14 DAY TRIAL // Anheuser-Busch, a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, is being sued for watering down the popular Budweiser beer. The company is dismissing the claim, while stressing that all its lagers are properly labeled.
According to The Morning Call, brothers Thomas and Gerald Greenberg of Montgomery County have filed a suit in the U.S. District Court in Philadelphia on Monday, February 25.
They are both regular Budweiser consumers, purchasing a total of up to six cases every month for the last four years.
They claim that the beers do not contain the advertised 5 percent alcohol content, adding that Bud Light and Michelob alcohol concentrations have also suffered modifications.
The company currently controls 48 percent of the American beer market, with 12 breweries in the U.S. If proven correct, the claims against them could lose them millions. In a written statement, Vice President Peter Kraemer reiterates that they are observing labeling regulations.
“Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers,” he explains.
However, two similar suits have been filed across the U.S, one in California and the other in New Jersey. Californian attorney Josh Boxer claims that statements from former Anheuser-Busch employees confirm that the beers are diluted.
“I think we can all agree that the alcohol component is the motivating one and a driving force for a great number of consumers. [...] We have spoken with former employees at multiple plants as well as others at high levels within those plants who have corroborated this for us,” Boxer notes.
“Specifically, [Anheuser-Busch] uses its technological prowess to produce malt beverage products in which the alcohol content is consistently lower than the level promised on the labels,” his lawsuit alleges.
“There are tens of millions of consumers who have been cheated out of quite a bit of money,” he adds.