Business & Tech

Montco Brothers Can't Get Drunk, Sue Budweiser

Two Ambler residents file suit against Anheuser-Busch for watering down its beer.

They pound more than a case of Bud a week, between the two of them, and they have been for four years. But, when two Ambler (Montgomery County) brothers couldn't get drunk from the suds, they decided it was Bud's fault.

According to multiple media reports, brothers Thomas and Gerald Greenberg have filed a federal lawsuit alleging that brewer "InBev's Anheuser-Busch," the U.S. makers of products such as Budweiser and Michelob. Their claim? The beer doesn't pack the 5 percent punch of alcohol content it promises.

According to a report in the Morning Call, Busch "denies that it shortchanges guzzlers when it comes to that 5.0 percent."

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Nevertheless, the two have hired Philadelphia-based lawyer David Senoff to file the lawsuit, according to philly.com

The likely outcome of the case remains unclear.

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"We know Anheuser-Busch takes several readings in each line in each brewery 24 hours a day" and uses the data to water the beer down to, or below, the promised alcohol content, Josh Boxer, a lawyer for the Mills Law Firm, San Rafael, Calif., told philly.com. Boxer's firm is coordinating multiple weak-beer suits.

The story comes on the heels of a January 2013 suit filed by five Idaho inmates, who plan to sue beer and wine compaines for $1 billion. Their claim? The alcohol content made them commit their various crimes.

Anheuser-Busch said it will fight the suit, calling it "groundless."

"Our beers are in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws. We proudly adhere to the highest standards in brewing our beers, which have made them the best-selling in the U.S. and the world," Peter Kraemer, vice president of brewing and supply, said in a statement to NBC.


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