What to drink instead of Budweiser
Budweiser is sold as American and brewed in Britain, at Magor, Monmouthshire, South Wales and Samlesbury, Lancashire, at 4.5%. The version sold in the United States is 5.0%, 0.5 percentage points stronger.
By Mark Porter. Last checked 11 September 2026. Where Budweiser is really brewed, with the pack wording and the sources.
What the front says, and what the back says
'King of Beers', St Louis heritage, Clydesdale and American iconography
Country of Origin: United Kingdom. Manufacturer: AB InBev UK Limited, EC4A 1EN; InBev Belgium, Bd Industriel 21, B-1070 Brussels, Belgium
Where it is brewed, against where the brand comes from
| The brand comes from | United States, from 1876 |
|---|---|
| Owned by | Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV, headquartered in Leuven, Belgium |
| Brewed for the UK at | Magor, Monmouthshire, South Wales and Samlesbury, Lancashire (AB InBev UK Limited (Budweiser Brewing Group UK&I)) |
Strength, and what it means in a pack
A pint of Budweiser at the UK strength of 4.5% holds 2.6 units. At the 5.0% sold in the United States it would hold 2.8, so the British pint holds 0.3 fewer units than the same quantity of the beer sold in the United States.
Instead of Budweiser
| Beer | Why it is on the list | Strength here |
|---|---|---|
| Michelob UltraFrom the country on the label | Brewed at Anheuser-Busch breweries in the United States. 3.5% here (4.2% at home), 1.0 percentage point weaker than Budweiser. | 3.5% |
| Budweiser Budvar OriginalThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Republic. 5.0% here, 0.5 percentage points stronger than Budweiser. | 5.0% |
| Peroni Nastro AzzurroThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Rome, Padua and Bari in Italy. 5.1% here, 0.6 percentage points stronger than Budweiser. | 5.1% |
| Heineken SilverThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed in the Netherlands. 4.0% here, 0.5 percentage points weaker than Budweiser. | 4.0% |
| Pilsner UrquellThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Plzen in the Czech Republic. 4.4% here, 0.1 percentage points weaker than Budweiser. | 4.4% |
| Tsingtao Premium LagerThe same style, genuinely imported from elsewhere | Brewed at Qingdao, Shandong in China. 4.7% here, 0.2 percentage points stronger than Budweiser. | 4.7% |
Chosen by rule, not by taste, and no beer pays to appear: how the list is made.
Where Budweiser is stocked, and when we last checked
| Supermarket | Product page | Last checked |
|---|---|---|
| Morrisons | The listing | 5 September 2026 |
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