You know, people
are going to start getting the impression that I don’t like Anheuser-Busch.
And that’s not true at all. It’s their beer I’m not too crazy about. Not all
of them, mind you (I don’t think
Amber Bock is a bad beer). But for the most part, it seems old AB is
making their beer blander and blander all the time.
Take their latest product, Budweiser Select. It’s not much more than
a glorified light beer, really (and they already have one of those).
Budweiser Select, however, is specifically marketed to take advantage of the
current low-carb trend. In fact, I’m surprised it’s taken them so long to
roll it out.
Not that this is AB’s first low-carb brew: that honor goers to
Michelob Ultra .
But it is the first to bear the Budweiser name. But “select”? I can’t agree
with the name decision. To me, “select” connotes higher quality, top choice,
special reserve, you know, good stuff like that.
Budweiser Select is the exact opposite to me. It has less flavor, and yes,
even less alcohol (4.3% by volume) than a regular beer. It does have fewer
carbs, at 3.1 grams per 12 ounce bottle. And it only has 99 calories, too,
much the same as a light beer.
But wait a minute. Miller Lite, which probably could be described as the
original low carb beer, has only 3.2 grams of carbs per 12 ounces, and
actually has about three less calories. And truth be told, it tastes better
in my opinion. Relatively speaking, of course.
Budweiser Select got a big sendoff when it was advertised during the
Superbowl on February 6th, 2005. It wasn’t released until February 21st,
however; I guess they were trying to build the hype. My six-pack was born on
February 25th, so it’s only a few weeks old as I type this.
Budweiser Select pours to a pale golden color with a very light head
formation and a very faint malt nose. The palate is watery with just the
slightest hint of biscuity malt. There’s really not much going on here to
even let you know you’re drinking a beer and not a glass of water.
The finish is dry, and Budweiser Select is not sweet, but there isn’t any
hop character going on either. I do get a bit of the green-apple
acetaldehyde flavor Budweiser is famous for. In a way, this is kind of like
a watery Budweiser.
I suppose the description of this beer as “crisp” is somewhat adequate, and
Budweiser Select could be refreshing I suppose. But so is a glass of water.
Hey, I want some flavor in my beer, just like in my food.
And there’s not much flavor going on here. That being the case, I think I’ll
just pass Budweiser Select on by, and select something else. Because this
isn’t select at all. It’s just another light beer.
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.