Bitter Brew
The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch and America's Kings of Beer
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Narrated by:
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Peter Berkrot
About this listen
The engrossing, often scandalous saga of one of the wealthiest, longest-lasting, and most colorful family dynasties in the history of American commerce - a cautionary tale about prosperity, profligacy, hubris, and the blessings and dark consequences of success.
From countless bar signs, stadium scoreboards, magazine ads, TV commercials, and roadside billboards, the name Budweiser has been burned into the American consciousness as the "King of Beers". Over a span of more than a century, the company behind it, Anheuser-Busch, has attained legendary status. A jewel of the American Industrial Revolution, in the hands of its founders - the sometimes reckless and always boisterous Busch family of St. Louis, Missouri - it grew into one of the most fearsome marketing machines in modern times. In Bitter Brew, critically acclaimed journalist Knoedelseder paints a fascinating portrait of immense wealth and power accompanied by a barrelful of scandal, heartbreak, tragedy, and untimely death.
This engrossing, vivid narrative captures the Busch saga through five generations. At the same time, it weaves a broader story of American progress and decline over the past 150 years. It's a cautionary tale of prosperity, hubris, and loss.
Download the accompanying reference guide.©2012 William Knoedelseder (P)2012 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
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A Man and His Mountain
- The Everyman Who Created Kendall-Jackson and Became America's Greatest Wine Entrepreneur
- By: Edward Humes
- Narrated by: Mel Foster
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist tells the story of the self-made billionaire who built the Kendall-Jackson empire from nothing into the biggest-selling brand of premium wines in the U.S. Jess Stonestreet Jackson was one of a small band of pioneering entrepreneurs who put California's wine country on the map. His life story is a compelling slice of history, daring, innovation, feuds, intrigue, talent, mystique, contrarianism, and luck, offering a unique window on the elegant, adventurous, and cut-throat worlds of Jackson's two passions: wine and horseracing.
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Required listening for any wine maker
- By Michael Carr on 01-10-15
By: Edward Humes
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Mr. & Mrs. Hollywood
- Edie and Lew Wasserman and Their Entertainment Empire
- By: Kathleen Sharp
- Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
- Length: 18 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Ever wonder why so many B actors wind up as A-grade politicians? Or how the casting couch worked? Acclaimed author Kathleen Sharp traces the influence of show business through the lives of its first power couple. Edie and Lew Wasserman built the world’s largest talent agency, MCA, created the multibillion-dollar Universal Studios, and helped shape Washington, DC.
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Best Book I Have Heard In A Long Time!!!
- By James M. Patton on 09-25-16
By: Kathleen Sharp
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Dethroning the King
- The Hostile Takeover of Anheuser-Busch, an American Icon
- By: Julie MacIntosh
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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How did InBev, a Belgian company controlled by Brazilians, take over one of America's most beloved brands after barely a whimper of a fight? With timing - and some unexpected help from powerful members of the Busch dynasty, the very family that had run the company for more than a century. From the very heart of America's heartland to the European continent to Brazil, Dethroning the King is the ultimate corporate caper and a fascinating case study that's both wide-reaching and profound.
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Good Story but Narration Can be Annoying
- By Ken on 10-21-11
By: Julie MacIntosh
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Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right
- Opinionated Columns on American Life
- By: Michael Smerconish
- Narrated by: Michael Smerconish
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Opinionated talk show host and columnist Michael Smerconish has been chronicling local, state, and national events for the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer for more than 15 years. He has sounded off on topics as diverse as the hunt for Osama bin Laden and what the color of your Christmas lights says about you. In this collection of 100 of his most memorable columns, Smerconish reflects on American political life with his characteristic feistiness.
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All about Smerc and who cares about the victims
- By Mark J. Rosen on 12-10-20
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Fins
- Harley Earl, the Rise of General Motors, and the Glory Days of Detroit
- By: William Knoedelseder
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook chronicles the birth and rise to greatness of the American auto industry through the life of Harley Earl, an eccentric six-foot-five, stuttering visionary who dropped out of college and went on to invent the profession of automobile styling, thereby revolutionized the way cars were made, marketed, and even imagined. Harleys Earl’s story qualifies as a bona fide American family saga. It began in the Michigan pine forest in the years after the Civil War, traveled across the Great Plains on the wheels of a covered wagon, and eventually settled in Hollywood, California.
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Great report of amazing history but could do without the WOKE lean..
- By joshua Shaw on 07-02-22
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Mar-a-Lago
- Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace
- By: Laurence Leamer
- Narrated by: Todd McClaren
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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To know Donald J. Trump - to understand what makes the 45th president of the US tick - it is best to start in his natural habitat: Palm Beach, Florida. It is here he learned the techniques that took him all the way to the White House. Painstakingly, over decades, he has created a world in this exclusive tropical enclave and favorite haunt of billionaires where he is not just president but a king. The vehicle for his triumph is Mar-a-Lago, one of the greatest mansions ever built in the US.
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No surprises but would have liked more
- By B. Howard on 02-19-19
By: Laurence Leamer
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Glass House
- The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town
- By: Brian Alexander
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The Anchor Hocking Glass Company, once the world's largest maker of glass tableware, was the base on which Lancaster's society was built. As Glass House unfolds, bankruptcy looms. With access to the company and its leaders, and Lancaster's citizens, Alexander shows how financial engineering took hold in the 1980s, accelerated in the 21st century, and wrecked the company.
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What really happened to the American Dream?
- By Bill on 05-10-17
By: Brian Alexander
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How Chuck Feeney Made and Gave Away a Fortune
- The Billionaire Who Wasn't
- By: Conor O'Clery
- Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt
- Length: 16 hrs
- Unabridged
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In 1988 Forbes magazine hailed Chuck Feeney as the 23rd richest American alive. No one knew until then that he was extremely wealthy. Or was he? Born during the Depression in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Feeney had made a fortune as co-founder of Duty Free Shoppers, the world's largest duty-free retail chain. How he did it is one of the great untold retail stories of modern times. The greater untold story is that Feeney had in fact given away his fortune, in its totality, to endow Atlantic Philanthropies - one of the most generous and secretive philanthropic funds in the world.
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Horizons I never knew were there!
- By DTU_Garza on 08-13-17
By: Conor O'Clery
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Supreme City
- How Jazz Age Manhattan Gave Birth to Modern America
- By: Donald L. Miller
- Narrated by: Frangione Jim
- Length: 29 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In four words - "the capital of everything" - Duke Ellington captured Manhattan during one of the most exciting and celebrated eras in our history: The Jazz Age. Radio, tabloid newspapers, and movies with sound appeared. The silver screen took over Times Square as Broadway became America's movie mecca. Tremendous new skyscrapers were built in Midtown in one of the greatest building booms in history.
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the background to the NYC we now live in
- By Marcie on 03-05-15
By: Donald L. Miller
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The Asylum
- The Renegades Who Hijacked the World's Oil Market
- By: Leah McGrath Goodman
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 16 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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They were a band of outsiders unable to get jobs with New York's gilded financial establishment. They would go on to corner the world's multitrillion-dollar oil market, reaping unimaginable riches while bringing the economy to its knees. Meet the self-anointed kings of the New York Mercantile Exchange. In some ways, they are everything you would expect them to be: a secretive, members-only club of men and women who live lavish lifestyles; cavort with politicians, strippers, and celebrities; and blissfully jacked up oil prices to nearly $150 a barrel while profiting off the misery of the working class.
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A far better book than its come-on implies
- By Philo on 01-05-14
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The Year That Broke America
- An Immigration Crisis, a Terrorist Conspiracy, the Summer of Survivor, a Ridiculous Fake Billionaire, a Fight for Florida, and the 537 Votes That Changed Everything
- By: Andrew Rice
- Narrated by: Keith Sellon-Wright
- Length: 15 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Before there was Coronavirus, before there was the contentious 2020 election or the entire Trump presidency, there was a turning-point year that proved momentous and transformative for American politics and the fate of the nation.
By: Andrew Rice
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Napa
- By: James Conaway
- Narrated by: John Morgan
- Length: 20 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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James Conaway's remarkable bestseller delves into the heart of California's lush and verdant Napa Valley, also known as America's Eden. Long the source of succulent grapes and singular wines, this region is also the setting for the remarkable true saga of the personalities behind the winemaking empires. This is the story of Gallos and Mondavis, of fortunes made and lost, of dynasties and destinies.
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Excellent But Marred by Non-Stop Mispronunciations
- By Robert R. on 08-15-13
By: James Conaway
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The Teapot Dome Scandal
- How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House
- By: Laton McCartney
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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The Teapot Dome scandal of the early 1920s was all about oil - hundreds of millions of dollars� worth of petroleum. When the scandal finally broke, the consequences were tremendous. President Harding's legacy was forever tarnished, while �Oil Cabinet� member Albert Fall was forced to resign and was imprisoned for a year. Others implicated in the affair suffered prison terms, commitment to mental hospitals, suicide, and even murder.
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Harding's return to normalcy: corruption
- By Paul on 03-05-08
By: Laton McCartney
What listeners say about Bitter Brew
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Gayle Hallgren-Rezac
- 03-29-13
Don't Have to Care About Beer to Enjoy this Story
What made the experience of listening to Bitter Brew the most enjoyable?
This history of Anheuser-Busch is fascinating, the wealth, the power and the disfunction. A very well-written, page turning history lesson. One character is more fascinating than the next. I am waiting for someone to do a cable series on this family.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Most of the characters were flawed and that made the story more compelling.
What does Peter Berkrot bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Peter Berkrot is an excellent narrator. Doesn't get in the way of the story, no over-acting.
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- Terence
- 04-23-13
Fascinating Story Well Told
Any additional comments?
I'm more of a wino than a beer drinker, but this is a really interesting story. It's extremely well written and well narrated. I would highly recommend this audio book to anyone interested in the history of American business. Informative and entertaining at the same time.
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- Michael
- 12-02-12
Pass the Beer and Ammunition
Would you consider the audio edition of Bitter Brew to be better than the print version?
I have not read the print version of Bitter Brew but there is a great PDF attached to the download for pics and charts.
Who was your favorite character and why?
The Forth is my favorite as he is leaving an incredible path of death and destruction in his wake.
Have you listened to any of Peter Berkrot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but I do plan to listen to his other books in the future.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It was broken into 3 parts, and I finished it in less than a week as I found it very interesting. I think they should make it into a TV mini series.
Any additional comments?
I live in St. Louis so the book is a must read for people living in the Lou, but people from other places will enjoy the book if they have ever drank a beer or wondered what rich people do when they have no morals or common sense.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Dr. JSH
- 08-15-17
Great history of the King of Beers and Co.
What did you love best about Bitter Brew?
I collect books on the history of food/alcohol and nutrition. I actually own a hardcover version of this book but didn't read much of it. The audiobook from Audible kept my attention from beginning to end.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Bitter Brew?
The naming of Anheuser-Busch and Budweiser and the early years of the company.
Have you listened to any of Peter Berkrot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No, but he was a good narrator.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I was struck by the family's love for guns, despite the suicides by firearm and accidental shooting (without major consequences) that occurred in the family's home(s).
Also, the final generation's continual partying, drug use, apparent vehicular homicide (without major consequences), and the many privileges, opportunities, PR staff (spin doctors), and get-out-of-jail-free cards that the very wealthy evidently are entitled to.
Any additional comments?
The book has extra-emphasis on the final generation, before being bought out by a non-American corporation. Budweiser and other Anheuser-Busch products were once synonymous with America, but that can't be truly said any longer.
I enjoyed learning about the initial generations' struggles, successes, and biographies rather than the drawn-out final generation's. Then again, being the most recent, I'm sure the author had much more information to work with (e.g., articles in publications, inability to conduct in-depth interviews with the long-dead associates of the initial generations) regarding the final generation's flop and the eventual buyout of the company.
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- Elizabeth
- 03-25-13
Mispronunciations galore
Any additional comments?
I don't know who exactly the target audience was for this book, but someone had to know that the St Louis community would be a big part of it...right? But yet no one had the common courtesy to check on the pronunciations of the city's neighborhoods and landmarks...and even the newspaper. Very very distracting!
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- Deborah
- 10-08-13
Every St. Louisian should read
Where does Bitter Brew rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
One of the best told stories of St. Louis history. This is a book every person in St. Louis should read. So full of a colorful history of one of our city's icon company's rise and fall.
What does Peter Berkrot bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Peter Berkrot reads the story as though he was there and experienced every event and episode. He has a great voice, easy to listen to for long periods of time. I could not put it down (turn it off).
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- brntsllvn
- 11-15-12
Great story! Hard to believe it is true.
Really enjoyed this book! Narrator executes well but feel he may have been a bad choice for purely tonal reasons.
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- Barbara
- 06-25-13
Compelling story & I don't even like beer!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I think that this book would appeal to everyone. I hesitate to say I'm a St. Louisan because you don't have to be a local (or a beer drinker) to be facinated by this story! AB was huge nationally as well as locally but as a St. Louisan, it really is a sad story about a tragic family and the loss of another major business to foreign investors. It's another example of truth being more compelling than fiction!
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes! I binged on it!
Any additional comments?
Whose job is it to research the pronunciation of local place names? There were several errors.
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- R. Edmunds
- 02-13-17
Intriguing and informative
This offered insight into the American beer industry on a grand scale - from the founding of AB, to the turmoil of prohibition, and beyond. Wrought with family drama and interesting cultural history, this is still a worthwhile read even for those who are not involved with the brewing industry.
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- BK
- 12-11-12
Well researched
Did Peter Berkrot do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?
It's too bad Berkrot didn't do as good a job researching things as the author did. Mispronouncing "Carondolet" might excusable for a non-St. Louisan, but to mispronounce Stuart Symington's name and Red Schoendienst's name is NOT excusable. His voice is pleasant enough, and I enjoyed listening, I just wish he'd have checked some things first.
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2 people found this helpful