Beer Mythbusters: Budweiser Reconsidered
The “Beers to You” Mythbuster poses the question: Does Budweiser suck?
First we have to define the word “sucks.” In the context used it would seem that the word is being used to say that Budweiser is a beer of low quality. As any of my regular readers know, “Bud” has played the role of “whipping boy” in many of my previous articles. I personally do not enjoy drinking the beer (and only do so under duress), but that fact has to do with flavor and nothing to do with quality.
Budweiser, along with just about every other macro-brew, are beers of compromise. They are designed for the masses. Millions of dollars are spent to test market these beers before they are brewed. The goal is to make a beverage that is ‘flavor neutral,’ but still barely passes for beer. Bud is brewed with barley malt, but then they use other fermentable ingredients to keep it lightly flavored and still give you a buzz. Hops are used sparingly as not to impart much bitterness or flavor. Bud is brewed at breweries all over North America in very large batches.
With all of that said, we still have not discussed quality. When you think of how many Anheuser-Busch breweries make Budweiser, and then realize that the beer tastes exactly the same, no matter which brewery it came from, the quality picture starts to come into focus. The next factor is off-flavors that occur in the brewing process. Slight variances in flavor and even mistakes can be much more easily hidden in big-flavored beers like American Pale Ales, for instance. The flavorless Budweiser is a white canvas; the slightest variations or off flavors would stick out like a sore thumb. Bud is brewed to near perfection of its goal.
How does Anheuser-Busch pull this off? You can say a lot of things about the flavor (or lack thereof) of Bud, but you cannot take away the fact that the beer is brewed using the most stringent quality controls and state-of-the-art brewing processes. Then there is the ultimate quality control: taste panels. The brewers at A-B have a very intense regimen of daily taste panels at each brewery. Fresh samples of the beer are cross-shipped to all of the breweries and tested for variation and consistency. (I wonder if anyone in the CIA has thought of using this as a torture tactic in the war on terror?)
The myth is busted. Budweiser doesn’t suck. Budweiser is not of poor quality — it’s the Bud drinker’s palate… Bud is brewed to appeal to the non-beer drinker out there. Yes, I said it: If the only beer you drink is Bud, if Bud is your first choice in an aisle full of beer and you think everything else tastes bad, THEN YOU ARE NOT A BEER DRINKER!
April 7th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Um, ever heard of DSM(cooked corn/vegetal flavor)? But it is served & sucked down at a taste bud numbing temp, that no one notices it. As for the exacting sameness of each brewery. I even at one time thought the same as you do. Then I look at all the crap coming out of China. Boxes & boxes, Each the same as the other of cheap junk. I’m no longer impressed. I will say they can make good beer when they want to. Just go to the GABF & sample a few of their generic black on white labeled bottles. Micalob Hefe-Weizen issn’t too bad either. A-B can make a good beer when they want to.
Bud is good to boil hot dogs & Brats in.
April 8th, 2008 at 10:07 am
Rood, I kind of understand your point on China, though I don’t think this is the same. How about Japan back in the old days when they sent over their crappy sounding, but very reliable transistor radios? That may be a better analogy.
The folks at AB have crafted a beer for the masses… The lowest common denominator. This way they can sell it to just about everyone. Everyone that is, except real beer drinkers!
April 8th, 2008 at 10:25 am
I’m glad to see that I am not the only person who sees a ‘bud’ drinker for what they really are.
Also, Blue Moon is much better for boiling Brats…(old family secret)
April 9th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Why would anyone boil a brat? It really isn’t going to add any flavor, as it can’t very much soak through the skin.
Here’s what you do:
1) Grill the thing.
2) While grilling, through some butter, beer of your choice and garlic into a saucepan and let it melt/reduce down.
3) When the brats are done on the grill, give them a roll through the beer/butter/garlic goodness
4) Put them on a bun, with your choice of condiments - for me this means putting two brats onto a hard roll, with mustard and pickles.
5) Eat and repeat.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:09 am
Oh yeah, through = throw.
I sometimes have trouble with spelling.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:19 am
All this talk of brats is making me hungry. I sometimes par-boil them before I grill them. This is just to shorten the cook-time on the grill. I think Chris’s point makes some sense. Does what you boil the brat in, really matter?
I open the floor to comments….
April 9th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
Even the greatest of beer snobs will admit, if they’re honest, that American light beers go great with sushi. It’s a fact.
April 9th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
Grilled, boiled in beer, or whatever your method of choice may be, Brats are hard to beat. When they’re topped with sauerkraut, onion, and brown mustard on a roll or a bun, and washed down with a hoppy ale, they’re downright impossible to beat. Comfort food, to be sure!
We had this combo for dinner one night last week, and I’m thinking they may be making an encore performance tomorrow. As for right now, I hear a Sierra Nevada calling my name…
April 10th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
OK…I am going to show my true colors here: I boil brats to get excess salt and fat out. Unless the brat is in a synthetic casing - by virtue of osmosis, much of the salt will seek to equalize in the boiling liquid (I am in health - not science, so pardon my inexact terminology). Animal-based casings are somewhat permeable. I still grill or finish cooking in a hot pan afterwards, but I boil to reduce some of the sodium and fat.
And, yes, Bud drinkers mostly want flavored water that gets them a buzz. It tastes OK if you don’t expect it to taste like beer.
April 10th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
what is the point in eating a reduced fat/sodium brat?
April 11th, 2008 at 10:02 am
Par-boiling is supposed to cook it to prevent us from getting Trichinosis. Yep, you all are right, ya still got to grill it.
April 11th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Trichinosis is a myth purported by the big energy companies to convince us to use more electricity/natural gas/whatever by cooking our food longer.
April 12th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Chris, I’m sure your last comment was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but you can eat all the raw/undercooked pork you want. I want mine well done. Rare and medium are for beef.
Actually, ANY meat that has been processed/ground should be fully cooked before being consumed. When the meat is exposed to air and any surface that could be contaminated during processing (grinders, conveyers, packaging equipment, etc.), there is the possibility of E Coli contamination.
Supposedly, searing the surface of a steak while cooking kills any illness-causing bacteria, and the interior is safe to eat while still red because it hasn’t been exposed to any possible source of contiminants.
Just a little food for thought…
April 13th, 2008 at 1:36 pm
I drink all kinds of beer on occassion (hell, I’ve even been known to make it), but sometimes I just like Budweiser. By sometimes I mean most of the time. I’ll drink something shiny for a few weeks and then I’m right back on the Bud horse. There’s no other explanation except…I just like it. So I guess you have to put me in the “Non-Beer Drinker” category…or call me El Retardo. Either way I’m good
April 14th, 2008 at 2:57 pm
I’ve got to agree with Jackie on this, though I’ve never tried to make the stuff . . . and I can’t stand Bud but love an ice Miller Lite or Corona. Maybe we’re a couple o’ Beertardos.