Tags:
Journalism of Courage
On Sunday night, July 14, after weeks of bitter negotiations and ultimately empty threats, American brewer Anheuser-Busch finally agreed to Belgian beer giant InBev’s all-cash buyout offer of $52 billion— the largest cash buyout in history. Needless to say, St Louis, home to Anheuser-Busch, is mourning the loss of her symbol and source of local pride.
August A Busch IV, the scion who runs the family brewery that makes Budweiser and Michelob and dates to before the American Civil War, had vowed that Anheuser-Busch would not be sold on his watch. But in the end, sentiment and tradition were no match for InBev’s offer.
All around this old Midwestern city famous for its brew, heads have been shaking in disbelief. Budweiser, the king of American beers, will belong to Europe.
The Anheuser-Busch dynasty is so ingrained in the identity of St. Louis that people here talk about the Busch family as if they are both royalty and relatives, making references to “Gussie” (August A. Busch Jr.) and “Augie” (August A. Busch III). In a city that has little to brag about, the mighty brewery has long been a reason to boast. The city’s national, and international, acclaim is tied mostly to the brewery — it brings the tourists to town, along with the Gateway Arch. Almost anywhere in the world that residents of St. Louis travel, they are asked about the King of Beers and, of course, the Clydesdale horses, the iconic mascots of the brewery.
InBev has pledged not to shut down any of Anheuser-Busch’s 12 breweries in the United States, but many here still feel as if their treasure is endangered. Among the 6,000 St. Louis-area workers employed at A-B, as it is known here, the worry is that the new owner will try to cut jobs or wages. Dave Liszewski, who operates a machine that puts labels on bottles of Bud Light, earns US $27 an hour. He is a blue-collar man in work boots who has been able to pay off his house and buy land in Southern Illinois where hunts for deer. “It’s not just been a good life,” he said, “It’s been an excellent life.”
In the bars around the brewery district, there is a mixture of anger and fear, even among those who do not work for Anheuser-Busch. And of course, you’d be hard-pressed to find an InBev product around. “Not so many years ago, union workers would walk out of a place if you served anything that wasn’t Anheuser-Busch,” tavern owner Stephanie Hafertebe said.
The idea of the brewery belonging to foreigners seems unfathomable to many, but it has become a reality they will have to get used to.
