All The Beers You Didn't Know Anheuser-Busch Owned
We've all heard of Budweiser, Corona, and Stella Artois, and most have probably tried all three brews. The same goes for Bud Light, the beer that's been synonymous with the NFL for almost three decades, and whether you enjoy or shun its barely-there hoppy taste, there's no questioning its popularity. All these beers are products of the American brewing company Anheuser-Busch (AB), which, since 2008, has been part of the global brewing conglomerate AB InBev, which is headquartered in Belgium.
The number of beer brands owned by AB InBev worldwide is enough to make one's head spin in a way that would otherwise require several Bud Lights. Name any beer, and chances are it's brewed by this company, which also happens to be the world's largest brewer, with a production output that's more than double compared to its closest rival, Heineken.
What may come as a surprise is that AB InBev also brews hundreds of local beers that are country and even region-specific. About a dozen craft beer brands within the U.S. are owned by the company but still retain their local characteristics. In most cases, getting acquired by a large company improves a product's reach, so the next time you feel like trying out a new brew or base for your next beer cocktail, keep an eye out for some of these more eclectic beers you may have missed.
Craft Partners encompass almost two dozen beer brands in U.S.
Anheuser-Busch divides its offerings into portfolio brands and the company's "Craft Partners." The former includes names already mentioned, plus beers like Hoegaarden, Kona Big Wave, Michelob, Landshark, Presidente, and Natural Light. Variations, like the Bud Light Lime or Michelob ULTRA Pure Gold — the first major USDA organic certified beer — also exist.
The real fun is exploring the hop juice that AB's Craft Partners brew. Despite the positioning, these brands are also owned by AB but retain the local vibe of where these craft brews began. This is where you'll find more adventurous beer profiles and a truly eclectic variety of lagers, IPAs, ciders, and more.
Devil's Backbone Brewing Company is a German Weisse-inspired craft beer from Virginia, while the Elysian Brewing Company channels the punchy art and music vibe of 90s Seattle with their IPAs and seasonal beers that even include a pumpkin ale. Then there is an L.A. counterpart named Golden Road Brewing with a vibrant mango wheat ale in its lineup, and Arizona's Four Peaks Brewery offers a motley variety of ales, lagers, porters, and stouts.
Other Anheuser-Busch craft partners with equally colorful offerings include the Goose Island Beer Company, Karbach Brewing, Omission Brewing, Virtue Cider, and more. Since many of these brands started as local breweries, you can still visit their local beer pubs to get the whole experience or look for them at your nearest supermarket.
AB Inbev international and Beyond Beer
What Anheuser-Busch does in the states, the global company AB InBev does at a global level. Take, for example, Harbin beer, which is part of their portfolio in China; this beer is brewed in the Harbin Brewery, which was established in 1900, making it China's earliest beer. AB InBev owns highly localized beer brands in several countries, like Colombia's iconic Aguila, Brazil's Brahma, Castle, and Castle Lite from South Africa, Quilmes from Argentina, and Jupiler, which happens to be Belgium's largest-selling beer. The list goes on, and AB Inbev's whopping beer portfolio contains over 600 brands across 150 countries! This also includes no-alcohol versions of popular brews, like the Budweiser Zero and Corona Cero, and you'll likely find AB brews in some of the popular alcohol-free bars in the U.S.
The beer behemoth has also forayed into non-hops-based beverages, which are clubbed in a category fittingly called Beyond Beer. These beverages include hard seltzers, canned wines and cocktails, and spiked ice teas (sold as Hoop Tea). One of these brands, Cutwater, makes ready-to-drink spirit-based canned cocktails like Mai Tais, Margaritas and Vodka Mules. NÜTRL, meanwhile, specializes in low-calorie vodka seltzers in a range of flavors.