The Busch Family on Why Now Was the Right Time for an MTV Reality Show
Q&A
There are very few last names that are as synonymous with beer production as Busch is. Now, the Busch family is adding MTV reality drama to their resumes.
In MTV’s new series, The Busch Family Brewed, the Busches—all nine of ’em—fight, party, take their Clydesdale horses for a spin, and work on planning a brand-new Busch family brewery, right on their St. Louis farm. Parents Billy Busch Sr. and Christi and their seven kids (Billy Jr., Haley, Abbey, Gussie, Grace, Maddie, and Peter) navigate family drama starting on March 5 on MTV.
Billy Sr. and Christi preview the wild ride to come, below.
Why do you think now was the right time to do this show?
Billy: We come from an interesting history and there’s a lot of fascination around the Busch family. We’re kind of a household name, especially here in St. Louis. We had networks come to us and ask us to do something like this in the past, but we were busy raising the kids for all those years. And then the most recent request came from MTV, and we got the family together and asked the kids if we should do it. They were all on board, and we all agreed if we’re going to do this we have to be very authentic do what we do day in and day out, because we’re going to be inviting people from MTV, and really all over the country, into our household. We’re also documenting building the brewery because of course, that’s the history we come from. It’s the first Busch family brewery built in a hundred years, so it’s a great way to document that.
How quickly did you and your kids get used to being around the cameras?
Christi: I think the kids like it. They’re hams. They really love the attention. It hasn’t been bad because the whole MTV family is so great to work with. It’s just been fun. It really has been a great time, great experience—so far, so good!
Billy: I mean it’s not all that great. There’s some drama, some challenges. There have been some big fights. But you know at the end of the day it’s all about big love, and of course, we’re a close family. But there are some challenges that we had to get through, but it was kind of therapeutic in a way—it puts the spotlight on each and every one of us and calls us out.
What are some of these experiences that we’ll get to see this season?
Christi: Haley is trying to decide, she’s an actress in California, and she’s trying to decide if she should stay with her boyfriend of eight years in St. Louis because he doesn’t want to move to California. It’s really a difficult decision for a twentysomething. You’ll see Maddie go to her dances and high school life. There are nine of us, so there are so many personalities and avenues to take with each one. Somebody could relate to anybody. I think we’re all relatable.
Billy: And on top of that, it’s filmed on our 700-acre family farm, so there’s a lot of beauty, a lot of great scenery, animals. That’s a really interesting aspect as well as the history that our family comes from. I think hearing about the Anheuser-Busch legacy where we come from is going to be very interesting to people. Beer is very relevant today. There are 7,000 breweries in the United States, and we’re going to be documenting our family, all nine of us, making decisions and building this brewery from the ground up and keeping that Busch tradition going. You know, Anheuser-Busch was bought back in 2008, and that was the first time in 150 years there wasn’t a Busch Brewing any longer. So, we’re keeping that wonderful tradition going by building a brewery. And I think watching all nine of us with all of our opinions and ideas and trying to come together and compromising will be very relatable.
What are your biggest concerns about breaking back into the brewing industry?
Billy: Well I think the difficulty in this day and age is standing out and being unique. You know, with all the breweries out there, there’s so much competition in the marketplace. How do you stand out? That’s always a challenge for anybody. So, we’re going to have a really awesome farm brewery, built right on our farm, and I think it’s going to be something that’s a little unique in and of itself because breweries are mainly urban tied. We’re going to follow in my ancestors’ footsteps and not cut corners in quality, and I think that will help us stand out.
View this post on Instagram
I think I speak for everyone when I say we would ALL rather be here, rn ☀️🌴 🔁: @gussiebusch
And of course, what’s your favorite beer style right now?
Billy: I’ve got a couple of favorite IPAs and a couple of favorite lagers that are from craft breweries right in St. Louis. I like beer that is, for the most part, more drinkable, so I’m really a lager guy.
Christi: I really like the lager that we made. It’s called Kraftig.
What are you most nervous for people to see in this series?
Christi: It’s not easy, because we’re putting ourselves out there, and the kids fight like everybody else, and they don’t hold back. But that’s the whole point, I mean we told them you have to be authentic and put yourself out there. And, they do. They do so much of that that it’s somewhat embarrassing for a mom. But we fight big and love big and you see all of that.
The Busch Family Brewed, Series Premiere, Thursday, March 5, 9/8c, MTV
