Water or Bud? by Casey Rheid The recent uproar about possible class action suits against Anheuser- Busch for watering down some of their products got me to thinking. Would anyone notice if their Budweiser, Bud Light, Michelob, etc, was actually watered down? Would it really affect the taste of the beer? Are they serious? That in turn got me to consider what really makes you choose a beer to drink? Whether it's from your local beer store, refrigerator or restaurant, what causes you to pick one beer over another? The simple answer for me - it’s all about the taste. But it also goes much deeper than that. When it comes to taste, I want my beer to taste like something. Something tangible. Something familiar. I want enough flavor so that I'd actually have something to describe the taste to others. Just check out the Bottles to Growlers section of BeerNexus and read a few of the reviews. I always get a kick out of some of the terms used to describe the beer but at least it is descriptive. Ask any drinker of macro lagers to describe the taste of their beers and the most common response will invariably be “it tastes like beer." Not a great answer. It does however beg the question, so what does beer actually taste like? There’s not a simple answer to that question, but a starting point would be looking at the four main ingredients required to make beer: water, malt, yeast and hops. Many large-scale breweries also add up to 30% rice or corn syrup to the brewing process. These are known as adjuncts and something that is generally frowned upon in the craft beer world. They're viewed as cost-saving ingredients, rather than something to impart more flavor into the beer. Having said that, water and rice are the two main flavors I detect when drinking something like a Budweiser or Michelob Ultra - two ingredients that hardly contain any flavor at all. If one of these beers was to be watered down I seriously don’t believe anyone would notice a difference. I have a sneaking suspicion that more than a few Bud and Coors Light drinkers pick those beers, because of their lack of flavor. Those are the same folks that then make sure they're having the beer ice cold in a frosted glass. Even if the beer had some flavor that would just about neutralize it all. Could it be that the big lure for those drinkers is the beer's alcohol? I remember in the early 1990s that Moosehead Light had a great radio commercial. It straight forwardly asked: "How does a drinker of other light beers know it's time for their next beer? They think, 'Hmm, that sip wasn't as wet as the last one.'" Does Bud think their beer is tasteless? My bet is yes considering they used this tag line in the introduction of a new beer: "Taste is making an entrance on 02.03.13,” with our new Budweiser Black Crown label" Pretty funny stuff even if it was likely unintentional. Budweiser/Miller/Coors has always been far more about marketing than beer. Creative commercials and slick ads can sell just about anything to just about anyone. When Bud dumped mega-millions into the emerging steamroller of television, it was the death knell for countless regional breweries. By 2005 the number of ”traditional American breweries” was 21. Today in 2013 over 80% of all tavern sales come from the macro swill often posing as true Pilsners. The power of the big guys made it almost impossible for any American brewery to compete, on anything like a level playing field except for one thing - the craft brewers embrace of wildly creative interpretations of virtually every other style of lager or ale produced anywhere else on the planet. They ceded the market for "American" Pilsner and concentrated on everything else. And consumers, at least a small but ever growing number, responded. And if you're reading BeerNexus that means you! By the way, I do not believe Budweiser waters down their beers. As I understand it each of the many A-B breweries makes Bud to a higher gravity so they can then add water to bring it down to ia universal ABV spec. That is the reason a Bud tastes the same regardless of where it's made. That is no small feat. Lastly let me say that the brewers at the macro guys are generally recognized in the beer industry as some of the best around. These are not seat of the pants home brewers but highly trained and educated experts on the science of beer. They are well paid and perform their task perfectly. My only argument is with their task - making tasteless, yellow, fizzy liquid pretending to be serious beer. Thanks to Bob and all his readers for giving me the opportunity to write this month's column. The hardest part was the research - I had to drink a can of Bud. ------------ Thanks to Casey for writing our May column. It is but interesting and fun - a most difficult but rewarding combination. Please remember I encourage all my readers to send me their articles and just maybe you'll see yours in print just like Casey! Cheers! Bob |
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