Budweiser American Ale - with Taste notes

[pjj2ba]

I got to try it this weekend. The oompah band I'm in played a gig in the Corporate Hospitality tent for the Homecoming game on Saturday. One of the areas was for A-B people so that is what beers they had available. Granted, this was not ideal testing conditions as I was "working" and it was about 50 F and I was wearing lederhosen. I didn't think the American Ale was was that bad at all, very drinkable. I also tried the Michelob Dunkel Weizen and that was drinkable as was the Bock. Afterwards I asked the bartender (she was in our tent so we got to know her) what was the most popular beer (they had the whole A-B line up available). She said the American Ale was a close send to Bud light. I think this will be a popular beer. It is certainly boring compared to what most of us are used to, and like. However is has some flavor and is very poundable.

 

[thataintchicken]

But I wanna share a little factoid with y'all...I'm in the process of doing an oxyclean bottle soak to remove the labels on all the empties I haven't got around to doing yet...and I had barely submereged the bottles when the labels on the BAA had begun to float off...Probably the fastest label removal I have ever seen.

+1 on the BAA labels.
Those as well as Redhook labels are very easy to remove.

 

[Chriso]

Too bad they had to imprint that eagle inta the bottle. Boo. Feh, what am I saying, I have about 10 cases too many already.

 

[HuggerOrange]

I just finished bottle 5 of 6 and I'm still undecided. On one hand I think it is drinkable - certainly not the swill that is their lager. On the flip side I want more out of it - there's not enough of any certain taste to home in on and say that's what I like about this beer. And at $7 a six I don't know if I can do it again. If I want to feel good about an AB product I'll but the Michelob sampler. At $11 for the twelve the Marzen is good, the Irish Red is above average, the Pale Ale beats the snot out of American Ale and the Porter is passable. That's the way to go in my book !!

 

[DrewsBrew]

I'm drinking my first (and probably my last) Budweiser American ale right now. Although it exceeds my expectations, they were very low to begin with so that's probably not saying much. It's definitely 100 times better than regular Budweiser, but 100 times worse than the stuff I'm accustomed to. I don't expect this beer to succeed because it will be too flavorful for fizzy yellow piss drinkers, but far to weak for microbrew and homebrew drinkers. I'll give credit to Budweiser for a valiant effort, but my money will continue to go toward homebrew ingredients and quality mircobrews.

Edit: I poured a DFH 60 right after drinking the Bud Am. ale and was quickly reminded why I will never spend a dime on that stuff.

I'm on my 4th six pack right now of this stuff. As I drink more, I like it more. Perhaps its because I've been away from the hop bombs for a while. Taste buds tend to dull out when continually slammed with IPAs, double IPAs, etc. Since you drink DFH that would explain why you are not into this stuff. I think the people who are more into a milder ale will like this. Sure its not on par with Fullers Pale but I can go down to the local store and get this for 5.99.

 

[Jeffro]

I finally got a chance to try the Bud American Ale this weekend and now I know why dogs lick thier asses...

It's to get the taste of Bud American Ale out of thier mouth....

 

[HOOTER]

I'm on my 4th six pack right now of this stuff. As I drink more, I like it more. Perhaps its because I've been away from the hop bombs for a while. Taste buds tend to dull out when continually slammed with IPAs, double IPAs, etc. Since you drink DFH that would explain why you are not into this stuff. I think the people who are more into a milder ale will like this. Sure its not on par with Fullers Pale but I can go down to the local store and get this for 5.99.

Yeah, I'm an extreme hophead, and if I'm not drinking an IPA it's a porter or stout. BAA can't compete with anything from Stone, Deschutes, Rogue, or any of my other favorite breweries, but if your into the more mild and simple ale's then it may be right up your alley.

 

[natelatte]

Better than their lager, but not better than very much else

 

[Cistercian]

I'm in a pub and I'm drinking my second Bud Am-Ale. The first I drank from the bottle. The second I drank from a pint glass.

I have to admit that I was initially impressed. I had worked myself into thinking that it wouldn't be junk. It's a decent ale. If a friend brewed this and gave me a six of it, I'd be pleased.

I like Sierra Nevada PA but to be honest it's not what I want when I'm eating food - because the hops interfere. This Bud Ale is a nice meal-time ale. It actually went along pretty well with my nachos.

Sure, it's not going to satisfy the hop-heads, but Bud knew that they could never truly woo the craft brew hop crowd. Bud simply wants to capture the college kids and twenty/thirty somethings with an ale that has flavor. It's the Bud that people drink when they want flavor, not mere drunkeness. And in this they have succeeded with an ale that will make inroads among the American consumer.

Something to remember: Bud isn't in the business of impressing all of us who actually study and care about well-made beers (and read forums about how to make sophisticated beer) - they're in the business of making a lot of money.

 

[FireBrewer]

I was impressed with the color and hop aroma (for A-B), but the body was so watery thin. Tasted like Costco's attempt at making pizza. It has sauce, crust, and pepperonis but pales in comparison to other examples.

I drank about 1/4 of it and dumped the rest out, couldn't finish it.

 

[Kaiser]

I actually like it. It's a nice middle of the road PA although I wish there was more hop presence in aroma and flavor.

Is this Ale bashed b/c it comed form AB (ahem, inbev now) or because it doesn't live up to high taste standards. If it is the latter then there are a number of micro brewed PA that need bashing too.

I like my beers middle of the road and mild. That's why I don't care much for most west-coast over the top APAs and IPAs

Kai

 

[Duckfoot]

Since Taco Mac has this as the beer of the month, and they give away pint glasses with a purchase, I decided in the spirit of open mindedness, to give it a shot...

Not the worst beer I have ever had... Not in the top 10 or 20, but a pseudo-respectable attempt considering it's source...

 

[mmb]

It's not a Pale Ale like a SNPA. It's an American Amber and while not a stellar example of the style, it isn't bad.

It does taste much better at around 50* than at 33*. Bit of malt, bit of hop, and some body.

 

[Mr. Nice Guy]

Say whatever you want beer snobs, but the Budweiser American Ale is good beer! I love malty beer and this stuff is awesome. I had one after a Modus Hoperandi (SKA) and it still was good! It is a good sweet malty beer with a bit of cascade coming through, almost grape-fruity by the end of a beer. BTW I have always thought BMC sucked but this beer is in a different league. It reminds me of the smell of homebrew, mmm...

 

[thataintchicken]

Bud American Ale is $5.99 a sixxer at the store across the street.

I have to say, It's not the worst beer out there. It's been my go to beer if my pipeline is empty.

The 7-11 2 blocks away saved a case of it for me. yes, I bought it and drank it.

I used the bottles for SWMBO's porter

 

[thataintchicken]

Tasted like Costco's attempt at making pizza. It has sauce, crust, and pepperonis but pales in comparison to other examples.

Great analogy. :rockin:

Thing is, Costco uses crappy sauce, borderline cardboard crusts and cheese from another planet.

I am biased. I manage a pizza place. fresh cheese, fresh dough, almost fresh toppings

 

[FireBrewer]

Thing is, Costco uses crappy sauce, borderline cardboard crusts and cheese from another planet.

Yeah, I have a hard time telling where the pizza stops and the cardboard box begins.

 

[Brewkowski]

So what will this lead to? Could this back fire and people that are drinking millions of gallons of Bud will end up knowing what beer could taste like. I mean people didn't start on homebrews, or great wine, it's like a nice gateway drug. The more that people learn what malt and hops tastes like, the more demand there will be for quality beer. Worse case scenario, Bud or the other big players will turn into massive versions of Boston or Sierra. Not sure how that would end up. Maybe it would end up bringing down the price of micro and craft beers. I mean I love me some three floyds, but $11 a six pack isn't something i can afford to drink all the time.

 

[fastricky]

Well, I finally gave in and bought a 6-pack today to know... here's what I say:

- Packaging: Very good. I like the graphics and general look/feel of the 'brand'. Say what you will, but it counts.

- Aroma: Light, but in the right ballpark. You CAN smell some of the Cascade. You gotta concentrate, but it is there.

- Mouthfeel: Light to medium-light. Dry. One step up from Bud and no more.

- Color: Very nice. Clear amber. This is something you can't fault the big guys for.

- Taste: Not objectionable. But nothing to write home about. I can see how AB went about marketing/creating this and it is definitely a stepping stone for Bud drinkers towards a craft beer. It's a 'light' American Ale for those of us used to a real American Ale like say, a Rogue American Ale or the equivalent. It's just too dry, though there is a decent malt flavor.

Final Analysis: If there was nothing but BMC stuff and this was on tap, it'd be the winner by a longshot. And yes, there are some micro-beers I'd order the AB American Ale over for sure. It isn't bad, and if THIS was BUDWEISER, wow, that'd be amazing because going forward from here would be very interesting. But if you had this to chose from compared to a comparable micro, there'd still be no contest in my book.

One man's opinion y'all!

 

[svengoat]

I've had 1 or 2 in the past week... I think I keep getting them for the bottles... I'm gonna clean and reuse them for my ales.. I'm with the guys that posted about the metallic taste, there's something oddly not good about the after taste.. Little to no mouth feel, but I'm used to my own craft beers.. I'm sure I could pound a case of these watching football, and it may be a hit with those that never had a good ale before.. Plus it's $$ here, why buy that when I can get a decent IPA for the same price??

 

[Chello]

I had one at an event this past Saturday and it was a fine beer. Nothing special but i did have several of them, only due to the fact that my other choices were Bud Select, Bud Light Lime, and Bud....

I wouldn't buy it at the store as you can find a much better beer for the same price, but it was enjoyable.

 

[Schlenkerla]

I wonder how much of this is a trial balloon for AB-Inbev. They could so easily make a whole variety of beers if the geared up for it in the right way.

If I was an exec at AB-Inbev I'd think about breaking into the Brew-Pub & Restaurant Business. Create foods & beer for the ultimate pairing.

One could create a whole menu arranged by beer selection. So if you selected the IPA, you might have a choice spicy fish tacos, Jambalaya, Cajun Pizza, Chili.

That would be too cool for somebody who makes a bunch of cash on flavorless swill.

I wonder if Bud Ale Triple Hopped like miller lite?

 

[JGB]

I'm on my second six pack of Bud American Ale

1. Smell reminds me of stirring the my homebrew wort. (which is a plus)
2. Taste is Malty goodness, I would never guess "Budweiser" if I didn't already know
(normally I'll just pass on drinking beer if the only choice is Bud or Bud Light).
3. Bottles are great for HomeBrew

I'll probably buy another 6-pack someday between batches.

 

[pvtschultz]

I'm on my second six pack of Bud American Ale

1. Smell reminds me of stirring the my homebrew wort. (which is a plus)
2. Taste is Malty goodness, I would never guess "Budweiser" if I didn't already know
(normally I'll just pass on drinking beer if the only choice is Bud or Bud Light).
3. Bottles are great for HomeBrew

I'll probably buy another 6-pack someday between batches.

I too liked the beer and wouldn't mind an AG brew similar to it. To me it is a good dinner beer that can be sessioned if the meal isn't too heavy. And the bottles are very nice. They remind me of the New Glarus bottles that I am very fond of and readily collect.

 

[flowerysong]

I had it once. It wasn't bad.

http://blog.flowerysong.com/2009/05/11/budweiser-american-ale/

 

[Alleydude]

I'm on my second six pack of Bud American Ale

1. Smell reminds me of stirring the my homebrew wort. (which is a plus)
2. Taste is Malty goodness, I would never guess "Budweiser" if I didn't already know
(normally I'll just pass on drinking beer if the only choice is Bud or Bud Light).
3. Bottles are great for HomeBrew

I'll probably buy another 6-pack someday between batches.

I tried it last night and agree with JGB above. I really liked it. It wasn't over powering, maybe just a touch on the weak side, but it is certainly on my "Between Brew" list. Thrilled that the bottles are pop-top.