Names like Anheuser, Lemp and Falstaff became synonymous with beer in St. Louis, and beyond. Today, a rich local brewing tradition continues along the Mississippi River. It’s easy to find terrific hand crafted beer in the shadow of the Gateway Arch, the city’s most recognizable landmark.

Brewing’s new chapter began in 1991 when the St. Louis Brewing Co. opened its doors. Its principal owner is local attorney Tom Schlafly. You probably recognize the product as Schlafly Brand Beers. He and a chap named Dan Kopman, who had worked at the famous Young’s Brewery in England, wanted to produce good, local microbrew. That they do, even though they’ve grown quite a bit since opening day.

The Schlafly Taproom, located at 2100 Locust Street (at 21st Street), was the first brewpub to open in Missouri. This beautifully restored historic structure was built at the turn of the century for a printing company that occupied it until 1969. It stood vacant for years and survived a fire, which destroyed several of the surrounding buildings in 1976. You can still see heat damage on some of the beams inside.

Park in the lot next to the rear door, and you’ll pass through a mini-hop garden on your way to the dining area and tap room. The brick walls and wooden floors call out “industrial,” yet it has a European aura. Be sure to look for the blackboard that lists Schlafly’s 100-plus tap accounts. Near the 15-barrel DME brewing system, you’ll see a running count of how many batches of beer have been produced this year.

Pale Ale is the flagship product, but you’ll find the full line of Schlafly beers from an American pilsner-style lager to a barleywine, as well as three rotating seasonal selections on tap. On a late September afternoon, we enjoyed a saison and an Oktoberfest. The menu, which is paired with house beers, includes moules frites, a liverwurst sandwich, and pretty much everything in-between.

There’s more to the St. Louis Brewery empire: the Schlafly Bottleworks, not far away at 7260 Southwest Ave. in Maplewood, opened in 2003. It was the first new production brewery to open since the end of Prohibition. Located in a former supermarket, it has a half-acre garden, where herbs and produce are grown for the on-site restaurant. There’s even an outdoor farmers market in the warm months.

If you can’t get to visit either location—although we highly recommend you do—it’s easy to find Schlafly beers at local bars and liquor stores. Even fans attending Cardinal baseball games at Busch Stadium can quaff a Schlafly.

But what’s missing are the context and analysis that would provide narrative structure. One problem is the research: Mittelman relied heavily on secondary materials. That’s evident in her brief look at colonial America, where she focused on alcohol in general rather than beer in particular: she surveys colonial drinking habits, the extraordinary popularity of rum and government policies that shaped the manufacture and consumption of drink. But readers interested in that period will learn more from the marvelous, lively research of Stanley Baron, Andrew Barr, John J. McCusker and Peter Thompson.

Even when Mittleman turns to primary sources, such as the pages of newspapers or trade journals like Modern Brewery Age, she focuses on the facts themselves rather than their meaning. As a result, the chapters never quite reach a substantive conclusion, and the connections are missing. For example, she mentions that Sam Calagione, founder of Dogfish Head Brewing, helped change Delaware’s laws about beer retailing—and then tells us that Delaware had been the first state to ratify the Constitution more than two centuries earlier. What’s the connection?

Often the facts are simply wrong: she tells us that Anheuser-Busch “named its trademark beer” after a Czech town. Not quite. The people at Anheuser-Busch didn’t name the beer because the company didn’t own the beer. Carl Conrad did, and he chose the name to honor a style of beer he drank during his trips to Europe. (Conrad owned the beer recipe, the name and the trademark; he hired his friend Adolphus Busch to brew the beer.)

But as every author knows, writing a book takes time, effort and money, so we should applaud and thank Mittelman for her achievement. And for those who enjoy facts, there are plenty here. Now about that cover image…there are plenty of American beer festivals. Couldn’t the publisher come up with something better than a photo taken at a German Oktoberfest?

But this is the agreement nobody expected. It comes after more than a century of bitter recriminations and costly legal battles over who has the rights to the trademark Budweiser.

The attitude at the London offices of Budweiser Budvar UK—where the beer is one of the top imported lagers—was simple as well as jubilant: “A-B needs us more than we need them.” The facts bear this out. Imported specialty beers form a growing sector of the American beer market. A-B has enjoyed considerable success with such brands as Bass Ale, Grolsch, Kirin and Tiger. Sales of Kirin in the U.S. have grown by 147% since A-B took control of distribution.

Using the brand name Czechvar to avoid clashes, Budvar has been on sale in 30 states for several years. But the deal with A-B will give the beer—which will continue to be labeled Czechvar—far wider distribution, turning it into a national brand.

Both sides were at pains to stress that the legal battles in other countries will continue. To prove the point, a few weeks after the American deal was agreed, the European Court of Legal Rights ruled that A-B cannot use the full Budweiser name in Portugal, upholding Budvar’s claim to the trademark.

Merger Mania

Nevertheless the deal in the U.S. has prompted many commentators to suggest not only that the legal battles could soon be a thing of the past but might also herald a merger of the two companies. Take a cold shower—nothing will happen for some time. The Czech brewery is still state owned. Coalition governments in the Czech Republic tend to fall apart quickly. There is no effective government in Prague at present and privatizing Budvar is not on the agenda.

Successive governments since the collapse of communism have made it clear Budvar will stay in state hands until a “suitable partner” is found. For “suitable partner,” read “anyone but Anheuser-Busch.” The Czechs are proud of Budvar. They feel strongly that, while A-B may have been brewing its Budweiser several decades before the Budvar brewery opened in 1895, the trademark Budweiser, meaning in German “of Budweis,” is a generic one that goes back to at least the 14th century. The older Citizens’ Brewery in the town now known as Ceské Budejovice also brews under the Budweiser name.

If and when Budvar is sold off by the state, it may remain a successful independent company. But the history of brewing in Central and Eastern Europe since the fall of communism shows that stockholders are open to offers. Global brewers have big check books. The biggest players in Czech brewing today are SABMiller, which owns Pilsner Urquell, along with Gambrinus and Kozel; and InBev, which controls Prague Breweries, best known for its main Staropramen brand.

It’s unlikely either group would be allowed to buy Budvar, as the sale would give one or other too big a stake in the Czech Republic. But the likes of Baltika—a consortium of Carlsberg and Scottish & Newcastle that is the biggest brewer in Russia—or Heineken might be keen to buy such an iconic brand as Budvar.

They would be deterred, however, by continuing legal wrangles between A-B and the Czech brewery. As well as taking on the brand, they would also have to pick up large lawyers’ bills as A-B fights for its trademark rights throughout the world.

There is only one giant brewery that could buy Budvar and end the legal battles at a stroke. You guessed it—Anheuser-Busch. As the captain of the Titanic observed, “stranger things have happened at sea.”

Back in the Czech Republic

Two weeks before the A-B and “Czechvar” deal was announced, I was in Prague for the annual awards given by the newspaper Pivni Kuryr—Beer Courier. The awards are the results of votes by the paper’s readers and Budvar has won the top prize more times than any other beer.

Beer lovers in the U.S. can get ready to drink a beer that is brewed from Moravian malt, Saaz hops and pure water—not a grain of rice to be seen—and which is lagered (cold conditioned) for 90 days. Enjoy!

Take, for example, the grand-daddy of all American beer misnomers: that greedy beer barons of the 19th and 20th centuries engineered a conspiracy to foist inferior brew—a “watery swill brewed from cheap corn and rice”—onto a helpless public. Not true, Ogle proves. She rolls out a well-documented evolution of adjunct-based brewing driven not by economy, but by an American palate in distinct conflict with heavy all-malt beers of the European tradition. Commanded by demand, the barons invented their paler, often costlier, adjunct-based beer style for an American market that, for a century and a half, anyway, “didn’t want to imbibe in a brown broth that hit the stomach like a seven-course meal.”

Well-read students of American brewing history will be dazzled by all of the fresh material—whether it be the 1893 legal battle between Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing over the name “Budweiser,” the brief but colorful discussion of how beermakers responded to the youth counter-culture of the sixties and seventies, or the inspirational stories of Northern California’s early craft brewing movement.

Ogle unearthed well-buried archival sources in terrain where no beer historian had yet ventured to dig. The result is, in part, a collection of riveting and intimate portraits of American brewing’s key movers and shakers—from the old-school likes of Adolphus Busch and Frederick Pabst to more recent visionaries like Fritz Maytag and Jack McAuliffe. In her fresh, almost conversational writing style, Ogle puts us right inside their lives and breweries, and, in the process, illuminates for us the true saga of beer in America. “Of one thing I am certain,” Ogle concludes, “the heart of brewing will always be its people.”

This year’s World Cup is being hosted by the entire country of Germany. Amazingly, one of the major sponsors this year is Anheuser-Busch, the brewers of Budweiser. In order to gain worldwide appeal, A-B is spending multiple millions to sponsor soccer events in the U.S. and other parts of the world. Germany’s Bitburger brand will also have a role in advertising the 2006 World Cup.

For some time, A-B has sponsored various soccer events in this country, including a variety of beer cans saluting the World Cup. A great number of commemorative items (such as tap handles in the shape of a soccer ball, various wearables, lighted signs, metal tackers and bar mirrors) have been issued by A-B to promote soccer in America. The majority of these collectables were issued when the U.S. hosted the World Cup in 1994.

The Tortoise & the Beer

Certain brands of beer have become famous simply through their sponsorship of national teams. For example, many soccer fans know the Q on the Argentinean team stands for Quilmes, the largest selling beer in Argentina.

In Brazil, it is Brahma that soccer fans know. An animated turtle pitchman turns into a soccer superstar and steals a can of Brahma beer that falls off of a beer delivery truck. In Canada, Molson has even named their energy-spiked entry Kick; its packaging features graphics reflective of a soccer theme.

For years now, Carlsberg’s marketing divisions in both Denmark and Canada have produced hundreds of soccer-themed pieces of advertising. One memorable Canadian piece required you to collect roughly 50 different bottle caps. Each cap depicted a different country participating in the World Cup. Carlsberg has even issued a cooler shaped like a soccer ball.

For years Anheuser-Busch has supported the Jerry Lewis Labor Day telethon for Muscular Dystrophy. Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. used to be a large sponsor and contributor to the fight against Cerebral Palsy. These two breweries issued various bank-top cans, which were used for collecting donations to these charities at selected retail locations around the country. Anheuser Busch also prints various shamrocks, which can be purchased at retailers for one dollar, with the proceeds going to find a cure for MD.

A “Can”-Do Attitude

On more than a dozen beer cans, the Yuengling Brewery has supported and commemorated the fire departments that serve its home state of Pennsylvania. Years ago, the Henry Ortlieb brewery (located in Philadelphia) raised money for firefighter and coal-miner charities through sales of commemorative beer cans. The Rock Bottom Brewpub chain raises over $75,000 each year for various firefighter charities. Each Rock Bottom pub brews a Fire Chief Ale and monies are raised during a release party and sales of commemorative pint glasses.

During the aftermath of the hurricanes in the Gulf region last year, the Abita Brewery produced Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale. The brewery donated $1 to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation for each six-pack sold. A variety of pins, hats and ribbons—all with logos supporting New Orleans—were issued and 100 percent of the net proceeds from these items went to the fund. Each year, Anheuser-Busch and Miller package thousands of cases of clean canned water, which is sent to disaster-relief efforts around the country.

A license plate is just small portion of how beer has been advertised through transportation. Getting the beer to market has been a great way to advertise beer. Railroad cars, eighteen wheelers, lift bay trucks, vans and cars have always been great ways to have a functioning rolling billboard. Also various sporting events like car and truck racing, sailing, power boating, and even snowmobiling have also been great modes of product placement on various forms of transportation.

Breweries have also utilized refurbished modes of transportation like beer wagons and trucks from a bye gone era. Anheuser-Busch has spent millions over the last seventy plus years on the Clydesdale eight horse hitch. This icon travels the world promoting their beers. Anheuser-Busch operates five of these teams in order to keep up with all of the appearances. Collectibles that utilize this team of horses are always in demand among the Anheuser-Busch collectors. Hundreds of post cards and scaled replicas and figurines have been issued to promote and salute the Clydesdales. Many other breweries used their beer wagons to advertise their brews. Some of the most famous have been Pabst, Meister Bräu, Genesee, Hacker-Pschorr, and Lowenbrau.

Labatt’s was dealt with a dilemma when Ontario’s Prohibition ended in 1927. Advertising on billboards and other medias was banned. They improvised by having Count Alexis de Sakhnoffsky to design a signature yet functioning way to have their products stand out. The bright red Labatt’s Streamliner was introduced with rave reviews. Beer was delivered on these traveling billboards from 1932 – 1955 throughout Ontario. Labatt’s worked with the Count, White Motor Company and the Fruehauf Trailer Company to produce this unique mode of distribution. In the mid 1980’s a Streamliner was completely refurbished and today this vehicle is as recognized as the Clydesdale Hitch is to Anheuser Busch. Collectors are constantly in search for the 1/43 die cast model of the Streamliner.

Actually a growing segment of the hobby is collecting of various die cast replicas of breweries trucks, railroad cars and wagon hitches. Maybe some collectors have entered their second childhood but in some cases you need an adult’s wages in order to afford these collectibles. Ironically because these items advertise an alcoholic beverage they have to be labeled as “Adult Toys”. These replicas especially the matchbox type, tractor trailers and railroad cars even have their own clubs and conventions. European collectors have especially taken to this segment of the hobby.

Other great forms of transportation related collectibles include: Wheel or tire covers, trailer hitch protectors, antenna markers, window mounted flags, and all of those great tail gating accessories. Some collectors have acquired door magnets and even the unused decals used to decorate trucks and other vehicles. Another sought after segment is photos of beer trucks and wagons. Breweries were very proud of their fleets and loved to show them off through post cards and promotional photo shoots.

For beer drinkers who are aware of the diversity of styles from craft and foreign breweries, such questions sound absurd, but there are historical reasons why the US beer industry is dominated by taste-alike pale lager beers. Understanding how developments in the US brewing industry led to the homogenization of American beer helps define the reasons why today’s craft beers taste different from mass-marketed brands.

History

To provide the proper perspective, it’s helpful first to review the history of the brewing industry in the United States and remember that there were no national breweries before 1850. Before the Industrial Revolution created innovations in hygiene, refrigeration and packaging, brewers had difficulty extending the shelf life of their product long enough to ship it safely to distant markets. After 1850, the expansion of railroads also enabled brewers to transport their product to a wider area in a shorter time.

In the late 1800s, an innovative brewer in St. Louis transformed brewing from a local to a national business. Anheuser-Busch, which introduced Budweiser in 1876, was the first US brewer to pasteurize its beer and keep the product fresh during shipment in railcars cooled by ice. History confirms the 2001 A-B annual report, which describes Bud as “…a light-colored lager with a drinkability and taste that would appeal to the masses….”

The opening of national markets brought about the beginning of a century-long consolidation in the brewing industry. The number of US breweries peaked at 4,131 in the 1870s. As breweries were able to expand their markets, they began to grow larger in size and decrease in number until only about 1,500 breweries existed before the start of Prohibition in 1920. Unfortunately, only 353 reopened after the repeal of Prohibition in 1933. Further consolidation occurred after World War II as breweries used radio and television in expansive marketing campaigns that created nationally known brands.

For such brands to be accepted nationally, they had to appeal to a broad spectrum of tastes. The result was the extinction of local styles and the homogenization of the survivors into the pale lagers that today most often typify “American beer.” In effect, breweries recognized the same fundamental principle learned by presidential campaign managers—that the best way to appeal to the greatest number of people is by offending as few of them as possible.

By 1978, only 89 breweries producing fewer than 25 nationally distributed beers were operating in the United States. For some reason (perhaps it was the growing availability of import beers or the greater number of Americans traveling overseas and experiencing good beer), beer lovers began seeking out distinctive styles and demonstrating a willingness to pay a premium for them. During the 1980s, entrepreneurs—aided by new brewpub legislation and encouraged by the growth of small wineries in California—began opening craft breweries and brewpubs to meet consumer demand for specialty beers.

Today, the number of breweries has grown to about 1,400, or roughly the same number as before Prohibition. Although large breweries still dominate sales, the variety of beer styles has increased, and craft beers and imports now dominate premium beer sales.

The two brewers have been slugging it out in courts throughout the world for more than 100 years. The battle becomes ever more bitter. Each side, like armies in World War I, gains a few yards of territory but is often forced back to the trenches under a hail of hostile fire.

And the lawyers stand on the sidelines, their meters running.

Point of Contention

The dispute centers on who has the best claim to the trademark, Budweiser. A-B says it started brewing its version in St. Louis in 1876 while Budvar didn’t arrive until 1895. But, for centuries, beers from the South Bohemian town were known generically as Budweiser. The old German name for the town is Budweis. An older brewery in the town, now known as Samson, sold its beers under the Budweiser label long before Anheuser and Busch fired their kettles in Missouri.

In a court case in 1880 between A-B and the Joseph Uhrig Brewing Co., Adolphus Busch said his beer was produced “by the process by which beer is made in Budweis, to my best knowledge.” A-B was already a litigious company. In a second case between A-B and the Fred Miller Brewing Co. in 1898, Adolphus Busch said, firmly and categorically, that his beer was “brewed according to the Budweiser Bohemian process.”

No chest-thumping there about American Bud being “the original.” Even the marketing tag, “the King of Beers,” was a reworking of “the Beer of Kings,” which was applied to the Bohemian versions when they found favor with the local monarch in feudal times.

Behind the Iron Curtain

In 1911, a short-lived agreement permitted both the American and Czech beers to be sold in the United States under their full titles. But A-B quickly reneged on the deal. It went on the offensive in 1939 in an attempt to remove all the Czechs’ rights worldwide to the Budweiser trademark. A-B chose its time well—the Nazis were just invading the Czech homeland. For the duration of the Nazi occupation, the beer was known as “Budbrau.” The country and its beers then disappeared behind the Iron Curtain for the best part of 50 years, leaving the rest of the world free to A-B.

But long before the Eastern bloc began to fall apart, those in power started to export Budvar with some vigor to the West. The impoverished communist regime was desperate for hard currency and began to promote Budvar on the other side of the wall.

Battle of the Buds

The battle of the Buds recommenced. If one company managed to register its trademark in a particular country, its rival was forced to use a pseudonym: “Bud” in the case of A-B, “Budejovicky Budvar” for the Czechs. When either side does lose a trademark dispute, it gets its lawyers to contest the court ruling.

The Czechs are able to sell their beer under the full Budweiser Budvar label in Austria, Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Switzerland. In Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden, the brew is sold as Budejovicky Budvar.

Last year the Czechs received a major setback in Italy where their beer had been sold as Budweiser Budvar for some time. A-B went to court, won its case, and as a result, the Czechs can no longer use any trademarks that refer to Budejovicky or Budvar. The beer is now sold in Italy as “Czechvar,” and Budvar admits it has lost sales. Czechvar is the name used in the United States, where sales resumed in 2001 with considerable success.

The Czech Republic has been invited to join the European Union, the giant trading bloc of western Europe that is now moving east. Budvar has welcomed an agreement that will protect such titles as Budejovicke pivo (Budejovice beer) in 25 European countries. A-B hit back with a statement saying the agreement did not infringe its own rights in Europe. It would take a clever (and rich) lawyer to work that one out.

Meanwhile, British beer drinkers are bemused by Anheuser-Busch’s new TV campaign for Bud that focuses on the freshness of the beer. A typical ad attempts to impress viewers with the fact that a particular batch of Bud started to be brewed on January 3. But if the ad runs on TV on January 13, this means that the entire brewing and packaging process lasts just 10 days.

It may be beer, but is it lager?