Sale of Anheuser-Busch would make Boulevard Brewing No. 1 in Mo.

KANSAS CITY — If the purchase of Anheuser-Busch goes through, a Kansas City beer maker would be the largest Missouri-based brewer.

Established in 1989, homegrown Boulevard Brewing Co. has quietly climbed the ranks of the nation’s largest brewers. The Brewers Association says Boulevard is the eighth-largest domestic-craft brewer in the United States. Boulevard beers are now available in 13 states.

Once Belgium-based brewer InBev completes its $52 billion purchase of Anheuser-Busch, Boulevard would take over the No. 1 slot in Missouri brewers.

Anheuser-Busch dwarfs Boulevard in production, brewing 160 million barrels of beer annually compared with the 142,000 barrels Boulevard expects to produce this year. Still, Boulevard production has tripled since 2000.