| Beer brewing has always been the core business | | | | With this in mind, pubs or microbrews that |
| of the Anheuser-Busch company. An industry | | | | produce beer on the premises are the hottest |
| leader since 1957, Anheuser-Busch currently owns | | | | new trends, with four new pubs on average |
| over half of the domestic beer market. | | | | popping up each and every week. |
| The market share has grown so much that | | | | Each year, sales of microbrews goes up an |
| Anheuser- Busch now has a bigger portion of the | | | | average of 40% each year. This figure is very |
| market than the next four competitors, with the | | | | impressive when you consider that the market is |
| international sales being no different. | | | | shrinking as a whole. Even with this amazing |
| Anheuser-Busch remains the leading exporter of | | | | success, the microbrew sales represent around |
| beer from the United States, with sales in more | | | | two percent of the entire beer market. |
| than 60 countries. | | | | In their pursuit to continue dominating the entire |
| Microbreweries, or microbrews for short, have | | | | beer market, Anheuser-Busch has tapped into the |
| been gaining a lot of attention in the past several | | | | trend of microbrews. They recently purchased a |
| years. Microbrews are best classified as breweries | | | | stake in the Seattle based Red Hook Ale |
| that produce less than 15,000 barrels in a given | | | | microbrewery. The new products they released |
| year. | | | | into the beer market include Red Wolf, Elk |
| The strength of microbrews is found in their | | | | Mountain Red, and Elk Mountain Amber Ale. |
| philosophy that beer should be of the highest | | | | Microbrews are normally produced regionally, |
| quality. Therefore, microbrews are only brewed | | | | therefore Anheuser-Busch is developing regional |
| with malted barley, hops, water, and yeast, which | | | | manufacturers and distributors. By doing this, they |
| are the only four ingredients found in the purist | | | | must decide on the best possible way to handle |
| German beers. Mass bottled beers normally add | | | | their short term cash needs for purchasing |
| rice and corn to help lower costs. | | | | inventory in these tiny plants. |
| The only drawback to microbrews is what they | | | | With their recent transition into the world of |
| cost. The more expensive ingredients found in | | | | microbrews, you can count on Anheuser-Busch to |
| microbrews cost on average 60% higher than the | | | | make quite the impact. They will be offering more |
| mass bottled beers. | | | | microbrews in the future, which is great news for |
| Beer isn't like wine, which tends to get better with | | | | beer drinkers. If you like the wild taste of |
| age. Beer is instead a food that should be | | | | microbrews, Anheuser-Busch is more than worth |
| consumed as soon as possible after production. | | | | your time and money. |