Beer Forum

I have to admit that while I never drink any BMC, I have been watching the store shelves for the new Bud Ale. I have really been wanting to try it to see if they really got it wrong, and how wrong. Or maybe it's a quality pale ale. I'm sure A/B has a super secret pilot brewery somewhere. I bet they have brewed some good test beers there. I wonder how the A/B pilot brewers feel, knowing they are brewing something balanced and flavorful, and that their core market won't drink it because it's not bland enough. Anyway, here we go.


The beer is darker than ancticipated. The first sniff reveals hops! A nice hop aroma, but intertwined with a syrupy sweet smell. Not really malt, more like sugary syrup. The taste begins with a vague memory of malt, followed by some hops, then a big open dead space where the round malty flavors are supposed to go. A light coating of hop bitterness settles on the tounge, then melts away without a trace. For a moment I thought, "well, they probably fucked up at bottling and put the round malty flavors all in one bottle by mistake. I'll root around in the other bottles and see if it's there." No, that's just stupid talk. It's really supposed to taste like this. It actually tastes just like you think an ale made by A/B would taste: not offensive, just not interesting in any way. I take that back, it is interesting in one way. The marketing guys really did a nice job on this one. The bottle is a really nice shape, and the label really is beautifully designed. The packaging is truely a masterpiece. It even has a big eagle and AMERICAN in big contrasting letters as if to say, "forget we are wholly owned by a huge Belgian conglomerate. We are an American icon". Kind of reminds me of another American Icon: the Chevy truck. Built in Canada out of parts from Mexico and Asia.

I have five left if anyone wants one.

That was a good review. I had this last night. I'll describe it as a watered down SN. It wasn't bad. Could have definitely been maltier. It had that familiar "bud" smell to it.

I just picked up a 6 pack. It is chilling... I will review it later.

I just read on the case of the 6 pack that this is dry-hopped with Cascade hops grown in my neck of the woods.

Had one the other night. Thought that it was like any other AB product, had potential but had been dumbed down to make it appeal to the masses. It was quite bitter but was missing the malty backbone to support it. I also could not detect the dry hops. I guess I would definitely drink it over BL but I will never go to my liquor store and pick up a case.

BadRockBeer wrote:Had one the other night. Thought that it was like any other AB product, had potential but had been dumbed down to make it appeal to the masses. It was quite bitter but was missing the malty backbone to support it. I also could not detect the dry hops. I guess I would definitely drink it over BL but I will never go to my liquor store and pick up a case.

That's pretty much how I feel about of this beer.

Also, I got an aftertaste like that of diet coke, that's the only way I describe it

triple-oh_six wrote:

BadRockBeer wrote:Had one the other night. Thought that it was like any other AB product, had potential but had been dumbed down to make it appeal to the masses. It was quite bitter but was missing the malty backbone to support it. I also could not detect the dry hops. I guess I would definitely drink it over BL but I will never go to my liquor store and pick up a case.

That's pretty much how I feel about of this beer.

Also, I got an aftertaste like that of diet coke, that's the only way I describe it

Yeah I tasted something like that too. I'm not sure I can pick out corn as opposed to rice as opposed to cane sugar, but this beer seems way too adjunct-y.

Is it a poor man's Sam Adams? Thats what I take from the ads.