Anheuser buys small brewer as Busch family tie is cut

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV's U.S. unit agreed to buy fast-growing Chicago brewer Goose Island for $38.8 million, one of several moves by the company to ratchet up its investment in high-end beers.

The Budweiser maker has been seeking to capitalize on rising consumer demand for small-batch "craft" beers and other high-margin brews, amid tepid sales of mass-market lagers.

In addition to buying Goose Island, the company said it plans to increase by double-digit percentages this year its advertising spending on its Shock Top wheat ale, Belgian import Stella Artois, Landshark Lager and other specialty brews.