American Macro Week: Bud Light

American Macro WeekBud Light is the "Superbowl beer"… it’s also the beer of the "Real Men of Genius" radio commercials which I actually find pretty funny and clever. Anheuser-Busch really pushes this beer as a sponsor of sporting events and claims it’s the world’s best selling beer.

Not much more to say about it, other than what’s in my notes below.

Reviewed from the 24-ounce can; it’s 4.2% alcohol by volume.

Bud LightAppearance: Amazingly pale yellow, crystal clear with a thick (at first) pure white head… reminded me of rough-beaten egg whites. It’s fairly still.

Smell: Opened the can and the beery whiff reminded me of "football" (brand awareness at work?)… after that, there’s no appreciable aroma except for a little saccharine and a little bit of stale beer smell.

Taste: These light beers are all similar… there’s a mineral water thing going on here and it’s almost like drinking tea made from wet grains and a few old hops… a little bit of cut grass, and very mild hint of cooked vegetables.

Mouthfeel: A little rough in the carbonation, like fine prickles all over the tongue. A crisp "edge" to it offsetting an otherwise watery presence. Leaves a residue feeling of mineral in the mouth… slightly metallic, slightly chalky.

The verdict: Kind of hard-watery and again, it’s so light that I honestly don’t get why anyone would drink this over something—anything—more flavorful. As I drink it I keep thinking "club soda" or tonic water.

On BeerAdvocate, it scores D- all around. On RateBeer, it scores 1.15 out of 5 and is in their 0 percentile.