Budweiser Gives Out Free Beer

Anheuser-Busch Inbev plans to give out free Budweiser around the country next Wednesday, in a “national happy hour” promotion designed to reclaim the throne for the self-proclaimed “king of beers.” Details are still being worked out, but expect bars and restaurants to give out 6- to 12-ounce samples, depending on local regulations, St. Louis Today reports. The brewer hopes to give out about 500,000 samples in all.

Budweiser once boasted a US market share of 26%. But that was back in 1988. Today, that’s fallen to 9.3%, and in a recent survey, 40% of drinkers aged 21 to 27 said they’d never even tried it. “We want to close that gap,” said A-B’s president. A-B will launch a new “Grab some Buds” ad campaign, and focus a whopping 90% of its ad budget on the beer. (More Budweiser stories.)