"budweiser" news and stories

Drink all the Budweiser "Lagers" you can this weekend: On Monday, the American beer market will change forever with the official rollout of Budweiser "American Ale." Drinking macro-brews will never be the same!

Or so they'd like us to believe. Sure American Ale isn't meant to replace Anheuser-Busch's flagship lager, but its definitely an attempt at rebranding -- a not so subtle marketing trick that has left many a New Coke in its wake.

That dark red American Ale label reminds me of another much hyped macro beer rollout. Most may not remember, or even care, but 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the failure of Miller "Red."

It's official name was simply Miller beer, and the logic was simple: Miller Lite had served as a worthy competitor to Bud Light, maybe a Miller beer could chip away some of the market from Bud. It was a bold move -- almost literally putting their name on the line. But, rest in peace, after a massive 1996 launch, by 1998 it was gone. Now, a short 10 years later, I struggle to even find a picture of this revolutionary product online.

Will a similar fate befall Budweiser American Ale? Only time will tell. But I definitely see some striking similarities that go way beyond the red labels...

[Photo Credit: beerinator.com]

Anheuser-Busch would like me to believe I am reading too much into it, but around the time of the InBev buyout, Budweiser commercials began elevating the patriotism pushing "The Great American Lager" slogan like a comforting pat on the shoulder to say, "Everything will be alright." Maybe its just a coincidence: A-B reminds me the slogan was launched before InBev's bid was finalized. Or maybe marketing knew something I didn't. Either way, hammering home the "King of Beers" at this point might just come a little too close to reminding us of our new European overlords.

Unfortunately, however, slogans require an extra step of association, so for their latest offering, Bud is simply throwing the word "American" right into the product name. A-B chose to debut spots for their forthcoming Budweiser American Ale during the Olympics. (I caught one during a massive 8 hour Olympic-watching marathon -- a near Phelpsian feat, if I do say so myself.) And though Olympic coverage represents an ideal opportunity to court a massive audience, it certainly doesn't hurt that it's served with a side of patriotic pride.

Budweiser American Ale also had been in the works well before the InBev buyout: It's intention is to edge in on the growing craft beer market, hopefully grabbing Anheuser-Busch a piece of the action while wooing some attention back to their flagship. Reasserting Budweiser as the "Great American Lager" is definitely a nice segue into introducing the next great "American Ale." But A-B marketing has got to at least be thinking, Don't you love it when a plan comes together! Naive isn't a word that comes to mind when I think of the big boys down at Bud, so I bet the more this whole InBev/patriotism thing feels like a coincidence, the better job they're doing.

[Photo Credit: budweiser.com]

After holding firm back in June and turning down a buyout offer, Anheuser-Busch surrendered over the weekend and allowed European brewer InBev to buy them for approximately $52 billion. America's largest beer maker is no longer in American hands, a move that leaves some beer drinkers a bit concerned for their favorite brew (maybe this will convince more people to switch to locally produced small batch brewers. What?! A girl can dream).

The new company will be called Anheuser-Busch InBev, one of the terms brokered in the buyout deal. August A. Busch IV, the company's CEO (and descent of one of the brewery's founders) will be given a seat on the board. According to a press release issued by both companies, no US breweries will be closing because of the merger.

[via NYT]

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Oh, those crazy stars and their baby names. According to the rumor mills the actor wants to name his as yet unborn son "Bud", after his favorite beer. Apparently his girlfriend hates the idea, so I guess we'll see. That's if you're into that kind of stuff, though.

Can you imagine naming your kids after beer? Especially a crappy beer like Budweiser. I'm not sure what my plans are as far as having kids, but I surely would not do anything like that to them. What do you think?

[Via Beer Advocate]

Budweiser will release a line of barbecue, grilling and wing sauces this summer, according to its parent company Anheuser-Busch, Inc. The sauces will include small amounts of Budweiser, but not enough to qualify as an alcoholic beverage ("Someone's been chugging the wing sauce again..."), according to a St. Louis Business Journal article. The sauces, distributed by Vita Foods Products, should be on shelves in grocery stores by July 4.