Boozin’ Blog

A-B and I don’t always see eye-to-eye on what’s good beer. I could live a life-time without having another Budweiser lager and die a happy man. But they’re releasing three new brews this month that are forcing me to reconsider my opinion of Anheuser-Busch beer. You should check them out.

First is the Budweiser American Ale. For now we’ll overlook the ostentatious claim that with this beer Bud is “defining American ale,” something they missed the boat on years ago if it was ever possible at all to define ale with one beer. The beer itself is really quite enjoyable. I tried some at a beer festival back in May and was unimpressed with the sweet, characterless brew. But the brewmaster told me that they were still tweaking the recipe and I must say they’ve had a productive summer. They shipped a couple of bottles to me recently that it is greatly improved.

Now let’s look at Michelob Dunkel Weisse. I’m not the biggest fan of the sweet wheat ale of Bavaria but I’m nevertheless impressed with this brew. It’s a good interpretation of the style and an interesting choice for A-B. The style isn’t all that well known in the US so it may well serve as an introduction to American beer drinkers to the many German beer styles beyond Pilsner.

And finally Michelob Pale Ale, of the lot this one is easily my favorite. I never thought that I’d say this about a beer from Anheuser-Busch but this ale is hoppy and very enjoyable. It’s not going to become a go-to beer for me but I certainly enjoyed the sample that they sent me and chances are pretty good that I’ll be buying a six pack for myself.

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