A/B Brewery Tour and Busch Signature Copper Lager

[BigFloyd]

I have never, ever been a fan of Bud, Bud Light or Bud American Ale. I'd just about rather down a glass of dirty dish water.

So, I'm up in Ft. Collins visiting my youngest son who moved there last year, hanging out, skiing a couple of days, and enjoying the incredible craft beer scene they have there (favorite=O'Dells). I ended up with a few hours to kill last Monday morning and decided to go catch the early 10AM tour at the big A/B brewery (third-largest they have).

I've been on plenty to brewery tours and I must say that this one was actually the most interesting overall. The scale on which they brew and package was pretty astounding. The tour guide was a really nice young guy who, when he found out I was a home brewer, talked with me a lot about it. There was only me and 2 others, so it was sort of like having our own personal tour. Toward the end, he gave us options for the first sample (of three) we would get at the tap room. The other folks wanted to try the Signature Copper Lager, so I followed along (with low expectations).

I was very pleasantly surprised when I tasted it. I was expecting another Bud-type product of a different color with the same yucky twang and nasty after-taste. What I drank, however, was clean, crisp and flavorful. It was really good enough that, if I didn't have lagers waiting for a tap spot, I'd readily buy some at the store. I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling the bartender (a really friendly and funny retired schoolteacher named Al) that it didn't taste horrible like the other Bud beers. Followed it up with a Stella (much better on tap than bottled). Al then made us each a Shocktop chocolate wheat/raspberry blend that was pretty darn delicious.

Not a bad way to spend a couple of hours on a Monday morning in northern Colorado.

 

[TopherM]

I have never, ever been a fan of Bud, Bud Light or Bud American Ale. I'd just about rather down a glass of dirty dish water.

I'd rather drink any commercial beer than dirty dish water myself

Did you know that Bud Select took gold this past year for Light American Lager in the GABF national competition - professional category, which is a blind judging. Miller High Life took silver. Miller Lite and PBR typically swap medals back and forth in this category.

I used to really like Bud American Ale. I was disappointed that they discontinued it.

I've been to the A/B brewery in St. Louis, and they had a bunch of great beers in the tasting room that will never see the light of day because most light beer drinkers won't buy craft and most craft drinkers won't buy A/B, which is too bad. They can certainly make good beer, but their (mostly undeserved) bad reputation in the craft beer world precludes them from releasing the great craft beers that they are certainly capable of. That's why they've changed their model to purchasing established craft breweries and ramping them up to national or regional distribution.

I think it's all good, won't hear me complaining! Somebody's got to be the biggest! If all of the fuzzy yellow breweries didn't exist, craft beer drinkers would be calling Sam Adams and Sierra Nevada sh**ty just because they were the biggest!

 

[Jwerner23]

Yea I have done the tour at the St. Louis brewery when I used to live just outside St. Louis. They actually had a few good beers in the tasting that I have never seen anywhere else. Its a shame they wont release them instead of the water they do ship out. But craft beer drinkers refuse to drink anything AB, so that is why when they do release stuff they put it under a different name to try to get it passed the people that refuse to try anything from them.

 

[NickTheGreat]

I didn't mind the American Ale. I've heard good things about this Copper swillwater. I am not curious enough to buy a case, but may get one next time I'm at a bar or someplace with it

 

[BigFloyd]

Did you know that Bud Select took gold this past year for Light American Lager in the GABF national competition - professional category, which is a blind judging. Miller High Life took silver. Miller Lite and PBR typically swap medals back and forth in this category.

I've heard that before which has made me wonder about the evaluation of that category. The judges may consider that sort of flavor a part of the style, but those beers all have a character which I find quite disagreeable.

I tried a sample of the American Ale (on tap at Buffalo Wild Wings) when it first came out. I couldn't get past the fact that, to me, it still had the distinct and unpleasant taste of Bud.

I guess that I was expected more of the same with the Copper Lager and was pretty darn impressed that the unpleasant flavor was absent. It tasted rather nice to me and I'm rather picky about lagers.

 

[alane1]

there was a bud I tried that was really good, it was based on the original recipe- the name eludes me though. It would be nice if they started doing an all malt pilsner like that year round.