Trouble Brewing For King Of Beers

Once upon a time, Anheuser-Busch hopped on the throne as the king of beers. Then, the foam head started to collapse.

On Tuesday's Up to Date, we talk with William Knoedelseder, author of Bitter Brew: The Rise and Fall of Anheuser-Busch about why business began to go flat for the company.

We'll also look at the colorful family dynasty that ruled the ailing enterprise, and the decline of August Busch IV, who wound up at home surrounded by stacks of loaded guns while he spiraled into a world of depression and drugs.
 

William Knoedelseder spent twelve years as a reporter at the Los Angeles Times, where his groundbreaking coverage of the recording industry for the newspaper's financial section resulted in the critically acclaimed book "Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, the Music Business, and the Mafia." Knoedelseder has also been a television executive, creating, managing, and producing news programs for Knight Ridder, Fox, and the USA Network. At USA, he was vice president of news. His most recent book, I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Standup Comedy's Golden Era, has been optioned for film by actor Jim Carrey. He lives in Woodland Hills, California.