Anheuser Busch and the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company

Anheuser-Busch is arguably America's greatest brewer, despite the recent dust-up over Bud Light.  

Anheuser Busch, B. A.

FEB

27

1902

ST. LOUIS, MO.

Circular (or is it a pie- or bottle cap-shaped) date stamp

The St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company was a part of the Anheuser-Busch and Budweiser empire.

Adolphus Busch was the first American brewer to use pasteurization to keep beer fresh; the first to use mechanical refrigeration and refrigerated railroad cars, which he introduced in 1876; and the first to bottle beer extensively. By 1877, the company owned a fleet of 40 refrigerated railroad cars to transport beer. Expanding the company's distribution range led to increased demand for Anheuser products, and the company substantially expanded its facilities in St. Louis during the 1870s. The expansions led production to increase from 31,500 barrels in 1875 to more than 200,000 in 1881.To streamline the company's refrigerator car operations and achieve vertical integration, Busch established the St. Louis Refrigerator Car Company in 1878, which was charged with building, selling, and leasing refrigerator cars; by 1883, the company owned 200 cars, and by 1888 it owned 850.