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THE US-BASED brewer of the Budweiser beer has moved a step closer to ending a century-old legal dispute over the right to use the name, after buying a Czech brewery which also uses the brand.
Anheuser-Busch – which markets the better-known ‘Budweiser’ beer, which is also brewed in Kilkenny – has bought one of two breweries in the Czech town of Ceske Budejovice, which in the German language was known as ‘Budweis’.
Having bought Budejovicky Mestansky Pivovar (BMP), and its own ‘Budweiser Beer’ brand, Anheuser-Busch has tightened its grip on the name – potentially bringing the dispute to an end.
Another brewery in Ceske Budejovice – the better-known ‘Budvar’ brewery, whose beers are also available in Ireland – also still claims use of the name, but may also itself be put up for sale in the coming years.
The Budejovicky Budvar brewery was one of the prized assets of the former Czechoslovakian government, Czech Position reports, with the trademark dispute becoming more pronounced in the 1970s when the government opted to increase its exports.
The Czech government has long been considering spinning off assets like Budvar, however – and it’s thought that whenever the brewery is sold, most likely through a public flotation, that Anheuser-Busch could step in and buy a significant stake.
Around 120 legal battles have been fought in various countries between Anheuster-Busch and Budvar – with Budvar usually coming out on top – and another 40 cases are still alive in courts around the world.
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Budvar is much nicer
Guinness is better than all of them
Budweiser tastes and looks like beer which has been filtered through a person.
My Dad once described Budweiser as (sorry) ‘p*ss water with fag buts in it’. A bit severe, but made me laugh at the time :)
Ur dad is right!
Budweiser doesn’t taste of anything!
Horrible drink Bud
It’s like having sex in a canoe
if you can’t beat them, buy them !
Budvar is rightly called Budweiser in Germany. The yanks could not sell one case of that piss in Germany. Remember the Soccer WC the usual Budweiser sponsership was missing for German matches pitchside and replaced with Hasseroder I think.
a headache in a glass
Mmmm you can really taste the Clydesdales…..
The peculiar thing is that its tastelessness is one of the reasons it sells so well. It is often the preferred drink of teenagers who haven’t yet developed a taste for good beer. Its one of the best off license sellers in Ireland…… have you tried Bud-lite… that’s actually 10 times worse… if you could possibly imagine such.
Used to be a big Budweiser fan when I first started drinking beer. Mostly because of the reasons many people have mentioned above (tasteless, easy to drink, etc). Now I think it tastes like watery chalk. Have to admit though, I loved their summer promotion where you’d get a free pint every week or on a hot day. Sure you wouldn’t even notice the taste after a few decent beers!
Some disaster! Yet another beer well on the road to becoming another generic corporate pint of p**s water. Wouldn’t even mind except Budvar is unreal!
The Budweiser ownership has become more credible in Europe (I said ownership, not beer) since Anheuser-Busch sold it to In-Bev a few years ago. In-Bev’s flagship brand is Stella but is well known for buying smaller breweries around Europe and bringing those beers to a wider audience. I think if it succeeds in buying Budvar it will turn it into one of the biggest beers in Europe.
Phew, Budvar is without a doubt my favourite beer, I was anxious when I read the headline, thinking I’d be giving my money to pisswater merchants in the future, hopefully it’ll avoid getting drained down the corporate plughole
maybe Budweiser will ditch their dishwater brew and put budvar into Budweiser bottles… here’s hoping…
Afraid this piece is missing a number of vital facts. “Budweiser” in the Czech version is not a brand but a designated appellation – Budvar is one of several – not two – Budweiser beers. All are called Budweiser in the CR and other European territories where they have legal precedence over Anheuser Busch’s swill. The UK and Ireland are among the few exceptions in this respect, hence the name change to “Budejovicky Budvar” . AB buying up one of the Ceske Budejovicky breweries will give it the right to name its newly acquired Czech beer Budweiser but will not change one bit its legal standing in marketing ‘Bud’, as the American beer is known in countries where Budweiser means ‘brewed in Budweis’.
Worst hanover of my life was a Bud binge, (except the night myself and a friend drank a bottle of Poitin)
If you are into lagers or ales there is a great selection in McHughs off licence Flying Dog Doggie Style Classic Pale Ale is pretty good
anyone ever have budweiser dark , its like mothers milk. my local offie used to stock it it sold out real quick, then they didn’t stock it any more. I was cross with them when they could not order more because of the brewery dictates crap
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