Anheuser-Busch History

This article was written by Phin Upham

Anheuser-Busch was started by George Schneider in 1852. Schneider owned his own saloon, and was a brewer. He began the Bavarian Brewery on South Broadway in South St. Louis, and expanded within four years to a new brewery space. Though he gave it his all, this expansion eventually had to be sold in 1860. William D’Oench and Eberhard Anheuser bought it on the brink of bankruptcy, with D’Oench acting as the silent partner.

D’Oench stayed on until 1869 before eventually selling his stake in the business. The company changed from E. Anheuser & Co. to E. Anheuser Brewing Association.

As fortune would have it, a young wholesaler from Germany immigrated to St. Louis and met the daughter of Eberhard Anheuser. His name was Adolphus Busch, and he fell in love with Anheuser’s daughter. The two married in 1861 after Busch served in the American Civil War. Busch was the one who purchased D’Oench’s shares, and he took on the role of company secretary until his father-in-law stepped down.

Busch made several important advancements in the field of beer brewing. He was the first brewer to use the process of pasteurization to keep beer fresh. He was also the first to bottle beer, and the first to use refrigerated cars for transport.

During the 1870s, Adolphus Busch went on a tour of Europe to study some of the newest techniques in brewing that were occurring there. He came across a particular pilsner beer, which was brewed in the town of Budweis. Busch soon introduced Budweiser, his attempt at trying to satisfy the tastes of the locals. It is still the company’s flagship beer.