Budweiser's New American Ale
Megabrewer Budweiser is muscling in on the microbrew market. Or, maybe we should use the term "craft brew," since nothing Budweiser does could be considered "micro." Budweiser American Ale is the King of Beer's attempt at making an amber-colored ale with a richer, sweeter, more citrusy flavor than that of the familiar light-golden barely flavored Budweiser we've all come to know and (sometimes) love. It's available now only on draught at various watering holes nationwide (find one near you here) but will be out in bottles on September 29. [via Uncrate]
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9 Comments:
We in St. Louis find it highly ironic that A-B is hyping this American Ale as it has agreed to be acquired by the Belgian/Brazilian InBev conglomerate. At least it's hoping to be, if the banks don't back off the financing of this huge deal in light of the current financial situation.
lemons at 11:44PM on 09/20/08
Sorry folks at Budweiser but what makes craft beer what it is comes down to two main things:
1) Creativity. Craft brewmasters don't try to come up with new recipes that are designed specifically to grab a certain market niche. They make them because they love to explore the world that beer brings us and they want to find new worlds of flavor and not new market share. The beers that the mega-breweries like Bud make are aimed at the largest and least adventurous segment of the populace. They are all nice, simple, uncomplicated and thus nearly flavorless.
2) They are brewers first and businesses second. Most great craft brewers started as impassioned home brewers and their love for making the beers that excite them so much also means that they are willing to have a smaller profit margin as their material costs tend to be much higher and they can't command the lower price the big guys can do to the vast quantities that they purchase.
Still if AB can make a beer that is a "gateway" beer for millions of Bud Light drinkers who can then gain a taste for the good stuff then all power to them.
Bunnyman at 11:05AM on 09/21/08
"....an amber-colored ale with a richer, sweeter, more citrusy flavor..."
Yep, pretty much ANYTHING has more flavor than Budweiser (except Coors). Including water.
buffy at 5:08PM on 09/21/08
I don't even know why they try this crap...what a waste of marketing, R&D, advertising dollars. They should just stick to the basics and cut their losses, rather than try and tangle with any REAL micro-brew products on the market. Budweiser would do just as good by pi$$ing in a bottle and selling that - Oh, wait they already do that!
GingerSnap at 8:42PM on 09/21/08
I love Budweiser, in the same way I love burgers and fried chicken
cmballa at 10:54PM on 09/21/08
I hate Budweiser, in the same way I hate paper cuts and waking up for work. A waiter, upon hearing a friend's English accent, thought that they would absolutely love this new beer. She was wrong.
worldcupfever at 9:12AM on 09/22/08
Bud's been trying to penetrate the craft beer market for year's with their Michelob line - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelob Interesting that they're doing it with the Bud brand now too. Anyone interested in some history of craft brewing and the passion first/business second aspect Bunnyman mentioned should check out the "bockumentary" American Beer.
cjingram at 9:16AM on 09/22/08
I am looking forward to trying it. Who knows they might actually kick the flavor up a bit.
I brewed professionally for 7 years and always like to try new things. Often these mega brewers just slightly add more flavor and it fails.
Not expecting much, but am willing to try it. Heck I tried the bud light lime once and will never again.
Not a huge fan of AB, but what they have done for the craft brewing industry and what they do on such a massive scale with perfection is astounding. Maybe it will be good enough to entice American light lager drinkers to expand their taste to better true microbrews.
beerorkid at 11:00AM on 09/23/08
I found a six pack of this last night and tried it with a friend. It's got a wonderful color and a solid mouthfeel, but the flavor is pretty simplistic. Which is not to say that it's bad - it's a good flavor, especially considering it's from an American macrobrewer, just nothing exceptional. The only complaint that I had was that it has very little finish. I wasn't blown away, but it's a solid beer that I'll buy again in the future.
PizzaDinosaur at 11:23AM on 09/23/08