InBev can trace its origins back to 1366 to a brewery called Den Horen, located in Leuven, a city just outside of Brussels. In 1717, Sebastien Artois, master brewer, purchased the brewery and changed its name to Artois.

Interbrew was formed in 1987 from the merger of Brasseries Artois, then the second largest brewer in Belgium, and Brasseries Piedboeuf, then the largest brewer in Belgium and the brewer of Jupiler. Both of these brewers had a history of acquisitions, with Brasseries Artois having acquired the Leffe brand in 1952, the Dommelsch Brewery in The Netherlands in 1968, and the Brasseries Motte Cordonier in France in 1970, while Brasseries Piedboeuf had acquired the Lamot brewery in Belgium from Bass PLC in 1984.

Interbrew soon acquired other Belgian specialty brewers, including Hoegaarden in 1989 and Belle-Vue in 1990. In 1991, Interbrew entered a phase of rapid expansion, completing more than 30 acquisitions and strategic joint ventures, the largest of which were Labatt in Canada, Oriental Breweries in South Korea, SUN Interbrew in Russia and Ukraine, Bass Brewers and Whitbread Beer Company in the United Kingdom, and Diebels and Beck & Co. in Germany.

Other acquisitions include the Malaysian Lion Group in China, and the Apatin Brewery in Serbia, as well as the transaction with the Spaten brewery (Gabriel Sedlmayr Spaten-Franziskaner Bräu KGaA) in Germany.

AmBev

While its origins date back to 1885, Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev) was born when the brewers of Brahma and Antarctica beer in Brazil merged in 1999. While Brazil is the world's fourth largest beer market, and the largest in Latin America, AmBev nevertheless sought to grow beyond its borders into Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay and Paraguay. It also acquired activities in Central America, Peru and the Caribbean.

InBev was formed in 2004 when Interbrew and Companhia de Bebidas das Américas (AmBev) combined to create what is now the world's leading brewer.