Wholly owned subsidiary | |
Industry |
|
Founded | 1852 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
(as Bavarian Brewery)
Founder | |
Headquarters | St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
Number of locations
|
12 breweries (2012) |
Area served
|
United States |
Key people
|
|
Products | |
Revenue | US$15.304 billion (2011) |
US$8.578 billion (2011) | |
Parent | Anheuser-Busch InBev |
Website | anheuser-busch |
Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. /ˈænhaɪzər ˈbʊʃ/ is an American brewing company founded and based in St. Louis, Missouri. Since 2008, it has been a wholly owned subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev) which also has its North American headquarters in St. Louis.
The company operates 12 breweries in the United States, and until December 2009, was one of the largest theme park operators in the United States, with ten theme parks through the company's family entertainment division, Busch Entertainment Corporation.
Anheuser-Busch InBev is the largest beer producer in the world.
In 1852, German American brewer and saloon operator George Schneider opened the Bavarian Brewery on Carondelet Avenue (later known as South Broadway) between Dorcas and Lynch streets in South St. Louis. Schneider's brewery expanded in 1856 to a new brewhouse near Eighth and Crittenden streets; however, the following year financial problems forced the sale of the brewery to various owners during the late 1850s. In 1860, the brewery was purchased on the brink of bankruptcy by William D'Oench, a local pharmacist, and Eberhard Anheuser, a prosperous German-born soap manufacturer. D'Oench was the silent partner in the business until 1869, when he sold his half-interest in the company. From 1860 to 1875, the brewery was known as E. Anheuser & Co., and from 1875 to 1879 as the E. Anheuser Company's Brewing Association.
Adolphus Busch, a wholesaler who had immigrated to St. Louis from Germany in 1857, married Eberhard Anheuser's daughter, Lilly, in 1861. Following his service in the American Civil War, Busch began working as a salesman for the Anheuser brewery. Busch purchased D'Oench's share of the company in 1869, and he assumed the role of company secretary from that time until the death of his father-in-law.