This Buds For You … Not Me

There’s been a lot of talk about Budweiser lately. Some say it’s a bitter, angry old company that’s lost the plot and have become irrelevant. I think that’s a stretch, Anheuser-Bush (AB) still makes significant amounts of money selling beer. Others think Bud’s Super Bowl commercial stunt was nothing more than brilliant marketing. Maybe, but it seems to me to be a progression of what’s come before.
First, thinking this craft beer “nuisance” would go away became “let’s join the game” with Shock Top and faux-craft Green Valley Brewing Co. And now we have the, “screw hipsters and hardworking American brewers, our beer is made the hard way.” Sure, right.
Since the corporate take-over of arguably one of America’s greatest institutions by a giant Belgium company a few years ago, I’ve discussed Budweiser and how it was a great American business model and an icon of Americana. But lest this be mistaken for a lament or an endorsement for the beer itself, it’s not. I am, after all, The Beer Snob. And while Anheuser-Busch was once as American as apple pie, I’d rather drink an appletini.
On their website, AB states: “Budweiser leads the U.S. premium beer category, outselling all other domestic premium beers combined.” Personally, I would not call Budweiser a premium domestic anything. There are too many excellent craft beers for such a distinction. I feel that the most appropriate title is American Macro lager, very descriptive, and a title Bud is now embracing.
However, the ‘Beer Judge Certification Program’ has four sub-categories under the style of Light Lager. Bud Light is considered a Lite American Lager, Budweiser is given the title of Standard American Lager, and Miller Genuine Draft, Coors Extra Gold, Michelob, along with Heineken, Beck’s, Stella, Singha, and the like are classified as Premium American Lagers.
On the AB Budweiser fact sheet it states: “Each batch of Budweiser follows the same family recipe used by five generations of Busch family brewmasters.” This would lead us to believe that Bud has always contained a significant and overwhelming proportion of rice? I find that hard to believe.
At present, rice makes up 40-plus percent of the malt bill in Budweiser. It also follows that, due to weather and soil changes, malt and hops will vary from year-to-year, not to mention new varieties of each that arrive every decade or so. Hence, these ingredients make little or no difference to the overall product that is Budweiser.
And, while AB uses so little of the necessary ingredients to make it’s flagship beer, it’s worth noting that it uses the finest two-row and six-row pale malts (and rice), along with U.S. and European varieties of whole-flower hops.
And AB does in fact Beechwood age its beer. And while the brewery claims that this adds to the distinct flavor, character, and balance of its beer, the process only helps to clarify the beer, imparting no separate taste whatsoever, as the wood chips are boiled in baking soda before brewing to remove dirt and flavor.
Even in the face of the previous information, I’m going to attempt to review Budweiser, holding it to the standards of other Macro American Standard Lagers — no malt or hop aroma, possibly sweet or corn, yellow or lighter in color, white head, crisp and slightly sweet taste, little-to-no malt and hop flavor, high carbonation but light body, refreshing.
Poured into a standard pint glass, Budweiser shows up pale yellow, with a decent-sized head of bright white foam that disappears quickly. A few thin streams of tiny bubbles follow to the top of the beer. The nose is bright, but neither from hops nor malt. Almost soap, but I would say the smell is more in the rice/corn realm. I hope that’s not my bias seeping in, but I smell nothing that I would expect from a beer, much less a lager.
The flavor is almost overwhelmed by what I might call angry or at least aggressive carbonation. I get the impression this serves to reduce flavor and make the beer crisp. It’s also very watery.
The mouthfeel is light, clean, and quick. Very little aftertaste is discernable. Extremely thirst quenching, and probably perfect to wash down whatever you are eating. Maybe it would be OK on a hot day, ice-cold, out of the bottle, when no water is available.
Are there better beers in the same category as Budweiser? Certainly, including many of the few leftover regional favorites such-as Straub, Narragansett, Schlitz, and Grain Belt, before you even mention the just-as-classic, widely available American-style lagers like Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller High Life, Red Stripe, Molson. Most every standard beer in the category is better than Budweiser, yet none of them are very good.
But, does Bud deliver what it promises? Twenty years ago, maybe. Today, not even close.
The Great American Lager? More like the great American business and even that’s questionable. It’s unlikely this beer is anything like the classic lagers of old.
King of Beers? If so, what competition bequeathed this crown? It’s nothing more then beer’s lowest common denominator. Enjoy the brews … Cheers.
Gene’s Haufbrau has at more than 200 beers in bottles or on tap. Located at 817 Savannah Hwy. E-mail the Beer Snob at publisher@westof.net.