This Bud's for Who? Americans Depose the Erstwhile King of Beers

(Bloomberg) -- Looks like patriotic cans haven’t saved Bud from declines in the U.S. 

Sales of Budweiser and Bud Light keep falling in Anheuser-Busch InBev NV’s biggest market, and that’s taking a toll on the company’s results.

The world’s largest brewer sold 14.4 million barrels of Budweiser in the U.S. last year, less than one-third of the volume at the beer’s peak in 1988, according to Beer Marketer’s Insights. While Bud Light remained the most popular beer in the U.S. by volume, at 35.2 million barrels, it was down 15 percent from its 2008 high.

The Budweiser brand is growing elsewhere, but U.S. drinkers are turning to craftier brews made by smaller companies. Even America-first packaging, such as designs featuring military-inspired camouflage, hasn’t helped.

Hurricanes also hurt sales, but it’s hard to blame them for Bud’s long decline.

“It wasn’t just the weather,” RBC analyst James Edwardes Jones said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jennifer Kaplan in Los Angeles at jkaplan84@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Eric Pfanner

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