Budweiser Select 55 - Anheuser-Busch

gmfessen

Michigan

2.53/5  rDev +52.4%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Had to buy this just to say I've had it. Poured from the bottle into a pilsner glass, beer is as it appears in the clear glass bottle; a very light golden yellow with lots of fizzy bubbles on the glass and comprising a large, foamy white head. The nose is virtually non-existent, what is there reminds me slightly of vomit. If AB was going for the absolute closest to water you can get and still call it a beer, they've hit the nail on the head. Goes down just like carbonated water with only a very slight whisper of Budweiser at the finish. Overall a very drinkable beer because again, how drinkable is water? Very! I'm sure this will get beat up bad just because it is an AB product, but honestly... could I get some beer with my beer???

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2009 01:01:49 | More by gmfessen

lester619

Wisconsin

1.5/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Pale yellow. Fizzy carbonation. Almost no smell. No tase at all. None. Tastes wet with some bubbles. This beer is completely pointless. I'm not one of those snobs who thinks there is no place for a mass produced yellow beer. Sometimes you want a simple cheap lager that you can down all day. But even I can't defend this. If they got it down to 55 calories, what is it made of? It's not even that drinkable because it is so boring. It's like drinking a case of bottled water. You probably could, but why? If this is what you have to drink in order to drink beer, you don't like beer.

Serving type: bottle

11-09-2009 19:20:43 | More by lester619

BeerFMAndy

Wisconsin

1.83/5  rDev +10.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into an American Tumbler Pint. Born on 08OCT09.

A - Pours a decently golden yellow color. Clear and effervescent, the white head disappears instantly. I expected it to be almost clear in color.

S - An initial burst of sulfery skunky aroma comes out. At this point I'd just stop but I'm never going to buy this beer again, so let's go. It disappears in favor of an insanely light rice aroma. Almost indistinguishable as a beer aroma-wise.

T - A bit sulfury and very watery. Almost no real beer flavor. Actually, if the skunked flavor wasn't there, there would be no flavor. haha.

M - Thin, watery, and sharply carbonated. As close to water as you'll get. In fact, have a Perrier instead.

D - Why would you ever want this? A pointless beer geared to guilt-filled individuals who lead horrible lives if their beer drinking comes to this...
At less than 4% you'd be bloated from drinking this before even feeling a slight buzz, but I suppose, as water, it's drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2009 19:25:58 | More by BeerFMAndy

ladygodiva

Florida

1.2/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

I'm trying to figure out who these beers target. For the calorie counter who wants to get drunk, this won't get you drunk, so Fail. For someone who wants beer without the alcohol, there are better non-alcoholic beers out there, Fail. The only thing I can imagine is it's for women who don't like beer but want people to think they drink beer. And as a women I'm offended.

A: virtually no head, no lacing, bright golden yellow.

S: like a frat house, you know, when the floors covered in a mix of spilled cheap beer and the stagnant water from beer pong cups. But a little corn-ier.

T: equal parts Natty Ice and water that's been sitting in a plastic cup too long.

M: Just like carbonated water

D: great for drinking games since it's as easy to chug as water and won't get you drunk. other than that you have no reason to drink this.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2009 04:18:55 | More by ladygodiva

TCgoalie

Michigan

1.3/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

A: After 5 minutes time, it is hard to know if I am drinking beer or apple juice.

S: The smell reminds me of skunk, plastic, and grapes all mixed together.

T: First taste is very watery and gives way to an extremly mild adjunct beer taste. I think I can achieve this flavor by mixing 2 parts water to 1 part Bud Light.

M: The mouthfeel seems lighter than tap water.

D: I could drink this all day long which should be reason for a score of 5. However, the fact that I would not be buzzed combined with the illusion that I'm drinking dirty water lowers the drinkabilty score to 1.

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2009 23:24:52 | More by TCgoalie

Beerman420

California

1.02/5  rDev -38.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Serving Type - Bottle (12oz)

Appearance - Medium Yellow, light lacing no real head.

Smell - Slightly mildly beer-like, faint faint hint of hops. Although Pisswater may be a better term for it.

Taste - Virtually Non-Existant, faint hint of beer, closer to club soda.

Mouthfeel - Fizzy, like seltzer water.

Drinkability - Drinkable for people who don't like real beer, altogether awfully watery, no good in my opinion.

Overall - Just an awful beer. I'd rather have a beer belly than resort to this crap ever again. Not to mention the "Drunkability" was an F-. I drank 4 of these in a 2 hour time period, no buzz, nada. All I felt was a full belly of club soda with maybe a shot of real beer. Please, unless you are a light weight don't even waste your time on this terrible excuse for a beer. YUCK!

Serving type: bottle

11-04-2009 22:25:45 | More by Beerman420

Blakaeris

Iowa

1.8/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Pours clear golden yellow with a modest head that quickly dissipates to a thin ring.

Aroma has an odd musty vegetal quality with an underlying corn adjunct sweetness.

Taste is pale malt with a very light crisp finish.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with an unusual powdery quality that coats the tongue.

Very thin and watery flavor. I won't have another one.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2009 02:43:47 | More by Blakaeris

bashiba

Iowa

1.7/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

Poured a dark yellow with a soap ring of a head.

The smell was a bit funky like a bad euro lager with a touch of skunky hops.

Its tag line of the worlds lightest beer quickly holds true in the flavor, I have had glasses of water that didn't taste this watery.
No beer flavor at all.

Mouthfeel = Water

Its as drinkable as a cold glass of tap water, so I guess ok, but why bother.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2009 02:38:23 | More by bashiba

Goliath

Illinois

1.85/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Had this today at the brewery after the tour.

Pours a familiar clear golden color and was presented with no head, although a bright white foam circled the edges of the glass.

The aroma was pathetic. There was basically nothing there. Very bland, but a bit of malt, and slightly sweet.

The taste was even worse. There was just nothing to it. With a lot of Macro beers there is at least a bad taste, this has no taste. I compare it to carbonated water. My fiancee said it's like when the fountain soda machine runs out of syrup.

Mouthfeel is thin, on the watery side with a high level carbonation using a very fine tingley bubble.

Drinkability depends how you look at it. The sessionability is ridiculous so in that regard yes it's drinkable. On the other han I like to consider the flavor profile and whether it brings me back for another sip. In that regard, this is easily the most boring beer I've ever had. I've found more enjoyment and flavor in nonalcoholic beer. Just really a bad gimic beer and it's sad to think that this will pass as beer to the masses.

Serving type: bottle

10-23-2009 21:43:13 | More by Goliath

alleykatking

Indiana

2.33/5  rDev +40.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured from a 12oz bottle.

A- Pours a very light golden yellow color. After a hardish pour I got a 1 1/2 finger bone white head. No lacing with this one. Tons of bubbles all over the place with this one as well.

S- Sweet malt underbody is the first thing I smelled on this. Very sweet smelling. Pick up some corn,rice, and other adjuncts in the nose as well.

T- Wow..this literally tastes like nothing! Some sweet notes throughout the beer and well everything else just tastes like water. Nothing in the taste whatsoever. Kind of crazy actually.

M- Very light mouthfeel to this. Carbonation is crazy heavy making this a super fizzy beer on the palate. Very watery in the mouth not leaving any aftertaste on the tongue or elsewhere.

D- To be honest this is a very drinkable beer because it doesn't taste like anything. And because of that it is the best out of all the BMC Flagship beers...haha.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2009 06:32:29 | More by alleykatking

biggred1

Indiana

1.6/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Clear urine yellow with a fizzy white head that burns off quickly. The nose on this beer is not offensive because there is none. Very light tasting, almost like a non-alcoholic beer with a sourness in the finish. Watery with seltzery carbonation. Another low alcohol diet beer with no flavor. Why bother?

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 19:56:24 | More by biggred1

vacax

California

3.2/5  rDev +92.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 4

12 oz. clear bottle, retrieved from the San Diego test market for further investigation. Interesting that the brand name they are pushing is Select instead of Budweiser. No hints of the ultralight alcohol content to match the 55 calorie label.

Pours out a decent straw color with a one-inch white head. Not bad, except then the head fizzles down to nothing like a can of cola. I just poured this and the head is all but gone.

The nose is stronger than I anticipated, but the nose has to be about three millimeters away from the surface of the beer. If I hold the glass to my lips and inhale I get nothing. When I really shove my nose into this thing it is very corny with a bit of plastic. No metallic notes, which is a good thing.

Well, it looks and smells like a fairly standard beer for what it is. Let's do this. My first thought it that this beer is ultra carbonated, there are so many bubbles splashing around I can hardly focus on the beer here. It foams when I move the liquid to swallow it. That is interesting. Is it because it is so light in body that the bubbles seem so forward? The main flavor is a very mild malt sweetness, not really corny, but faintly plastic tasting. No metallic notes. Really bubbly. The overall flavor is a little off for a beer, doesn't even have that typical adjunct flavor really, but it is so light and airy it is just easy to swallow it and not care. Weird plastic finish. Despite it being so bubbly and not having particularly good flavors, it all comes together to make this thing swallowable.

So there it is. Not particularly good, but particularly easy to ignore. Bubbly as all hell. Simple to drink, but who drinks lame beer to not get a buzz at 2.4%? I don't get it much. One scenario could be if you have to show up at a party with bad beer you can drink a number of these and then drive home a-ok. Though normally, if you want something fizzy and low in calories reach for a Diet Pepsi Max or a Coke Zero, those are pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

09-20-2009 10:44:07 | More by vacax

RomaniIteDomum

Florida

1.27/5  rDev -23.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Born 8/29/09

Gotta have more people rate this beer to make sure the results from the first two weren't coincidence. I couldn't let this beer suffer a bad reputation due to lack of tastings. Or maybe I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about. This shit sells like Girl Scout Cookies in a frat house.

I actually bothered pouring this beer into a glass even though the bottle, like the beer, is perfectly transparent. Upon doing so a remarkably large head formed. Like pouring a soft drink. A soft drink resembling watery piss. It was entertaining, though, to watch the bubbles form where I was pouring. The mass amounts of carbonation formed by a simple pour were crazy. It looked like the pour was a solid mass of bubbles in the liquid. Strange. It even sounds like a soft drink. And that massive head lasts about 20 seconds then it is back to piss Coke. I gave it the extra 1/2 point for being entertaining.

Upon smelling this I have to give props to Bud for managing to make a Bud Light smell like Perrier. They weren't too effective, though, as I can detect a hop. That one lonely hop that will undoubtedly be the center of what is to come.

Dare I subject my taste buds to this? What have they done to me? Here goes. Oh, fuck that's bad. I was mostly kidding before when I compared it to Perrier with a hop, but that's ecaxtly what it tastes like. You could make this at home with 55 calories of Bud Select topped off with club soda. I'm going to man up and finish it, since it tastes mostly like nothing, but I'm not going to enjoy it.

In the mouth it feels like beer-flavored water. There is some syrupy feel in there from the "beer", but it's mostly an assault of caustic bubbles raping your tongue. I can't even taste what little taste there was to begin with anymore. And I'm about 1/4th of the way through the drink.

Even though this is the lightest malted barley beverage on the face of the earth I couldn't drink more than one. In a lifetime. At least not without monetary compensation. I must still take my hat off to Bud. Their marketing department is awesome. If they can get people to buy this they should use thair powers for good and maybe bring peace to the Middle East or get Lindsey Lohan to eat a damn sandwich. It does, however, get the extra 1/2 point because you could probably replace water with this stuff and still maintain life. Hell, it's more sanitary than most people's tap water.

Serving type: bottle

09-16-2009 04:44:55 | More by RomaniIteDomum

katan

Colorado

2.3/5  rDev +38.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 4.5

Hey someone had to be the 2nd

A - Pours a very light golden color. Lots of head formation, pearly white in color. Dissipating somewhat slowly. Very filtered, but with lots of apparent carbonation.

S - This beer is "scent optional" Nothing there but just the lightest hint of yeast/malt breadiness.

T - Starts off with the flavor of, well, nothing but water. Then, as if by miracle, some very light malt notes make an appearance through the midstream. No apparent hopping. Finishes with a strong flourish of...guess what....water! In the finishing notes some adjunct corny notes make a bit of an appearance.

M - Way too carbonated for anything I'd drink - thats the only way they are fooling people this beer is anything above dasani. Beer is itself just outright thin.

D - You could drink an army of these - plus more. Any BA that can't session 24 hours of these got distracted on the way to the cooler.

As much as I rag on this beer - sadly it does have a home in my beer rotation. On days where I'm watching my cals or just wanting an extreme session beer on my bike, i think 55 would get it done.

I call this beer the pacifier beer. When you want a real beer, but you just can't have it - stick this in your mouth and you'll shut up for a while.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2009 03:07:54 | More by katan

jsh420

Illinois

1.38/5  rDev -16.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 2

hey someone had to be the 1st

born 8/10/09

pours a bright clear golden with a 2 finger head that fades fast and leaves no lacing

smells like beer but nothing but a little corn

taste - wow this is weak - it is almost just carbonated water - notes and i say notes of corn

mouthfeel - what can i say... its water carbonated water!!

drinkability - ?? i dont know how to rate this since it is easy drinking but i never want to drink it again?

i pray this beer never makes it out of the test markets - and i should be flogged for buying a sixer just to review it

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2009 03:26:26 | More by jsh420