Topic: Anheuser Busch

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (pronounced /ˈænhaɪzər ˈbʊʃ/), a wholly owned subsidiary of Belgium-based Anheuser–Busch InBev, is a formerly American-owned brewing company. The company operates 12 breweries in the United States and nearly 20 in other countries. It was, until December 2009, also one of America's largest theme park operators; operating ten theme parks across the United States through the company's family entertainment division, Busch Entertainment Corporation. As a subsidiary, the regional headquarters are still located in St. Louis, Missouri.

The brewery which would become Anheuser-Busch was purchased on the brink of bankruptcy by Eberhard Anheuser, a prosperous German-born soap manufacturer, in 1860. Adolphus Busch, Anheuser’s son-in-law, joined E. Anheuser & Co. in 1864, becoming partner in 1869. Adolphus became president when Anheuser died in 1880, and the company then became Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association. The Busch family would be in full control of the company through the generations until Anheuser-Busch's sale to InBev in 2008.

Adolphus Busch initially toured Europe and studied the changes in brewing methods which were taking place at the time, particularly the success of Bohemian lager, which included a locally popular example brewed in Budweis. In 1876, Busch introduced Budweiser, with the ambition of transcending regional tastes.