How on earth can Budweiser say this...?

[Rev2010]

Lol, I don't understand the hate towards Bud, Miller-Coors etc..

Hmm, I didn't personally take this thread as a hate rant against the big boys, just a comment they made that is in itself ridiculous by all accounts. There are plenty of beers out there that cost far far more to manufacture. That said, I do hate Budweiser, not the company. There are plenty of beers that have been produced under than Anheuser brand that I really loved. Bud itself tastes horrible to me, and that's fine. There are many craft breweries that produce beers I hate. No surprise there. I don't go ranting against them nor do I rant against Budweiser. But, truth of the matter is Bud is so very popular because of its very low cost and tremendous advertising, not because its truly the "King of beers". And with a moniker like that making such a beer is certain to draw a high degree of criticism, can't see what's unusual about that. As for Miller, I actually like some run of the mill Miller beers! I really like Genuine Draft for example. I don't buy it often at all, but every once in a blue I do pickup and drink some 22oz bottles. As for light beer, I hate light beer, but when in a pinch I find out of the big three I like Miller light the most.

Lastly, if you were a professional brewer trying to get your beer on the shelf only to have to fight the big conglomerate of Anheuser Busch who's offering soooo many incentives to stores to create whole isles of AB shelves and advertising I think you'd have a completely different outlook on the company.


Rev.

 

[kwgriz]

Because they have good lawyers!

 

[Krutzed]

Maybe hate was the wrong word. Disdain fits better. The big boys are a product of American capitalism through several centuries.

My point is I respect and many ways admire what they have done.

 

[Beerbeque]

I think that Budweiser is truly one of the best examples of the most popular ( by far) beer style on earth, but I'd rather drink ale myself.

 

[Brew_Dude41]

Anyone want to guess when that line was written? Considering that the line in the OP is probably almost 80 years old or older, there is a good chance that it may not have been just a marketing line. At the time of inception it could have been the premium beer by all counts, and there is nothing that requires the to change their label or moto.
Just because it laughable now doesn't mean it was then. They didn't get to what they are now on slick marketing alone--but I am sure that it doesn't hurt either.

 

[BobBailey]

I took a tour at Their Houston, TX brewery many years ago and remember a sign breaking down some of the costs. Can't remember exactly, but the cost of ingredients and production was dwarfed by that of advertising and packaging.

 

[lawlslawls]

the main reason I think ABI can get away with putting this statement on their can is simply because no one who cares about that sort of thing has anything close to the amount of money necessary to take ABI on in court.
a lesser reason, (and I think ABI would use this as their defense if they for some reason ever did have to defend the statement in court), is because there is legal precedent for allowing what's known as 'puffery'. puffery is basically a claim that is so outrageous, and so obviously false, that no reasonable person would ever take it as truth, and thus would never be misled by the (blatantly) false advertising

 

[myelo]

Wait ... does this mean Miller High Life may not really be the Champagne of beers?

 

[CastleHollow]

Hey; where is the best place to buy ingredients. Stevee.
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Last edited by lancegroup1; Yesterday at 04:35 PM. Reason: MISS SPELLING

Ironic.

Back on topic: AB can do that because it is part of their registered trademark. I believe the language for their "creed" originated in the late 1800's, and they have incorporated it into their packaging ever since.

 

[brew_ny]

Wait ... does this mean Miller High Life may not really be the Champagne of beers?

yes and there is no Santa Claus

sorry

S_M

 

[zwiller]

It's marketing like this that allows the BMC guys to smirk at me when I snag the occasional sixer of Old Milwaukee. Least it is American...

 

[ericbw]

Many years ago I heard that Michael Jackson (the beer hunter, not the pop singer) was asked what he thought about Budweiser. He said that no beer company in the world spends as much money and as much time as Anheiser Busch does to consistently make a bad beer. This may be an urban legend, but I like it anyway.

Except that he was wrong. Budweiser doesn't make bad beer. They make beer that some people don't like.

 

[Roadie]

Can you imagine how much it must cost per day to hold 80 Trillion gallons of Bud? That fact alone makes it the most expensive.

 

[ericbw]

Anyone want to guess when that line was written? Considering that the line in the OP is probably almost 80 years old or older, there is a good chance that it may not have been just a marketing line. At the time of inception it could have been the premium beer by all counts, and there is nothing that requires the to change their label or moto.
Just because it laughable now doesn't mean it was then. They didn't get to what they are now on slick marketing alone--but I am sure that it doesn't hurt either.

Right about the fact that they don't sell beer based on marketing alone. You only sell one six pack that way. If it's no good, then people don't keep buying it. (We've all bought the Sam Adams pumpkin, or an apple ale, or Crispin's The Saint... they look good in the package, but they aren't good in your mouth.)

The discussion always seems to be about the fact that it's consistent, or that it's piss water, or that it's a huge corporation, so they must be bad. Rarely does the conversation include the fact that Budweiser is good beer for what it is. And one of the reasons it tastes like it does just might be the beechwood "aging" that they use. Who knows.

 

[ericbw]

Like how Pabst never won a blue ribbon?

I don't think it says it won a blue ribbon, does it? It implies it, but never says it. (And it used to be called Best. Was it really the best?)

It did, however, win a gold medal in recent years. So it's not like it's bad beer.

 

[revelation]

An instructor at the ABG in Vermont broke down the Bud brewing process during a class I took. In Bev AB do spend a lot of money on having more types brew vessels and sorts of tanks than many other breweries. Of course, the idea behind these vessels is to remove flavor elements and volatiles. They use beechwood that has been thoroughly treated so as to have no flavor, so that they can put it in the chip tanks as a yeast collection device to remove as much as possible from the final product (eliminating flavors from the yeast) - this is before filtering. All told, Budweiser from In Bev is a way more complicated brew than many craft beers.

 

[ericbw]

So am I. watch the videos & you'll see this giant friggin' tank (Room used in Star Trek movie where they're young noobs) & they put this tiny bit of it shaped like very thin planks along the bottom for the yeast, not "aging for flavor". That's all marketing lies. Since no-one challenges them, they get away with it & the Gov get's it's money. He who has the money makes & breaks the damn rules. I say screw the rules & kill-em all! Drown'em like rats in their own horse wizz!

Killing seems like an extreme reaction to someone using beechwood in their beer.

 

[unionrdr]

It just bugs me that they make all these claims for their fizzy, near-flavorless yellow stuff. But the underhanded things they do to control the market are just plain wrong.

 

[Mad4sax]

What if it is a trademark slogan? As a Trademark does it need to be the truth?? Any lawyers on the forum??

 

[LandoLincoln]

What if it is a trademark slogan? As a Trademark does it need to be the truth?? Any lawyers on the forum??

They're not lying, though. Just being disingenuous.

 

[petey_c]

So if I brew a beer and throw some beechwood chips in during secondary can I then say that they don't have exclusive beechwood aging?

If they included amateur brewing I guess not.
I too, misunderstood their advert BS. I threw some beechwood chips in a brew that I split. The chips added batch tasted slightly better. Then my fellow homebrewers here shot down my dreams with facts...