Budweiser American Ale

Brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Amber Ale
St. Louis, Missouri USA

Pours an orange red with a frothy 1 inch head. Very light lacing trys to cling to the glass. Smells of light hops and some malts. First sip is rather bland and lacking in flavor. Way too light bodied even though the malts dominate the light hops. This is better than Bud The Lager but not good enough to compete with the crafts. You can put lipstick on a Bud but it is still a Bud.

20 oz draft shared with a friend poured draft at The Galway Tribes (Frankfort, IL). Poured a decent enough hue, fairly clear, with a whitish head that dissipates to start. Aromas are ok enough, slight carmel maltiness mixed with a lighter floral hoppy nose. A nice start to a macro-ale. Taste, unfortunately, is where this beer falls short. Up front and initial, the beer brings some flavor, caramel maltiness with a floral hoppy bitterness, lighter than most, but giving an effort. As the beer slips into it’s body it goes void of a lot of the goodness it started with. A bit of a vegetal feel, a touch bitter in the finish, but all flavor lost. Not very good. I had high hopes after appearance and aroma.. but this beer fell short.

IT IS SCREAMING WITH MEDIOCRITY. A NICE COLORED AMBER ALE WHICH IS A STYLE I THOROUGHLY ENJOY BUT THIS IS LACKING IN FLAVOR AND JUST ANOTHER FAILURE FOR BUDWEISER.

On Draft. Let me be perfectly honest. It’s not supurb, but it’s also not as horrible as some raters have made it out to be. If I could be so bold as to say that some of the extremely low ratings probably have more to do with the company that makes it than the quality of the beer itself, considering it’s about on the same level in terms of taste and quality of similar macro/large micro brewer’s generic ale beers. If I went to a dive and they didn’t even have Sierra Nevada or Sam Adams on tap this would be one that takes top priority. One should be shocked that the beer actually tastes the most like beer than practically any other beverage they (AB) produces.

<b>Draft. </>Blatant attempt to copy Samuel Adams’ Boston Lager. Inferior in every way. Watery aftertaste. Next time somebody shows up with this at a party, slap them.

Hesitant to try but thought it might be better than regular Bud. Nice aroma: fruity/sweet and slight caramel tinge. Pours a nice color--amber, with a nice head. Initial taste was disappointing. After taste bitter and strong. Very carbonated. Doubtful I will drink again.

The further along in my beer mission I travel, the harder it is to remain open-minded and unbiased when it comes to the big-name macro breweries when they try to delve into the craft and import beer world. The problem I find is that while I may applaud their effort, I will always doubt their reasons, their efforts, and their finished product. On occasion, a semi-passable creation happens, but more often than not the end result is a short-lived, corrupt, and feeble attempt at a craft beer for the sole reason to intrude on or take profit away from a smaller yet higher quality market. That being said, I sit here with a glass of Bud American Ale before me which, ironically, was finally released after the InBev buyout. I will say for their sake that the Bud American Ale was a project that Budweiser had been working on before the InBev deal which is like the master devil buying out a minor devil; InBev does not have a nice reputation overseas and for good reasons, but I digress. Setting aside prejudice and trepidation, I ready myself to try the Bud American Ale.
She came to me one early evening on draft in a glass half full, yet still sporting a decent head on top of her clear, almost blood-red amber body. Faint traces of lace decorate the sides of my glass and she foams readily upon each commanding swirl. I raise my glass to be greeted by a lightly sweet nose with hints of caramel, roasted nuts, and a touch of orange. A promising start. I take a quaff, and I am struck at first by her clean and surprisingly citric body. Very carbonated with a hard bite and feel to the mouth, a touch of nuts and malt greet me on the second quaff. Not too bad so far. A bit rough around the edges, but not drain worthy right from the start. As I delve further into my glass, a growing sense of bitter metallic and acidic bite lingers and starts to burn and curdle my tongue and tastebuds. The bad aftertaste moves its way into the beginning, middle, and end; overwhelmingly dominating the rest of my Bud American Ale. The nose is still appealing, but I cannot get rid of the hard water, bitter metallic burn and just overall rotten taste which quite literally makes me curl my lip in revulsion. For worse, I am unable to finish my glass, but keeping that disappointing possibility in mind, I had only gotten half of a glass to start with.
I had mixed feelings about the Bud American Ale in the beginning, but now I am simply left disgusted, disappointed, and confused as to how this beyond subpar product was given a passing grade. Was it overzealousness? Urgency? Lack of care, concern, or love? Or did the looming InBev buyout have anything to do with it? Whatever the reasons are, it doesn’t change the fact that Bud American Ale is horrible and if given the choice, I would drink regular Bud or Bud Light instead. An even more appealing option is water; better balance while at the same time being crisp and refreshing with no bitter metallic aftertaste. Plus, it’s usually free.

Pours amber with a white head of short duration. Aroma has some slight note of hops and a little caramel malt. Flavor is crisp with a touch of hops on the palate.