Anheuser-Busch on its way to becoming king of craft beer too

A decade ago, Anheuser-Busch made no beer that could legitimately be called "craft."

The nation's largest beer company dabbled at the edges of the burgeoning craft beer movement, but its backbone remained the brands to which craft beer was largely a reaction - Bud and Bud Light, Natural Light and Michelob Ultra, and whatever odd innovations might tempt a new generation of consumers, be it Lime-a-Rita (a hit) or Tequiza (a miss).

But this summer, a torch has quietly been passed: By at least one metric, Anheuser-Busch - the same Anheuser-Busch that made no authentic craft beer a decade ago - is now the nation's largest craft beer company.

How did a company that made no craft beer a decade ago become the nation's top manufacturer within a mere seven years?

It opened its