Fuller’s London Pride: A Variable, Veritable Classic

As did European brewers. I believe Adolphus Busch got the idea of using rice as an adjunct while on tour of German breweries in the early 1870s. Those brewers were required to follow German brewing laws for home product but were legally allowed to use adjunct brewing for their export beers.

 

I'm sure glad that the bizarre crossroads of cultures that Belgium has been- amidst wars and transgressions going way back- anything but a monolithic beer presence and is a continuing creative force. Just like everywhere, Belgians still buy more lagers than other very old local choices. They are easy to drink everyday beers. Still, it will always impress me that such a relatively small country (and region) has had such a profound influence on the direction of brewing into a still evolving beer world. I love it!

 

German brewers with the exception of those in Bavaria were free to choose their ingredients at the time. The imposition of the Reinheitsgebot in the early 1900s was not welcomed with open arms and led to a loss of many beer styles.Though to read modern beer literature one would think that all Germany followed the Purity laws for centuries.
Now, having read the article and being thirsty after gardening I shall wander over to my local pub for a pint or three of their excellent cask Pride. Thanks Ron

 

I'm under the impression that his inspiration came from the Bavarian brewers but Mr. Busch got around. After all, he appropriated the name Budweiser from the Czechs.

 

Budweiser was first brewed in 1876 and it was contract brewed for Carl Conrad. As to whether Carl Conrad ‘learned’ about brewing with rice via brewers in Germany I am uncertain. Maybe @jesskidden has information about this?

Below is an extract from an article I wrote which was published in the Sept. 2015 issue of BYO magazine:

“Can you believe there was a time before Budweiser? It may be a ubiquitous presence in the US (and around the world) today, but Budweiser has a long history. In fact, the first Budweiser recipe was formulated by Carl Conrad and first brewed in 1876 at the Busch Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri. By1880 Adolphus Busch was the sole owner and president of the brewery and the brewery was renamed the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association. Adolphus Busch purchased the trademark and brand of Budweiser in 1891.”

Cheers!

 

According to the Anheuser-Busch archives a new style American lager was created as a result of Adolphus Busch's tour of German brewing facilities in 1873-74. The new lager was a collaboration between Busch and his friend Carl Conrad with Busch being credited with naming the new beer Budweiser.

It was some years before Busch was able to buy out his Father-in-law Eberhard Anheuser's interests and become sole owner of the business, but according to the company that's how the Budweiser brand got started.

 

Conrad, a friend of Adolphus Busch's, wasn't a brewer, he was a merchant and, based on most sources, didn't really involve himself in ingredients or recipe. Busch and his brewmaster, Irwin Sproule, had already brewed another "Bohemian-style" beer using rice as an adjunct, called St. Louis Lager.

Most credit Bohemian-immigrant and brewing scientist Anton Schwarz, with popularizing the use of rice or corn adjunct-brewing in the US starting in the late 1860s.

 

JK, that is consistent with my readings as well.

Cheers!

 

Below is where I found the information about Carl Conrad – Budweiser:

“A close friend, Conrad the wine merchant, had been experimenting with the new process. He was the real father of Budweiser. The story goes that while traveling in Bohemia during the early seventies he dined in a small monastery where he was served a brew that he immediately declared to be the best he had ever tasted. He offered the holy men who had made it a good price for the recipe. He got it.

Returning the America, he had the Busch brewery make the beer for him and called it Budweiser after the town of Budweis, where he had discovered. He bottled the new drink in his own small shop.”

http://beerhistory.com/library/holdings/kingofbeer2.shtml

Cheers!

 

Ah, The American Mercury, which in 1929 was edited by the redoubtable H.L. Mencken, a noted beer lover who brewed his own in the basement of his house in Baltimore during Prohibition.

Jack there's enough credit to share among the assorted participants and I'm not concerned who gets the most. My take on all this is those involved were not using rice to make a cheaper beer, rather they were trying to make a better one.

 

I'm sure it would be unfiltered and hipsters would opine on the different tropical fruity flavors they are sensing like mango and passion fruit. (disclaimer I do quite enjoy a great many NE IPA's

 

I remember seeing bombers of 1845 in my local and it was excellent. I yearn for the days.

 

Indeed. I also use the double drop system, and have used it practically since I started homebrewing nearly 48 years ago. I believe it results in a cleaner brew,,,both flavor-wise and visually.
Long live Fuller's! Their beers are classics.

 

When I used to homebrew I used to transfer the wort into 5l glass "demijohns" as used by winemakers after the initial vigorous fermentation had subsided. These I fitted with airlocks. The result was that in general the beer was ready for casking within a week, being crystal clear by then without finings. I suppose this could be considered "dropping"

 

Yeah, AB used various versions of that story in ads, both pre- and post-Repeal (like this one, in 1935):


This is what the official "biography" of Anheuser-Busch, Making Friends is Our Business, said, less than two decades later:

There was even a Michelob version of the story (no monastery, though What's a beer "origin" story without monks!):

 

Wow -- that's some crazy marketing: America's Highest Priced Draught Beer.

Wonder how many customers that actually attracted?

 

@jesskidden, below is what appears to be the Budweiser beer label circa 1877?:

 

And that was in the midst of the Great Depression, too!

I mean, looks at these prices at this Woodstock, Illinois bar:



And that's from Nov. '33 - so, it's still just 3.2 beer, no less.

(The BLS says that 10¢ = $1.86 in today's dollars. Not bad for an all-malt beer w/imported Saazer hops, if you had a job).

 

Wonder what a "stein" was back then?

 

Yup, looks familiar, doesn't it. Here's another example.

Carl Conrad & Co. (aka "CCC" the logo on the neck label) would go bankrupt a few years later, which is when AB first took ownership of the brand.