The original Budweiser may be sold to the imposter Budweiser

The Associated Press is reporting that within a few years, Budejovicky Budvar NP — one of Europe's last state-owned breweries — may be sold.

The Czech government has kicked off a privatization process that could lead to the sale of one of the state's most prized possessions: their beloved brewery considered as much a national treasure as the premium lager it insists is the world's original Budweiser.

Czech beer lovers fear that Budvar could even wind up owned by its arch rival, U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch. For more than a century, the two companies have been locked in a bitter trademark battle for rights to the Budweiser name.

Although Budvar considers itself the maker of the original Budweiser, it has exported its lager to the U.S. under the name Czechvar since 2001 because Anheuser-Busch has firm control of the U.S. trademark on the name.