Most Of Your Favorite Beers Are Owned By The Same Company

Long before the controversy surrounding Bud Light selecting Dylan Mulvaney as the brand's newest spokesperson, beer drinkers have been trying to find an answer to the hotly debated question, which brew is best? Most beer drinkers probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that Bud Light is the nation's preferred brew according to USA Today Money, but what may be more surprising is that many of the brands competing for Bud Light's top position are owned by the same company.  

Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company behind Bud Light, also owns the popular domestic beer brand Budweiser, another one of the nation's leading beers. While the two beers are pretty similar in terms of alcohol content, the former's reputation as a "light" beer seems to be what makes it so popular. 

According to a beer connoisseur from the r/beer subreddit, "Consumers who drink these beers are interested in a lack of typical beer bitterness and taste and enjoy the crisp and refreshing nature of these beers." Light beers also contain fewer calories, which could be another factor that makes these beverages some of the most popular alcoholic drinks in the country.

Whether or not you choose to reach for a Budweiser or a Bud Light, Anheuser-Busch is the company behind the brews. Besides being the owner of two of the most popular beer brands in America, the company is also responsible for a portfolio of more than 500 beers, including several recognizable international brands, per AB InBev. 

One of these international brews that is also popular stateside is Beck's, which Anheuser-Busch says is brewed according to Germany's famous Beer Purity Law. The company's European roots go back to the medieval period with the popular Belgian beer Leffe. Leffe also produces Leffe Ruby, a raspberry-flavored lager that is just one of the many fruit-flavored beers popular with Europeans. Being truly international, Anheuser-Busch's portfolio expands beyond the borders of Europe with Mexico's Corona and Cass, one of Korea's most popular beers. 

While it might not be surprising to learn some popular mainstream brews are owned by the same parent company, several craft beer brands that consumers may think are independent also fall under the Anheuser-Busch umbrella, including Goose Island. With all this information about the hierarchy of beers in mind, hopefully, you'll be able to make an informed decision the next time the internet's next battle of the brews rolls around.