USA: Anheuser-Busch is largest end user of rice in the country | inside.beer - International beverage news from Munich (2024)

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USA: Anheuser-Busch is largest end user of rice in the country | inside.beer - International beverage news from Munich? ›

As the largest end user of rice in the country, Anheuser-Busch, the U.S. subsidiary of the world's largest brewer AB InBev

Anheuser-Busch is the leading consumer of rice in the country. It buys about $120 million worth of rice each year, and most of the rice used by the company is grown within an hour's drive of Jonesboro. At its local mill located near the city's limits, about 2.6 million pounds of rice is milled each day.

Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV Flemish pronunciation: [ˈɑnɦɔizər ˈbuɕ ˈɪmbɛf]), commonly known as AB InBev, is a Belgian-Brazilian multinational drink and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium and is the largest brewer in the world. In 2023, the company was ranked 72nd in the Forbes Global 2000.

Budweiser is a filtered beer, available on draft and in bottles and cans, made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt.

Rice is an extremely high-quality brewing adjunct we use to help lighten the body of many of our beers and give them a subtle sweetness, with a crisp, fast, refreshing finish.

Guardian's internal assessment found that Anheuser-Busch InBev makes up 42 percent of the market, with brands like Budweiser, Bud Light, Stella Artois, and Goose Island. The second leading firm is Molson Coors (24 percent), followed by Constellation Brands (9 percent), and finally Heineken (4 percent).

Some things about Budweiser may have changed since the 19th century, but rice is not one of them. Founder Adolphus Busch, who ultimately had made the decision to brew Budweiser with rice, spoke often and bluntly about his distaste for beers made with corn.

Budweiser is produced by Anheuser-Busch LLC. Anheuser-Busch is an American brewing company, headquartered in St Louis, Missouri. Anheuser-Busch is an international company, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium.

Budweiser is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, which is a multinational beverage and brewing company based in Leuven, Belgium. Coors Light is owned by Molson Coors Beverage Company, which is a multinational brewing company based in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Does Coors use rice in their beer? ›

Competitors Coors Light and Miller Lite both use the same basic ingredients as Bud, though they swap rice with corn. Corn syrup and other sweeteners are used in fermenting in the beer-making process.

Many popular Japanese beers like Sapporo, Kirin, and Asahi are rice-based, and even Budweiser uses rice along with barley in its brewing process.

And, of course, there is Bud Light which prominently displays its ingredients – hops, barley, water, and rice – on its packaging. Indeed, rice has been a part of the Budweiser recipe since 1876.

With their “Smart Agriculture” goals, the company wants to extend those practices to the growers from whom they buy rice, mostly in Arkansas. Rice is a key ingredient in the brewing process. Anheuser-Busch purchased 18.3 million bushels of rice directly from farmers in 2021. “This is 99% Arkansas rice,” Jones said.

In fact, German brewers arrived in America to find that it was difficult to make good beer using the high-protein, six-row barleys available in the United States at the time. Looking for ways to dilute the malt, they began to use rice and corn.

When it comes down to it, the difference between which type of additional grain, rice or corn, is used in the fermentation process is of lesser concern. The physiological changes occurring inside the body from either beers are indistinguishable.

Budweiser is a 5.0% ABV Adjunct pale lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and has become one of the best selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt.

This beer contains adjuncts (such as corn or rice), less than 25% of its total malt components.

Major brewers do not make a secret of the grains these use to make the beer—anyone touring their breweries is told openly about the ingredients that are used. In fact, Budweiser bottle labels clearly tout the quality of rice used to make the beer.