The Anheuser-Busch brewing company traces its history to St. Louis, Missouri, in 1857. It first made the popular Budweiser Lager Beer there in 1876. By 2002, one in every five alcoholic drinks sold in the United States was a "Bud." It is sold in over sixty countries worldwide and brewed in such countries as Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Not only is Budweiser America's favorite, it is also the world's best-selling beer. Like Coca-Cola, the "King of Beers" has become an international symbol for the American way of life.

By 1901, the Anheuser-Busch company was producing over one million barrels of beer every year. During Prohibition (see entry under 1920s—The Way We Lived in volume 2), Anheuser-Busch made a Budweiser "near-beer" (with lower amounts of alcohol) to protect its market share. When Prohibition ended in 1933, the famous Budweiser Clydesdale horses reminded Americans that Bud was a traditional American drink. Since then...