissioned a play-on-

words song called Under the Anheuser Bush, which was recorded by

several early phonograph companies. Popular music continues to be

used in advertisements for Budweiser. Some commercials feature the

song "Galvanize", by The Chemical Brothers.

 

 

In August 2009 Anheuser-Busch partnered with popular Chinese

video-sharing site, Tudou.com for a user-generated online video

contest. The contest encourages users to suggest ideas that include

ants for a Bud TV spot set to run in February 2010 during the Chinese

New Year.[4]

 

 

Containers and packaging

Containers

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.[5] From 1936 to 1955,

cans were slow to catch on. In 1955, August Busch Jr.[6] made a

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

four large container volumes: half-barrel (15.5 US gallons), quarter-

barrel, 1/6 barrel and beer balls (5.2 gallons). In smaller

consumption volumes, Budweiser is distributed in 7, 8, 10, 12, 16, 22,

24, 32 and 40 US ounce containers. Smaller containers may be made

of glass, aluminum or plastic.

 

Lone Star State Edition Budweiser

Packages are sometimes tailored to local customs and traditions. In

St. Mary's County, Maryland, ten ounce cans[7][8] are the preferred

package. Budweiser drinkers in the western stretches of Ottawa

County, Michigan prefer the eight ounce can. This Ottawa County

preference for the eight 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.[9][10] In response to this blue law, brewers

and distributors presented the eight ounce can as a smaller

alternative.[citation needed]

 

Anheuser-Busch has introduced many can designs with co-branding

and sports marketing promotional packaging. Today, most of these

promotional programs are represented only on the 16 ounce

aluminum bottle container. However, many major league baseball and

NFL teams also promote 24 ounce cans marked with team logos.

 

Bottle

 

The packaging plant at the

Anheuser-Busch headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri.

 

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 features an Anheuser-Busch stylization.

Below that is a large white box.

EraPledgeLogoBeer titleTop label
1870s 1 C. Conrad and Co. Budweiser Lager Beer Original Budweiser
Early 1900s 2 C. Conrad and Co. Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser Reg U.S. Pat Off
1920s 3 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Anheuser-Busch 'Budweiser St. Louis
1940s 2 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser Beer
1950s 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser Lager Beer
1970s 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser
1980s 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser
Today 4 Anheuser-Busch Budweiser Lager Beer Budweiser

Beer

Budweiser is brewed using barley malt, rice, water, hops and yeast. It

is lagered with beechwood chips in the ageing vessel which, according

to Anheuser-Busch, creates a smoother taste. Rice is used to produce

a "clean finish."[citation needed] While beechwood chips are used in the

maturation tank, there is little to no flavor contribution from the wood,

mainly because they are boiled in sodium bicarbonate [baking soda]

for seven hours for the very purpose of removing any flavor from the

wood. The maturation tanks that Anheuser-Busch uses are horizontal

and, as such, flocculation of the yeast occurs much more quickly.

Anheuser-Busch refers to this process as a secondary fermentation,

with the idea being that the chips give the yeast more surface area to

rest on. This is also combined with a krausening procedure that re-

introduces wort into the chip tank therefore activating the

fermentation process again. By placing chips at the bottom of the

tank, the yeast remains in suspension longer, giving it more time to

reabsorb and process green beer flavors, such as acetaldehyde and

diacetyl, that Anheuser-Busch believes are off-flavors which detract

from overall drinkability.

 

The beers produced by Budweiser remain some of the worlds lowest

rated beers on prominrnt[11] rating sites such as Beeradvocate.com[12]

and ratebeer.com[13].Some drinkers prefer the lightness of beers like

Budweiser and consume it as a refreshment or for its inebriating

effects,[14] beer writers consider it to be bland.[15][16] The beer is

light-bodied with faint sweet notes and negligible bitterness, leading

to reviews characterizing it as a "...beer of underwhelming blandness".

[17] Based upon sales, however, it is the most popular of the American

Style Lagers among North American beer consumers.[citation needed]

 

Budweiser and Bud Light are sometimes advertised as vegan beers, in

that their ingredients and conditioning do not use animal by-products.

Some might object to the inclusion of genetically engineered rice[18]

and animal products[citation needed] used in the brewing process.

Recently[when?], Anheuser-Busch has brewed a version of Budweiser

with organic rice, for sale in Mexico. They have yet to extend this

practice to any other countries.[citation needed]

 

Anheuser-Busch was one of the few breweries during Prohibition that

had the resources and wherewithal to convert to "cereal beer"

production-malt beverage made with non-fermentables such as rice

and unmalted barley and rye, and able to stay under the 0.5% limit

established by the Volstead Act. Following the repeal of Prohibition in

1933, the major breweries continued to use unmalted cereal grains to

provide the full body and mouthfeel of a "real" beer while keeping the

alcohol content low.

 

Budweiser brands

Main article: Anheuser-Busch brands#Budweiser

 

In addition to the regular Budweiser, Anheuser-Busch brews several

different beers under the Budweiser brand, including Bud Light and Bud

Ice.

 

See also

Beer.jpg Beer portal

 

Wikinews has related news: Budweiser

References

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External links

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[show] v • d • eAnheuser-Busch InBev
 
Corporate Directors: Carlos Brito, CEO • August Busch IV • Allan Chapin • Carlos Alberto da Veiga Sicupira • Arnoud de Pret Roose de CalesbergJean-Luc DehaenePhilippe de SpoelberchJorge Paulo Lemann • Roberto Moses Thompson Motta • Kees J. Storm • Peter Harf •
 
Subsidiaries Anheuser-Busch, IncSt. Louis Refrigerated Car Co.InBevAmBev
 
Equity Investments Grupo Modelo (50%) • Tsingtao Brewery (7%)
 
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Beck'sBrahmaBudweiser (except the Czech Republic) • Stella ArtoisHoegaardenLeffe
 
Local brands Alexander Keith'sAntarctica • Aqua Fratelli Vita • Astika • Baisha • BagBier • BassBelle-VueBoddingtons • Bohemia • Boomerang • Borostyán • Breda Royal Beer • Busch Beer • Carcau • Chernigivske • Diebels • Diekirch • Dimix • Dommelsch • Double Deer • Dutch GoldFranziskaner • Gilde Ratskeller • Guaraná Antarctica • Haake-Beck • Harbin BreweryHasseröderHertog JanHoegaarden • Jinlin • Jinlongquan • Julius • Jupiler • KK • King Cobra • Klinskoye • Kokanee • La Bécasse • LabattLakeport • Liber • Löwenbräu • Marathon • MichelobMouselNaturalOranjeboom • Paceña • Permskoye Gubernskoye • Quilmes • Red Shiliang • Rifey • Rolling Rock • Rogan • Safir • Santai • Sedrin • Sibirskaya Korona • SkolSpatenSt. Pauli Girl • Sukita • Taller • Tolstiak • Vieux Temps • Yali • Yantar • Zizhulin • Zhujiang •
[show] v • d • eRichard Petty Motorsports
 
Sprint Cup drivers Kasey Kahne (#9) | Elliott Sadler (#19) | A. J. Allmendinger (#43) | Paul Menard (#98)
 
Primary Sponsors Budweiser (#9) | Stanley Tools (#19) | Best Buy (#43) | Menards (#98)
 
Crew Chiefs Kenny Francis (#9) | Wally Rogers (#19) | Sammy Johns (#43) | Slugger Labbe (#98)
 
Partnerships and affiliations Braun Racing | Roush Fenway Racing | Yates Racing
 
Owners/Related information Richard Petty | George N. Gillett, Jr. | Ray Evernham | Boston Ventures | Petty Enterprises | Richard Petty's Talladega | Kyle Petty's No Fear Racing

Budweiser Spring Break Contest