This Bud's No Longer for Me

By now you all have probably heard of sale of Anheuser-Busch "The King of [American] Beers" to Belgium's InBev.

To me, this is one of the most disappointing news bites since Mother Teresa's death.

What is more American than the Budweiser name?

Beer is one of life's pleasures. For as long as I can remember, myself and my family have been Bud Light drinkers. Now what will we turn to?

Yes, it will still be produced in America.

Yes, they say American jobs are safe.

But where's the American pride?

Anheuser-Busch has been U. S. owned for 130 years... It truly is an American point of pride and an icon of what it means to be American -- especially for those who live in its home city, St. Louis.

There's Miller people, Coors people, Bud people and microbrew people. The fact that Budweiser is an American beer is really important to its very loyal beer drinkers, and it's going to hurt Budweiser now that they're no longer American.

I feel sorry for Anheuser-Busch's PR/marketing team. This has got to be a nightmare. What's going to happen with their branding? Their witty campaigns have always been shaped around the beer being American-owned and produced and they have built a loyal following because of this. Now what direction is in store? The job undertaking is going to be tough for the Belgian brewer. It will be interesting to see how consumers will respond to the European takeover.

According to a new Web site, SaveAB.com, "like baseball, apple pie and ice cold beer (wrapped in a red, white and blue label), Anheuser-Busch is an American original."

So, what's next for you?

Looks like I'm officially on to drinking a different, cheap, red, white and blue beer -- Pabst's Blue Ribbon. It's almost the same, right? And at least I can feel that American pride with each passing sip...