Try?
You know, I
happen to love V8 juice, which is mostly tomato juice, of course. And I love
beer, as you well know. I’ve been known to down the occasional plate of
clams. And who doesn’t enjoy a tart and vibrant lime now and then? But
although these things taste great in and of themselves, I don’t think I’d
want to throw them all in a blender to see what I could come up with.
Which is, of course, sort of what Anheuser-Busch did with their new Budweiser Chelada. Chelada, short for Michelada, is a sort of Mexican mixed drink in which beer is mixed with tomato or lime juice, or perhaps both, and salt. You may recall Miller launched its own version not long ago, Miller Chill , which has been fairly popular, and is even somewhat drinkable.
Anheuser-Busch, for some reason, decided they would roll out a chelada-style brew with tomato and, um, clam juice. According to the brewer, Budweiser Chelada (also available in Bud Light form) has been a big hit in its initial rollouts in the southwest. That shouldn’t surprise, since the Hispanic population there is quite familiar with cheladas. Not surprisingly, the can sports both English and Spanish dialogue. Alcohol content is 5% by volume, about the same as regular Bud.
I picked up a 24-ounce can for $2.29 to try it out, as I am wont to do whenever I see a new brew. As instructed on the can, I gently rolled the concoction around in the can before decanting to mix the ingredients fully.
Budweiser Chelada pours to a bright rosy pink color with no head formation, although some carbonation does come creeping up through the murky depths of the bloody-colored liquid. The smell is not at all like beer and only faintly like tomato juice. It does not portend well for what follows, mostly because, to me at any rate, the aroma is so completely unappetizing.
With a great degree of dread, I take a sip. Look, I’m a pretty liberal minded guy when it comes to beer, and I’m always up to trying new ones with an open mind. But this stuff is, my friends, nasty. The tomato flavor totally drowns out the beer, so you really aren’t going to taste much Budweiser here. But the beer manages to water the tomato down enough to ruin that, too. A hint of citrusy lime pokes through, but just a faint hint, with no clam that I can gather, and the whole mess ends with way too much salt for me in the finish, not to mention a particularly unpleasant aftertaste that lingers on the tongue.
It’s rare that I can’t finish a beer, but I drank maybe a few ounces out of the 24-ounce can, dumped the rest down the sink, popped open a Victory Sunrise Weiss and called it a day. But, it appears, Anheuser-Busch seems to have scored at least one small victory with Budweiser Chelada. I can now say Natural Light has moved up a notch to the second worst beer I’ve ever tasted.
Which is, of course, sort of what Anheuser-Busch did with their new Budweiser Chelada. Chelada, short for Michelada, is a sort of Mexican mixed drink in which beer is mixed with tomato or lime juice, or perhaps both, and salt. You may recall Miller launched its own version not long ago, Miller Chill , which has been fairly popular, and is even somewhat drinkable.
Anheuser-Busch, for some reason, decided they would roll out a chelada-style brew with tomato and, um, clam juice. According to the brewer, Budweiser Chelada (also available in Bud Light form) has been a big hit in its initial rollouts in the southwest. That shouldn’t surprise, since the Hispanic population there is quite familiar with cheladas. Not surprisingly, the can sports both English and Spanish dialogue. Alcohol content is 5% by volume, about the same as regular Bud.
I picked up a 24-ounce can for $2.29 to try it out, as I am wont to do whenever I see a new brew. As instructed on the can, I gently rolled the concoction around in the can before decanting to mix the ingredients fully.
Budweiser Chelada pours to a bright rosy pink color with no head formation, although some carbonation does come creeping up through the murky depths of the bloody-colored liquid. The smell is not at all like beer and only faintly like tomato juice. It does not portend well for what follows, mostly because, to me at any rate, the aroma is so completely unappetizing.
With a great degree of dread, I take a sip. Look, I’m a pretty liberal minded guy when it comes to beer, and I’m always up to trying new ones with an open mind. But this stuff is, my friends, nasty. The tomato flavor totally drowns out the beer, so you really aren’t going to taste much Budweiser here. But the beer manages to water the tomato down enough to ruin that, too. A hint of citrusy lime pokes through, but just a faint hint, with no clam that I can gather, and the whole mess ends with way too much salt for me in the finish, not to mention a particularly unpleasant aftertaste that lingers on the tongue.
It’s rare that I can’t finish a beer, but I drank maybe a few ounces out of the 24-ounce can, dumped the rest down the sink, popped open a Victory Sunrise Weiss and called it a day. But, it appears, Anheuser-Busch seems to have scored at least one small victory with Budweiser Chelada. I can now say Natural Light has moved up a notch to the second worst beer I’ve ever tasted.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
