More than beer : the complex career of Adolphus Busch

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] Adolphus Busch was cofounder of the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association. During Busch's lifetime, Anheuser-Busch became the largest brewing company in the United States It survived Prohibition, and still survives today in the form of its successor, AB-InBev, the largest brewing company in the world. Busch is mostly remembered as the president of Anheuser-Busch, but his career was more complex. Adolphus Busch immigrated to the United States in 1857 as part of a chain of other Busch family members. There Busch utilized ethnic and family connections, such as Eberhard Anheuser, his father-in-law and eventual partner at Anheuser-Busch. Busch made innovations, such as pasteurized bottled beer, a fleet of refrigerator cars, and a network of ice depots, which transformed the brewing industry from the local to national and international in scope. He then used his brewing industry profits to fund a number of other ventures. Busch introduced the diesel engine to North America, and once held a monopoly on its manufacture. He made plans to build "the greatest industrial company in the world" through a highly orchestrated conglomeration of investments in oil, natural gas, coal, engine, machine, utility, and transportation companies. At every step, Busch depended on a network of friends and family to provide leadership and synergy between his companies. Thus, while he is mostly remembered as a brewer, Busch's career was always about more than beer.