Budweiser American Ale

Bottled. (What’s this, an Anheuser-Busch product with a pry-off cap? I nearly tore my shirt trying to twist the damn thing off). Dark amber in color with a nice, off-white head. Head retention is decent, leaves sticky lacing on side of glass as it slowly falls to a small cap. Light malt aroma (toffee) though I seem to pick up a little buttery corn and wet hay underneath. Very light caramel flavor turns quickly to hay/straw, corn and a metallic finish. Aftertaste is medicinal and a little chalky. Cascade hops? I don’t see any. With all of AB’s resources, it is sad if this is their best attempt at a mass-marketed "microbrew."

Tastes a lot better than any A-B products that I have tried. What it needs is a better finish, more hops. Tastes loike a watered down Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (hop-wise). Hopefully InBev will bring quality back to mass produced American beers.

Tap. First time tried this brew good pine aroma to it. Had it a second time and may of been from frozen glass somewhat a malt nose no hops. Deep amber body with off white head. Fisrt time good cirus flavor and refreshing. Second time even after beer warmed from frozen glass malted sugar caramel that was more filling than refreshing. Alright just matters how served I guess.

~Pours a clear amber with foamy white head. ~Light hop scent, somewhat citrusy,some sourness, like sour hay. ~Light malty taste with mild hops, glass bottle in flavor. ~Light feel, mild finish. ~An improvement for Budweiser, but really nothing special going on here. Very basic, but still enjoyable.

12oz brown pry-top glass bottle with a freshness "code" but no date. Appearance: Quarter inch white head fades rather quickly to leave a thin veil of white, with larger foam bubbles along the rim. A reddish-amber color with medium-sized bubbles. Nose: Smells like borderline red ale, raw sugar, dry marzipan, and a fruit basket-style bouquet. Palate: Light- to Medium-light-body. Corn husk, lightly roasted caramel malt perhaps, and fall smells. Also, a lime zest on the finish. I thought of pumpkin for a second, but I think it’s just an association, not something that’s actually present here. Notes: The appearance and the aroma were promising, and I was hoping for a decent brew. The second it hit my tongue, I knew it was an AB product and it tasted like they just brewed their normal mash as an ale and maybe added a little caramel color. I don’t mean to hate on this beer, I really had hopes for it, but I can’t say that it delivered. Will the average beer drinker like it? Most likely it will do well for a little while, and then people will forget about it. Maybe if they served it with a lime wedge... (Others have pointed out this would make a transition beer from Macro to Micro, but I disagree. I think those already exist - Sam Adams, for example - and I think this is just going to be a flash in the pan over the next year. Although, if it does get people away from Macro, I do admit that IS a good thing...I just don’t have high expectations that this will do much good.)

THOUGHTS: Much better than regular Bud, but it still didn’t live up to its promises. I had a nice flavor to it, but it seemed watered down. But it could be a nice transition beer for pale lager drinkers who haven’t given ale a chance before. TECHNICAL: Bottle. Poured a clear, medium copper with an average to large, off-white head that kept a thin sheet and left fair lacing. The aroma was moderate grain and caramel malt, slight unsweetened cherry and something slightly off-putting. The flavor stared out a little sweet and acidic, and finished acidic and a little bitter with and average to short duration. The flavor was nice, but watery. There was caramel, slight cherry pit flavor, a little citrus and then slightly bitter metallic hops. The light to medium body was sort of watery with lightly fizzy carbonation and a metallic and light to moderate astringent finish.

Wow. It’s certainly taken Anheuser Busch long enough to make a decent beer. Finally, here’s one I can’t complain about--at least not too much. Pours reddish orange, thin tan head. Mild hoppy aroma. Mouthfeel is like any other Budweiser--lots of carbonation and nothing to get too excited about. Taste is of hops and over-roasted malt. Bud tried a little too hard on this one, even going as far as to put it in a non-twist-off bottle (something Anheuser-Busch just isn’t worthy of in my opinion). All in all, though, not a bad beer.

Bottle. Pours orange amber with an off white head. The aroma has caramel candy and light hops. The flavor is malty sweet with caramel and a touch of hops. surprisingly tolerable.