Forget the disappearances of Lord Lucan and Shergar. One of the great mysteries of the modern world is the success of Budweiser. Anheuser-Busch (AB), which manufactures Budweiser, accounts for 50 per cent of US beer sales. Why America, an innovative nation with such vast and varied tastes, should be addicted to Budweiser and Bud Light, two of the most nondescript and anaemic beers ever brewed, is one of the great enigmas of our age.

The great skill of AB has been to commoditise beer in the American psyche. If every beer is the same, why not simply buy the bestselling brands? It has made the most of a virtuous circle: massive marketing comes with market dominance.

In 2002, AB faced a challenge when South African Breweries entered the American market through the acquisition of Miller, for years a lacklustre No 2. SAB – rebadged as SABMiller – immediately set about instigating a turnaround plan. But if it thought that eating away at AB’s market share would be easy, it was wrong: Budweiser responded with a massive price war. SABMiller’s decision to combine its US operations with Molson Coors is an admission of its failure to dislodge AB alone.

But while the merger may be seen as a defeat for the South Africans, it also highlights the challenge now facing the Americans. AB’s actions have preserved its market share, but they have masked the underlying trends taking place in the US alcoholic drinks sector. Wine and spirits have gained in popularity while the fastest-growing sector of the beer market is the so-called “taste” sector, in the shape of domestic craft beers and imported beers. The strong growth of Newcastle Brown Ale over recent years is testimony to this trend. Belatedly, AB has itself responded by signing a deal with InBev, of Belgium, to sell brands such as Stella Artois, Beck’s, Bass Pale Ale and Hoegaarden. Irony of ironies, it has also put aside its trademark spat with Budvar to take on distribution of Budweiser Budvar, albeit under the Czechvar brand.

The merger of SABMiller’s US operations with those of the No 3 player, Molson Coors, is a further threat to its dominance. The brewers of Budweiser must now start to look abroad for growth. After years of dithering over international expansion – its only meaningful presence is in China and the UK - the pressure is on America’s “King of Beers” to restart its negotiations with the likes of InBev in order to start building a global empire.

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