Budweiser Select 55 Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Budweiser Select 55
Style: American Adjunct Light Lager | ABV: 2.4% | IBUs: ~7
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

The lightest beer in the world. Oh, boy.

In what appears to be the last stop in the race to the bottom that is the low-calorie beer war, Bud Select 55 has reigned supreme as the lightest beer in the world since its introduction back in 2009. It clocks in at 55 calories (duh) and 1.9 grams of carbs. Pretty sure I've had water more fattening than that on occasion.

AB doesn't provide any information on the ingredient bill besides mentioning "caramel malts and a blend of imported and domestic hopping." Here's how they describe the profile:

Select 55 has a light golden color and offers aroma notes of toasted malt and subtle hopping.

I'm trying my best not to be condescending here (I swear). I suppose these types of beer serve a purpose. I must keep an open mind.

Alright, let's pop the top on this lightweight and see what it's like to drink a beer with the caloric content of three Cheetos and a stick of gum.

Appearance: A perfectly clear golden-straw body capped by about a finger of white head that fizzles out quickly and leaves just a hint of sudsy lacing.

Aroma: A faint and watery mix of sweet grains and a hint of grassy hops.

Taste: A twangy and sweetish rice body accompanied by some weak, almost-implied grassy bitterness. A crisp, clean, and damn-near flavorless aftertaste. Have you ever had Bud Light? How about water? Mix ‘em up and this is pretty much what you get.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied with sharp carbonation.

Drinkability: Besides the fact that it’s bland, industrial beer-water this is a highly drinkable summbitch.

Verdict: If you want a buzz without too many calories, Bud Light already exists. If you don’t like the taste of beer, there are plenty of alternatives out there. If you want to cut the flavor, calorie count, and alcohol content off a Bud Light in half, potable tap water is available in almost all American households. So why the hell does this exist?

Grade: D-

Budweiser Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Budweiser
Style: American Adjunct Lager | ABV: 5.0% | IBUs: ~12
Serving Method: 16 oz. can poured into Pilsener glass

Known as the "King of Beers," Budweiser is the most iconic brew in the world and, for many, represents the "default" beer. It's been around for 135 years and serves the flagship product for the biggest brewer in the US. Put succinctly, this beer is a juggernaut.

Budweiser was born out of a trip Adolphus Busch took to Bohemia in 1876, where he got acquainted with the lagers of the area. With the beer's release later that year and it's subsequent success, Budweiser helped change American taste in beer from darker ales to lighter lagers.

These days, the king has been supplanted by the prince, as light beers have taken control of the market, pushing Bud Light into the role of the real breadwinner of the family. Old man Budweiser is still the flagship brew though, and the heritage machine is in working order, churning out all of the Clydesdales and beech-wood chip images it can.

As for what's actually in the can, the malt bill calls for two and six-row barley, verdant rice (up to 30%), an unnamed blend of ten hop varieties, and yeast that dates back to that used by Adolphus himself. The beer is aged on beech-wood chips, which are used for their ability to gather sediment (along with marketing), rather than for imparting any wood flavors into the beer.

Let's see if the king's crown is warranted, shall we?

Appearance: A crystal-clear, effervescent, and golden-straw body capped by two fingers of fluffy white head that burn out quickly, leaving only the barest patches of lacing on the way down.

Aroma: Floral and lemony hops over sweet grain; rather faint overall.

Taste: Up front, a hint of grassy and lemony hops. Underneath, a thoroughly sweet grainy malt backbone. It’s all just thin and bland, a real snooze-fest. Light grain in the mostly clean finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with sharp carbonation and a clean finish.

Drinkability: As expected, this goes back with the greatest of ease. All that could stand in your way is stomach volume and sheer banality.

Verdict: Not surprisingly, I’m not going to be ready to bow down to this “king” any time soon. Watery, boring, thin, and too sweet, Budweiser is just what you’d expect it to be.

Grade: D

Bud Ice Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Bud Ice
Style: American Adjunct Lager | ABV: 5.5% | IBUs: ~10
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

Ah, the North American ice beer. Unlike their bigger German cousins, American and Canadian ice beers are essentially just your typical crappy adjunct lager frozen to remove some of the water and boost the alcohol content a bit. The problem is, when you filter that water out, you end up filtering out yeast cells and protein particles as well, resulting in a more potent, yet less flavorful beer.

Introduced in 1994, Bud Ice is one of the most popular ice beers out there. While it lacks a little of the punch found in the competition, it's claimed to have more flavor. Despite all this, Bud Ice is best known for those "duby duby doo" penguin ads.

Also, for some unknown reason, there's also a light version of Bud Ice. If anyone can explain that one to me, I'll buy you a beer.

Anyway, with the temperature above 100 in Houston today, the ice-shaped bottle is enticing. Let's get to it.

Appearance: A crystal-clear, paler-than-pale straw body with a bubbly white head that burns out rapidly and leaves no lacing.

Aroma: Sweet, grainy malt with the barest hints of hops. Clean and thin.

Taste: It's all grainy, ricey, and slightly sweet malt up front. Then... there's really nothing to back it up. If you go looking for it, you may be able to pick out some grassy hops towards the end, just don't bet on it. The aftertaste is grainy and rather short-lived.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied and watery with lots of fizzy carbonation.

Drinkability: The only thing holding you back is the utter blandness of it all.

Verdict: Let's do a mental exercise. I want you to imagine a bottle of Bud Light with a percent more alcohol and perhaps a little more grainy malt. Can you see it? There, now I've saved you from ever bothering to try this. Bleh.

Grade: D-

Landshark Lager Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Landshark Lager
Style: American Adjunct Lager | ABV: 4.7% | IBUs: ~10
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Pilsener glass

As far back as I can remember, there's been one nagging question in the beer community that kept resurfacing: "What would a beer made by Jimmy Buffet taste like?" Well, a few years ago we got our answer, and it took the form of Landshark Lager.

To be blunt, this beer is simply a product of marketing. I'm not necessarily bashing that—I work in marketing for God's sake—I'm just saying it needs to be taken into account. Someone at AB had the brilliant idea of releasing a beer for parrotheads and the "Margaritaville Brewing Co." was born. What's in the bottle never really mattered.

Perhaps I'm just being a cynical old git, though. Perhaps Jimmy really cared and wanted to produce a relatively full-flavored adjunt lager; really crank out the best version of the style on the market. I'm willing to be an optimist for a second here.

Let's dive in.

Appearance: A crystal-clear, golden-straw body with two fingers of fluffy white head that features decent retention and lacing. Not too shabby.

Aroma: Typical macro: corny and grainy malt with some bare hints of grassy hops.

Taste: Bleh. A sweet base of corny and grainy malt with a few notes of sour apple and grassy hops on occasion. The aftertaste is grainy and short-lived.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with good carbonation.

Drinkability: Easy enough to drink, but it's just so bland that there's not much motivation to keep going.

Verdict: While it's hardly a surprise that Landshark is not a good beer, it's certainly no worse that your standard macro lager. Call it "Corona With a Shark On It."

Grade: D+

Bud Light Golden Wheat Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Bud Light Golden Wheat
Style: Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer | ABV: 4.1% | IBUs: ~5
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into Weizen glass

Brewing goliath Anheuser-Busch has recently started adding line extensions to it's core brands—Budweiser and Bud Light. Compared to the old model of setting up faux-microbrew brands, the new practice of expanding the company's existing brands really ends up as a win-win. There's no perception of shenanigans for beer geeks, and the Budweiser/Bud Light customer base is probably more likely to venture out to try news styles when they are offered by brands they are familiar with.

The first of such extensions, Bud Light Lime and Budweiser American Ale, have worked out quite well for the mega-brewer and they're eager to keep expanding. Pitched as "one of the most highly anticipated new product launches of 2009," Bud Light Golden Wheat is the second line extension for the Bud Light brand (not counting the god-awful Cheladas).

While wheat-themed brews are usually ales, this is (from what I can tell, at least) a lager-based excursion. It seems that the brewers were shooting for something resembling a Witbier/Light Lager hybrid, as the beer is brewed with coriander and citrus peel. Since Witbier/Light Lager is not a recognized style, I've gone ahead and listed it as a Spice/Herb/Vegetable Beer, as that seems to be the closest match listed in the BJCP style guidelines (BeerAdvocate agrees with me).

According to Bud Light brand manager Bruce Eames:

Bud Light Golden Wheat has all the personality of Bud Light and appeals to light beer drinkers who seek a little more flavor from their beer. Consumer interest in a more flavorful light beer drove our decision to develop Bud Light Golden Wheat, and we are pleased to offer brewery tour guests the unique opportunity to sample the beer before its nationwide launch.

I'm a little skeptical about this one, but let's twist it open and see what's inside.

Appearance: A nicely hazy, golden-amber body with a big white head that features decent retention and lacing. Lo an behold, there's even some sediment at the bottom of the bottle. Not much wrong with the way it looks.

Aroma: A neutered wheat body with some definite notes of citrus and spice. It's a little thin, but that's hardly a surprise.

Taste: Things quickly go south in the flavor profile—there's just not much here. It's predictably crisp, with mild citrus and just a hint of mixed spice. In a bizarre fashion, wheat only really shows up in the tangy aftertaste, and what's left of the malt is extremely watered down. At times, you can't find much of a malt backbone at all—and with the low (or totally absent) hop presence, all you're left with is a little citrus.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied with sharp carbonation and a crisp, clean finish.

Drinkability: Clearly, this beer was built for rapid consumption, and it delivers on that promise.

Verdict: Golden Wheat is almost totally devoid of flavor—imagine drinking a Witbier while you have an extreme cold—which is, frankly, a better result than I had feared. Here's hoping it somehow helps push some more people into exploring the world of beer.

Grade: D

Bud Light Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Bud Light
Style: American Adjunct Light Lager | ABV: 4.2%
Serving Method: 24 oz. can poured into Pilsener glass

This review is a part of an article on the American Adjunct Light Lager as part of the monthly beer blogging project The Session.

Introduced as Anheuser-Busch's answer to the popular Miller Lite (and to a lesser degree, Coors Light) in 1982, Bud Light has become the best selling beer in the world (according to AB). As with it's fellow Light Lagers, the product is differentiated and made successful mostly by it's marketing. Bud Light has been pitched with some truly brilliant ads including "Swear Jar" and the "Real Men of Genius " radio series.

Their latest campaign centers on one of Bud Light's core product attributes, "The Difference Is Drinkability." The message, apparently, is that you don't want anything like flavor getting in the way of drinking as much beer as possible. I suppose if that's what you're drinking for, Bud Light isn't a bad choice.

As for the beer itself, it's your typical American Adjunct Light Lager; a low-calorie, light-bodied beer with an "inoffensive" flavor profile. Here's how AB describe the ingredients:

Bud Light is made with a blend of two and six-row malt and cereal grains for a clean and crisp, smooth taste. In addition, it is brewed with all-natural ingredients - water, barley malt, rice, hops and yeast.

Mmm, nothing like an ice-cold rice beer to unwind with after a hard day.

Appearance: The standard crystal-clear, pale straw-yellow body with a fizzy white head that recedes rapidly.

Aroma: Sweet and grainy with a somewhat fuller body than you usually get in this style (still firmly in the thin territory). In place of hops, a handful of crisp fruitiness.

Taste: A thin, grainy malt body with the barest hints of hops, but no bitterness to speak of. Compared to other American macro light beers, Bud Light has perhaps a little fuller flavor profile and is not as plagued with skunkiness.

Mouthfeel: A little fuller than average, but still very thin compared to most beer. Fizzy with a dry finish.

Drinkability: The usual Light Lager Catch-22; it goes down easily but there's not much desire to keep going.

Verdict: This tastes like college to me. A somewhat fuller body and more pronounced flavor profile than many in this style, but still amazingly bland and shallow. If faced with a choice between a Bud Light, Miller Lite, or Coors Light I suppose this is would be my second choice.

Grade: D

Budweiser American Ale Review

Brewery: Anheuser-Busch, Inc. | Beer: Budweiser American Ale
Style: American Amber Ale | ABV: 5.1%
Serving Method: 12 oz. bottle poured into pint glass

By now, I'm sure you've been exposed to plenty of marketing for Anheuser-Busch's newest beer: Budweiser American Ale. The commercials promise a bold beer dry-hopped with one of the most exalted varieties in the American craft-brew realm: the Cascade. American Ale is an all-malt beer, with caramel malt as the spotlight ingredient. I'm glad to see that Anheuser-Busch went with an all-malt backbone for this beer, it would have been quite a joke if it were loaded up with rice like it's brothers in the Budweiser line.

I do like the fact that they're being honest this time, and packaging this as part of the Budweiser brand, instead of a fake craft-brewery with a heart-warming country scene on their six-pack holders. I actually really like the packaging they went with, I think it fits the image they're striving for. The bottles even feature a pry-off cap, instead of the regular twist-off. I think that's AB's way of adding a touch of class to the beer...

Appearance: Crystal-clear copper body. Pours a good two-finger, frothy head that leaves decent lacing. This presents rather well.

Aroma: Pretty thin. There's some sweet caramel malt and some hints at the advertised Cascade hops, but nothing substantial.

Taste: Once again, very thin. There's an initial burst of caramel malt that fades rapidly. I'm not getting the characteristic Cascade citrus, or really anything out of the hop department at all. There's still that shitty twang and the bizarre metallic taste you get with other AB beers. Not really much in the way of an aftertaste, except a bit of biscuity malt.

Mouthfeel: A watery light body, with smooth carbonation. Very poor.

Drinkability: With hardly any flavor and a thin body, this goes back only slightly slower than water. Thing is, you probably won't be ordering a second anyway.

Verdict: Fool me twice, shame on me. American Ale is just another bland Anheuser-Busch beer. While it might be the best of the line, that really doesn't count for anything. If all you drink is Bud Light and you're looking for something a little more daring, you really can't go wrong with American Ale as a stepping stone. However, if you're already solidly in the craft-beer world, this is nothing but a novelty.

Grade: D