brew dog blog

Since I was running late from the Upper West Side to band practice last night, I asked T-Bone to pick up the brews for practice.  He lives right near a very competent deli that in the past has supplied us with more than enough good jamming fodder — Lagunitas Hop Stoopid, Stone Ruination, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, etc.  Since we had been discussing it, and since supplies were looking dismal, Todd decided to also bring a Budweiser American Ale, the “great savior” of Budweiser’s Light Lager empire, their attempt at crossing over into the realm of people who have actual taste in beer.  Since the beer is certainly cheap enough, and I wanted to remind myself just how good the beer I drink on a regular basis actually is, I decided to start the night off with it, pouring some for myself and some for my bandmates.  Budweiser’s American Ale pours a darker almost brown color, with an overwhelming sweet smell, with no hops or yeast smells apparent at all.  When I tell you that this beer is actually worse than Budweiser’s “standard” Lager Beer, it might not surprise you.  However if I were to tell you that this is by far the worst, least successful beer I’ve tried in a very long time, perhaps ever, wait, you probably still wouldn’t be surprised.  To say that Budweiser should “stick to what they know” is a gross understatement.  They should send me a check refunding my cash, donate 1/10 of their proceeds to Sixpoint and Captain Lawrence, and just call it a day.  An apt description I came up with was that American Ale tastes like base Budweiser which has had cornflakes steeped in it and then had a few drops of weak brown food coloring added.  It’s truly better to drink almost anything, including nothing, instead of drinking this swill.  Do not come close, do not say I didn’t warn you, and don’t even pity me for trying it.  Just let it leave your mind.