And then there were two …

We’ve reported on the sale of Anheuser Busch and its flagship Budweiser brand beer to InBev. At this point, A-B and Budweiser are effectively synonymous, at least in the US, but there was a time when there were many different Budweiser beers across the US (including one brewed by Miller). Indeed, the name “Budweiser” really just means “from Budweis” in German, much as “Pilsener” means “from Pilsen.” US brewers, familiar with the long brewing history of Budweis, used the name in the US to connote old-world brewing quality.

The last of the American Budweisers was brewed by the DuBois brewing company of DuBois, Pennsylvania. DuBois first started brewing its Budweiser in 1905, long after A-B, but the St Louis giant failed to challenge the small Pennsylvania brewery until some 35 years later. The dispute was solved once and for all in 1972, after DuBois was purchased by the Pittsburgh brewing company. DuBois stopped brewing shortly thereafter, and the brewery building was razed in 2003.

That leaves A-B’s Budweiser and it’s international archrival Budweiser Budvar, from the Czech Republic as the only two Budweisers left.

image courtesy of Mark, public domain