Who makes this beer? Brands owned by big brewers

Almost every best-selling beer in the U.S. is a light beer. Bud Light, the most popular brand by far, accounts for nearly one out of every four beers sold here. CREDIT: Ken James/Bloomberg/News.)

The King of Beers is expanding its kingdom: Anheuser Busch InBev, the company behind Budweiser, said Tuesday that it plans to buy rival SABMiller for $106 billion, bringing together the world’s two largest beer makers. Combining the two will shake up the global beer market, giving the company control of a third of the market.

The move comes as drinkers increasingly prefer to guzzle beer from small craft brewers instead of giant companies. Sales of craft beer made up 11 percent of the U.S. beer market last year, up from 7.8 percent in 2013, according to the Brewers Association.

Here’s a look at the world’s biggest brewers and what beers they make:

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV

- Advertisement -

Brands: Budweiser, Bud Light, Corona, Beck’s.

Latest annual revenue: $47.06 billion.

Size: World’s largest brewer. According to Euromonitor, AB InBev has a 21 percent share of the global beer market. The company makes almost half the beer sold in the U.S.

History: The company traces its lineage to a brewery in Belgium in 1366. In 2004, Belgian Interbrew combined with Brazilian Ambev to make InBev, and in 2008 InBev bought U.S.-based Anheuser Busch. The company later acquired Mexico’s Grupo Modelo, but sold Modelo’s U.S. business.

- Advertisement -

SABMiller PLC

Brands: Miller, Peroni, Milwaukee’s Best, Grolsch.

Annual revenue: $26.29 billion.

Size: World’s second-largest brewer, with a market share of almost 10 percent.

- Advertisement -

History: South African Breweries bought Miller Brewing Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 2002. SABMiller sells beers including Miller Lite, Coors Light and Blue Moon in the U.S. and Puerto Rico through a joint venture with Molson Coors. A joint venture with China Resource Enterprises sells Snow, a beer that is only sold in China and is the biggest-selling single brand of beer.

Heineken NV

Brands: Heineken, Dos Equis, Tecate, Amstel.

Annual revenue: $21.76 billion.

Size: About 9 percent share of the global beer market.

History: Founded in 1864 in the Netherlands. Teamed with Carlsberg to buy UK-based Scottish & Newcastle in 2008, keeping the company’s cider and beer business.

Carlsberg AS

Brands: Carlsberg, Tuborg, Somersby, Kronenbourg.

Annual revenue: $9.77 billion

Size: A 6 percent global market share.

History: The Danish company was founded in 1826 and combined with competitor Tuborg in 1970. Carlsberg acquired Orkla of Norway in 2004, expanding its business in Russia, Scandinavia and the Baltic countries, and built on those moves with its part of the Scottish & Newcastle deal.

Tsingtao Brewery Co.

Brands: Tsingtao.

Annual revenue: $4.55 billion

Size: A global market share of 4.7 percent.

History: Founded in 1903 and started exporting beer in 1954. The Chinese state-owned company says its beer is the number one consumer product exported from China.

- Digital Sponsors -