• St. Louis Post-Dispatch , Wednesday, November 19, 2008 10:45 AM

We all knew it was coming but the above headline from the hometown newspaper sure puts the stamp of finality on it, doesn't it? Brand Budweiser isn't going anywhere, of course, but the story makes it clear that everything has changed in St. Louis, with potentially far-reaching effects across the U.S.

"It was the final step in a process that began with the proud local brewer vowing to fight for its independence, but ended with the amicable creation of a global brewing giant," we're told in a short piece carrying three bylines and a contributor's credit.

In 1990, I wrote a story titled "How Budweiser Became the King of Beers" for what is now Brandweek. It would have seemed inconceivable at the time that A-B would "be no more" within 20 years. The company had, after all, survived the anti-German sentiment of World War I, Prohibition and the "Beer Wars" of broadcast TV a generation ago.

As the first cases of post-Prohibition Budweiser rolled off the line on April 7, 1933, the Columbia Broadcasting System carried an 11-minute national radio broadcast live from the brewery. The announcer was not shy about tying America's rebound from the economic woes of the day to the resurgence of Budweiser beer.

"Dozens of new motor trucks are being bought by Anheuser-Busch. How's that, Mr. Truck Manufacturer?" he said. "Millions of labels will keep a hundred or two printers busy. . . . Over 50,000 freight cars will come in and out of [the] Anheuser-Busch plant during the coming year. How does that sound, Mr. Railroad Man?"

The Post-Dispatch piece delves into the reverse economic impact of the takeover. Local white-collar jobs will be the first to go, it surmises. "Then there's A-B's ripple effect. The company spends an estimated $1.3 billion on supplies in Missouri each year. It's a major client for dozens of St. Louis advertising agencies, law firms and other professional services companies. And its civic largesse has no match in the city." ;

Read the whole story at St. Louis Post-Dispatch »