Beer Radar

After a mere 132 years, Anheuser-Busch has finally put the Budweiser label on an ale. My sample arrived today in a handsome package with the proper glassware and a bit of press info.

The cover letter signed by brewmaster Eric Beck says that “Budweiser has defined the American-style lager, yet no single ale recipe has emerged to define the American-style ale - grown from domestic barley and hops, brewed in the American tradition, and appealing to the new American palate. We believe we have found that beer in the new Budweiser American Ale.”

Let’s deconstruct that statement.

Budweisier has defined the American-style lager… Twenty years ago, I would’ve conceded that point. Nobody sold more beer than Budweiser. True, its recipe was based on a European style, but it was tweaked and lightened enough (thank you, rice) to be a different, wholly American lager. From the end of Prohibition to 1980, when you said beer, you probably meant something very much like Budweiser. But today’s prototypical American-style lager is not Budweiser. It’s Bud Lite - much lighter in body, flavor, aroma, everything.

Yet no single ale recipe has emerged to define the American-style ale… Probably true. And that’s a good thing. The marvel of the craft beer is the variety of flavors manifested by dozens of distinct styles of ale. Pale ale, amber ale, India pale ale, barleywine, stout, porter, abbey ale. The fundamental character of American brewing today is that our beer can not be defined by one, single style. Our brewers are not hemmed in by Old World conventions that dictate the flavor of, say, a German lager or an English bitter. They’ve evolved, and so has the palate of many beer drinkers. Indeed, you might even say that if it weren’t for that growth, for the willingness to embrace a variety of flavors (say, something other than run-of-the-mill American industrial lager), there would be no such thing as Budweiser American Ale.

Grown from domestic barley and hops… So now the origin of the ingredients defines “American?” First of all, provenance is a wine conceit. Second, not even the UAW toes that line any more. The good news, though, is that this is an all-malt beer - no corn and rice, domestic or otherwise.

Brewed in the American tradition… With: downsized workforces; reduced health insurance coverage and underfunded pensions; outsourced customer service; tax breaks for its millionaire owners; non-existent federal oversight; disregard for environmental regulations; and foreign ownership.

And appealing to the new American palate…  I can’t even imagine what this empty claim means. Most Americans still eat at McDonald’s, still buy white bread, still drink Bud Light. If there’s anything “new,” it’s the fact that America’s biggest brewery has finally conceded that there’s a small but growing segment that enjoys fuller, fresher flavors from local producers. But Anheuser-Busch can never be small or local, and it would go out of business if its products weren’t aimed at more mainstream tastes.

So, how does this stuff taste?

No one who favors the pale ales from, say, Yards or Smuttynose, is going to drink Budweiser American Ale. I’m assuming it’ll be priced to compete against Sam Adams, but even there it falls way short in overall character and flavor. It pours bright, more red than amber. It’s not as crisp as Budweiser, but it has a clean finish. Though it has been dry-hopped with Cascades, its nose carries only a mild hop aroma. I get only a little of the fruitiness of a standard pale ale and surprisingly (given its color) very little malt. The hop flavor is noticeable but, at a reported 28 IBUs, is on the low side for an amber ale. I’d define the flavor as lowest common denominator - but since we’re talking ale, that means it’s far more distinctive than the usual fizzy yellow water. The big disappointment for me is body; it just feels thin and overly filtered, as if A-B’s tastemasters can’t believe Americans will drink something that isn’t as over-processed as Coca-Cola.

Look for it on tap in mid-September, and in bottles by Sept. 30. I doubt it’ll be a bust like Miller Lite’s craft beer debacle. But it won’t be Michelob Ultra, either.

But, hey, here’s a bonus. You know how when forget you’ve got half a bottle of regular Bud left, and it turns lukewarm and tastes like piss? Budweiser American Ale still actually tastes OK above 50 degrees.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 5th, 2008 at 5:24 pm and is filed under Beer etc.. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.