11 Things We Bet You Didn't Know About Your Favorite 'Bud'

Stick around till the very end for the ‘weirdest’ Budweiser fact!

Beer has become synonymous with ‘Budweiser’ or simply ‘Bud’ in India, we all love a chilled ‘Bud’ on match-night, or while hanging out with the boys, and girls. But, how much do you really know about ‘The King of Beers’?

It might be less than you think. So pull up a chair, crack open a cold one, and check out these 11 cool facts about your favorite Bud.

1. Budweiser was Made by Germans

Budweiser sounds like the quintessential American beer, probably because it is so closely tied to American pop culture. But it has slightly more complicated roots than what you may assume. In the mid-19th century there was a wave of German migration in the St. Louis region of Missouri, who brought with them their culture, engineering and beer-brewing expertise. One of these immigrants was Adolphus Busch, who fell in love with and married Lily Anheuser, whose father was a brewery-owner. Thus, started the journey of the world’s most popular beer.

2. The Mystery Behind The Name

There have been tons of controversies regarding the name ‘Budweiser’, with two companies claiming rights to the name. The problem was that back in the 1900s, every beer company was named after its region. In Bud’s case, Adolphus Busch was inspired by his travel to the Budweis region of Czech Republic and decided to give his beer the name, Budweiser.

3. It is The Original Lager Beer

Budweiser introduced ‘American style’ lager beer at a time when Americans themselves consumed European style darker ales. The Bud revolutionized the beer industry, as well as the world’s taste buds, by getting us hooked to its crisp taste. It was also the first time that a beer company pasteurized its beer, which increased its shelf life.

4. It is Touted as a ‘Vegan Beer’

Budweiser promotes itself as a vegan beer because according to them no animal products were used in the creation of the bud. Its ingredients include rice, water, barley malt, yeast and hops. Although, recently, a number of critics have pointed out the harmful effects of synthetic rice in the drink.

5. Budweiser Belted Out a Hit Pop Song

Anheuser-Busch was already ahead of its times and understood the significance of capitalizing on pop culture for promoting its brand image. In the early 1900s, the company commissioned a German-style drinking folk song called “Under the Anheuser Bush” which was recorded by Vaudeville star Billy Murray. The song invited it’s listener to “come and have a stein or two”, in other words, to grab a couple of chilled beers. The song became so popular that it was a crucial part of the company’s marketing strategy for decades to come.

6. There was More Than One Budweiser

Remember our second point which stated that the name ‘Budweiser’ was derived from the region of the same name in erstwhile Czechoslovakia. Well, the problem with that was, there was already a beer called ‘Budweis’ in Budweis itself. While this wasn’t a major issue in the 1900s, it has led to numerous legal battles between Anheuser-Busch and Budejovicky Budvar in the 2000s. The controversy resulted in ‘Budweiser’ being re-christened, ‘Bud’ in parts of Europe.

7. It was The First Beer to be Transported by Rail Cars

Budweiser was the first company to transport fresh, chilled beer around the world, all thanks to refrigerated railcars. The transportation ability allowed Budweiser to reach places and regions, hitherto unexplored by local ales. As a result, Budweiser’s popularity skyrocketed and it decimated its rivals.

8. Budweiser Once was a Soft Drink

The Bud couldn’t be stopped even by the onset of ‘prohibition’ in 1920. Anheuser-Busch had already anticipated the era of liquor ban and developed alcohol-free products such as Bevo beverage and even ice-cream.

9. Budweiser Had its Own Video Game

In the 1980s, Budweiser sponsored an arcade game called Tapper, which included Budweiser logos and had the player slinging Bud. This integration made sense for the game’s premise, but observers quickly realized that the game might encourage underage drinking. And like all good things, the game too came to an end and was replaced by a kid-friendly one called Root-beer Tapper.

10. Budweiser Also Has its Own Mascot- The Bud Man

The Bud-Man stein created in 1969, is the official mascot of Budweiser. He took over Budweiser merchandise such as keychains, fridge magnets, salt and pepper shakers etc.

11. A Man Sued Budweiser for Not Attracting Women

Richard Overton (*cough*psycho*cough) attempted to sue Budweiser for false advertising when he realized that he wasn’t attracting women due to his wayward, drunken antics. The ploy obviously didn’t work, as if drunken drawls ever successfully managed to attract members of the opposite sex.

So, now that you got a bit wiser about Budweiser, let us know in the comments below which fact you found most interesting.