Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) is an American-style lager and is one of the most popular beers in the United States. Budweiser is made with a large proportion (up to 40%) of rice in addition to hops and barley malt, for which it has received some criticism, though the company takes the position that the rice gives the beer a lighter taste. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the United States and the rest of the world.

It is a filtered beer available in draught and packaged forms. In the USA, it has 5.0% alcohol by volume and 145 calories per 12 oz., except in Utah, Kansas, Minnesota and Oklahoma where a 3.2% alcohol by weight (4.0% by volume) strength is available due to state laws. Minnesota and Colorado require 3.2% alcohol by weight beer only at select public events and beer being sold in grocery stores and gas stations.

In 1876, Adolphus Busch and his friend Carl Conrad, a liquor importer, developed a "Bohemian-style" lager, inspired after a trip to the region. Brewers in Bohemia generally named a beer after their town with the suffix "er." Beers produced in the town of Pilsen (Plzen), for example, were called Pilsners. Busch and Conrad had visited another town, only 104 km (65 miles) south of Pilsen also, known for its breweries: Budweis (or Böhmisch Budweis).

Beer has been brewed in Budweis since it was founded as Budiwoyz by king Ottokar II of Bohemia in 1245. The name Budweiser is a locative, meaning "of Budweis." Anheuser-Busch has a market share in the United States of 50.9% for all beers sold. This is primarily composed of Budweiser brands.

In 2008 Budweiser/Anheuser-Busch sold the majority of their stock to Belgian-Brazilian beer giant InBev, to create the largest brewing company in the world. The company's 2005 annual report cites figures which demonstrate Budweiser brands are proving to be quite successful in markets outside of the U.S. including China,[citation needed] and Canada, where Labatt Brewing Company brews and packages Budweiser and Bud Light for the Canadian market.

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