THE sun had not even risen at the Saint Louis airport, Missouri, USA, but August Anheuser Busch III was already full of fire. Pounding on the table and beaming broadly on that morning 11 years ago, the king of United States beer proudly told reporters who his successor as boss of Anheuser Busch was to be: August Anheuser Busch IV.

Busch III, always referred to as The Third, was truly happy. Busch IV, alias The Fourth, his own son, had already p