Diploma Thesis from the year 2007 in the subject American Studies - Culture and Applied Geography, grade: 2,2, Martin Luther University, language: English, abstract: The brewing industry is an essential element of the U.S. economy, since beer sales represent 58% of alcohol consumption in the United States. In 2002, the brewing industry had employed more than 850,000 workers and paid $65 billion in taxes. Having obvious competitive advantages over its competitors, Anheuser-Busch is the world's largest and most successful brewer, followed by Miller and Coors. Since 1857, some extraordinary leaders have guided Anheuser-Busch through prosperous times and through challenges. Anheuser-Busch Companies witnessed the early innovations and inventions of the 19th century, such as mechanical refrigeration, pasteurization and the bottling of beer. Moreover, the company witnessed growing competition, the union movement, the temperamence movement, World War I and prohibition. Despite all those challenges, the company survived and started all over again after repeal, experiencing the new beer business, including more innovations, World War II and changing consumer tastes. Today, Anheuser-Busch is the leading U.S. brewery, with about 50% shares of national beer sales. Worldwide, the company operates 27 breweries, selling beer in more than 80 countries. Twelve of the breweries are in the United States and fifteen overseas, with fourteen in China and one in Great Britain. In 2002, international beer sales increased by 29.3%, and in 2005, international beer sales even grew by 50.8%. Besides its beer business, the company owns one of the country's largest manufacturer of aluminum cans and a number of theme parks; it is the world's largest recycler of aluminum beverage containers, and it has interests in malt production, rice milling, label printing, bottle production, transportation services and real estate. Additionally, Anheuser-Busch is engaged in responsibility matters, such as responsible drinking and conservation of the environment. Furthermore, the company is particularly famous for its humorous and rememberable advertisings.