NewsJuly 12, 2019
ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri brewery making Kraftig beer, operated by an heir to the family founding Anheuser-Busch, is going out of business. The William K. Busch Brewing Co. announced the decision Wednesday, citing market demand. Busch said in a statement he hopes to eventually return to the brewery business...
Associated Press

ST. LOUIS -- The Missouri brewery making Kraftig beer, operated by an heir to the family founding Anheuser-Busch, is going out of business.

The William K. Busch Brewing Co. announced the decision Wednesday, citing market demand. Busch said in a statement he hopes to eventually return to the brewery business.

"I've always been passionate about brewing, because it's in my blood," Busch said in a statement posted on the company's Facebook page.

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The beer will continue to be available in stores while supplies last, which is expected to be through September, said the brewery, which began operation in 2011 in Brentwood, a St. Louis suburb.

Busch is a son of August "Gussie" Busch Jr., the longtime leader of Anheuser-Busch credited with building the St. Louis brewer into the dominant force of the beer market. Anheuser-Busch was sold to Belgian brewer InBev in 2008.

Billy Busch never worked for Anheuser-Busch, but he has said he wanted to brew a beer in the style of his family's tradition. He did not consider Kraftig -- which means strong, stout or robust in German -- a craft beer.

The company offered no specific details about what led to its decision to close. Busch had been planning to build a brewery and distillery on land he owns in St. Charles County near St. Louis.

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