Beer Review - Budweiser American Ale
Saturday, November 15, 2008 at 7:10PM
• Appearance: A • Aroma: B- • Taste: C- •
Overall: C
Anheuser-Busch really seems to be going after the craft beer market head on these days. The current Michelob family seems to match popular micro-brew lineups almost one for one. Extending the Budweiser family was more surprising. As an ale lover, there are a lot of things to like about the new Bud Ale, unfortunately the total package falls far short of its potential. Tonight's tasting was my third sampling of American Ale overall, so that alone should indicate some level of "Drinkability" ; )
The first indication that this is a serious endeavor is the bottle cap since it is not a twist off. The description on the label also reads much like today's popular micros:
Carefully brewed with barley from America's Heartland and Cascade hops from the Pacific Northwest, this rich, amber-colored ale has robust flavor and a distinctive hoppy finish
I could have sworn that the last bottle I had even stated the beer was "dry-hopped" but the bottle I poured tonight had no such reference.
This beer has a gorgeous copper appearance and an the head is light tan with a nice homebrew/bottle conditioned look when poured down the middle of the glass. The aromas are much milder that what I expected from the descriptions. There is a nice malty sweet nose to the beer but it lacks the spicy hop notes the name and descriptions lead you to expect.
Mouth feel and taste are where this beer really begins to let you down. It feels quite smooth in your mouth, but it just doesn't seem to have the full bodied character you expect from the sweet malt. This is probably by design to complement their "drinkability" campaign. The flavor is reasonably well balanced with a strong hop bitterness hitting the back of your tongue, but there is a really odd finish that lingers that I just can't put my finger on. You can almost feel whatever it is on your tongue well after the glass is empty.
Another positive note is that the head laces its way nicely all the way to the bottom of the glass!
Overall, I am appreciative of A-B's effort and this could be a great sign of things to come from the mega-brewers and and broader appreciation of beer styles overall. Having said that, I am disappointed in this beer, especially at about $7 a six pack. There are too many better beers out there at that price point, but I expect it to be a great option for a draft at the local tavern.
Cheers,
-D
Reader Comments (1)
I tried a couple of bottles of this beer at a bar with some buddies, we all agreed that it was another helf hearted effort by Budweiser to put a mass produced micro style beer in the market. It falls short of what people who drink microbrews on a regular basis would expect, just as Shock Top and the Anheuser Busch seasonal brews do. Instead of concentrating on making a good beer for people who enjoy drinking strong ales they were to worried about making the tatse more "drinkable" for the masses. This beer reminded me of a cheap knock off of Red Hook ESB. and trying to say that the beer was dry hopped is a joke when your compare the amount of hoppiness to a beer lik Mac & Jack's African Amber that is truly dry hopped. I wouldn't reccomend this beer to anyone that is looking for a truly micro taste. It might be a good starter beer for your girlfriend if you are trying to get her into micros and off of the light beers of the world.