Natural Ice - Anheuser-Busch

Natural IceNatural Ice

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BA SCORE
46
poor
-
673 Ratings
THE BROS
64
poor
-
read more »
rAvg: 1.79
pDev: 41.9%
Reviews: 264
Hads: 409

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Brewed by:
Anheuser-Busch visit their website
Missouri, United States

Style | ABV
American Adjunct Lager |  5.90% ABV

Availability: Year-round. can (210), bottle (50), on-tap (4)

Notes:
Natural Ice is brewed with a blend of premium American-grown and imported hops and a combination of malt and corn that lends Natural Ice its delicate sweetness. It then undergoes Anheuser-Busch’s exclusive ice-brewing process, which takes the beer to a temperature below freezing and leads to the formation of ice crystals which create its signature rich and smooth taste.
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Reviews

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Photo of templar316
templar316

Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -44.1%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

This is bad. Pours the color of urine after an evening drinking BCBS. Smells like vodka. In my years as a server of cheap beer, I served enough of this to fill the building that you're stitting in. Everytime I made the mistake of drinking it I vomited.

Serving type: on-tap

03-15-2013 01:38:42 | More by templar316
Photo of ghostmech007
ghostmech007

Virginia

2.35/5  rDev +31.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

On tap at Wingshack poured into a 14oz mug. Very cold mug.

Pale yellow and a joke of a head. Very typical for A-B.

Nothing to smell except a faint wiff of alcohol.

Clean and crisp with a very light body. Smooth from carbonation. No real flavors in here. Malts are awful as are the hops. Aftertaste leaves you feeling raped. Horrified and empty. Only good thing here is the alcohol, will give a decent buzz and quick.

Well natty ice does it again. Very cheap and high in alcohol but not good enough to buy at home. They have it on tap at the local Wingshack for 4 dollars a pitcher, talk about a deal in a college town.

Serving type: on-tap

08-08-2007 20:42:53 | More by ghostmech007
Photo of Rudgers73
Rudgers73

New York

2.23/5  rDev +24.6%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Oh natty ice, I (have learned to) love you...

Every thursday night in college. Mug night. My friends and I dubbed it "Mug Day" as to replace the boring "Thursday" that appears on most of our calenders. 32 oz mugs of natty ice: $1. what a bargain.

A- Decent yellow, not too watery looking.

S- Just don't do it, ok? It smells like rotten corn and creek water.

T- Not much better than it smells. After the 5.9% numbs your senses it all goes down the same. Warm or cold you just drink it.

M- Like an average macro. Light and bubbly.

D- Well, since my college days are over, I don't think I would ever drink it unless it was all that was around at a party or something. I will always have those memories (or lack there of) certain Mug Day's in which I drank over a gallon of this stuff in one sitting. Goddamnit...

cheers to up-and-coming Mug Day champs!

Serving type: on-tap

09-30-2006 16:57:08 | More by Rudgers73
Photo of DarkerTheBetter
DarkerTheBetter

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev +74.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

This beer poured a straw yellow with some dirty orange highlights and a thin film of white head.

Smells of cigarettes, armpit, limes and corn.

All else considered, the flavor blew my mind. Tastes light and smooth with a corn and wheat base along with some green grapes and cherries. What freaked me out was a faint Belgian-like spice. Where did that come from? There’s also some strange acidic sting that accompanies the fruit aspects, but lingers long into the finish.

The mouth feel is a glassy smooth light body with a light big bubbled carbonation.

This was way better than I anticipated. An interesting flavor and nice mouth feel make this a pretty good beer for the price. However, I don’t think I’ll actively seek this one out in cans.

Serving type: on-tap

02-10-2006 17:26:30 | More by DarkerTheBetter
Photo of gRimlock88
gRimlock88

New York

3.01/5  rDev +68.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

16 oz can into pint glass,One finger head,minimized to a toothpick head within seconds, toothpick head stays throughout. Minimal lacing,but its there. Sweet,corn,malt,describe the smell.The taste is close to the same. Very drinkable. Crisp and clean finish,and a good buzz quickly established. I really think that for the money you can not find a better beer I have spent over $30 for a 12 pack for beer before, and was not impressed. Natural Ice=Impressed

Serving type: can

05-09-2013 23:14:36 | More by gRimlock88
Photo of MrDanny
MrDanny

Massachusetts

1.45/5  rDev -19%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

ohhh natural ice. had it last night (sigh), our friend got the wrong stuff. The first one wasn't THAT bad, then the 2nd and 3rd were just terrible. I couldn't even drink it, it tasted like skunked beer even though it was ice cold. we just threw the remaining dozen away cause it wasn't tolerable. I feel for anyone who has to consume this.

Serving type: can

04-29-2013 04:57:56 | More by MrDanny
Photo of bbluemzbeer
bbluemzbeer

California

3.44/5  rDev +92.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This always the cheapest beer in the market here in Southern California. I decide to try it out.

Appearance: Light yellow. head fades away quick.. Standard for the style.

Smells: Smelss like lager beer,.

Taste : . Like A bit of adjunct, bit sweet, even a lbig tinge of hops at the end . It is watered down, though. Real it is beer for geting buzz.

Moutful: Watery. It essentially feels like fizzy water.

Overall:. Drank this beer ice cold , it will not taste bad. I would choose this over Miller Lite, Bud Lite, Icehouse. If I was on budget or for beer pong or dranking game buy it . For cheap beer it is good!

Serving type: can

04-26-2013 17:01:46 | More by bbluemzbeer
Photo of Goat2Hunter
Goat2Hunter

Georgia

2.15/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25

appearance isnt that great, to dark for a pilsner in my opinion, smell is averege I suppose, taste isnt that great, very metallic, smooth, but I have to force it down, mouthfeel is alright I suppose. But overall this isnt a good beer, even for the price, I would take Icehouse over this anyday of the week, I used to like it, but now that I've had a variety of beers I think this one is rather overated.

Serving type: can

04-25-2013 13:20:43 | More by Goat2Hunter
Photo of GossageBrewery
GossageBrewery

Missouri

1.61/5  rDev -10.1%
look: 2.25 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 1.5

Poured this American Adjunct Lager from a 22 oz can into a pint glass. Poured a pale straw color, produced an average head, retention was poor and it left no lacing on the glass. The aroma was very clean, perhaps some malt and rice. Light in body, this lager has a foundation of corn and rice....all adjuncts here....not much of any malt flavor to speak of- only a small helping of hops. Overall, a poorly made beer. Keep your 1.25 and put a down payment on a real beer.

Serving type: can

04-10-2013 20:09:31 | More by GossageBrewery
Photo of neenerzig
neenerzig

Ohio

2.23/5  rDev +24.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.5

I've had a can of this sitting in my basement fridge for god knows how long now, probably about 2 years or so now. Can't even remember how a can of this managed to get into my basement fridge in the first place. So I figured what the hell, it was finally time to drink and review. Poured into my pint glass, this beer pours a clear light to medium golden color with an initially very tall white foamy head that settled extremely quickly to a decently thick white head lining the inside of the glass with little clusters of foam lining the inside of the glass. Little bits of lacing lining the inside of the glass here and there, but nothing that good lace wise. Faint, sweet grassy aromas of some malt and corn are present and not much of if anything else. Sweet and grassy flavors of malt and corn and once again not much of if anything else here flavorwise. No hops discernible to my palate. Has a crisp and fairly smooth, light to medium bodied mouthfeel with moderate to heavy carbonation. Goes down easy and smooth and has a clean finish. Easy to drink in the way seltzer water is, not the way beer should be. For this style of beer and as far as Anheuser Busch products go this one really isn't that bad. It didn't have any of the terrible adjunct off flavors or metallic aftertastes that many of their other products, as well as other companies' macro brews, have. Perhaps the 2 years of "aging" it got sitting in my fridge for 2 years actually improved this beer because I was certainly expecting it to taste worse.

Eric

Serving type: can

04-05-2013 03:06:03 | More by neenerzig
Photo of Rddymk
Rddymk

Indiana

3.21/5  rDev +79.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2

Big head at first then dies quickly. Very nice on the sides of the tongue and then finishes with a good mouthfeel. The alcohol creeps up on you very quickly and then, BAM, you are on your ass! Whoa! Ate pretzels and sardines in mustard sauce to keep the buzz in check. Finally finished with 2 more and went to bed.

Serving type: can

03-26-2013 22:34:49 | More by Rddymk
Photo of Treath
Treath

California

1.99/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 1.75 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

From a 12 oz can into a glass.

A- Pale yellow. A finger amount of head that quickly fizzles away to a little ring. The tiniest amount of lacing.

S- Alcohol, corn, some grains. In that order.

T- It tastes like seltzer water and corn with some alcohol. But the "taste" goes away once swallowed.

M- Extremely light mouthfeel. Very clean and crisp. Good amount of carbonation.

Overall, this is an ok beer when it's a hot day out. It's refreshing, but you can really taste the alcohol in it in the initial few sips.

Serving type: can

03-20-2013 07:27:39 | More by Treath
Photo of EdgeT
EdgeT


1.59/5  rDev -11.2%
look: 1.75 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75

This beer is probably one of the worse beers you can buy. Very dull and watered down taste makes it a unwanted beer in my opinion. If you are looking for a cheap beer there are better choices than Natural Ice to choose. The can is unattractive as well. If you are looking for a beer as simple as its name, this is what you are looking for.

Serving type: can

02-20-2013 03:57:15 | More by EdgeT
Photo of SometimesIfart
SometimesIfart

Michigan

1.43/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.25

A - Pours very clear yellow with a large bone-white head. Left a small amount of lacing.

S - Pretty much smells as expected. A little bit og rice adjunct, but the scent is dominated by cheap stale malt.

T - Huge amounts of cheap malt all over this flavor with a small amount of green apple and alcohol.

M - Thin watery body with extremely heavy carbonation.

O - Overall, It tasted like an extremely cheap malt liquor. It was pretty bad.

Serving type: can

02-18-2013 04:26:34 | More by SometimesIfart
Photo of Fatehunter
Fatehunter

Oregon

1.5/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Three fingers of head in a tulip glass, descent retention. Clear, light straw colored body.
Smell is grainy with a hint of honey... and hint of some unidentifiable metallic type of smell.
Taste is fairly bad: watery with a note of bitterness that despite it's low profile manages to make the beer worse.
Light body with moderate carbonation.
Overall, pretty bad.

Serving type: can

12-10-2012 02:25:15 | More by Fatehunter
Photo of Stinkypuss
Stinkypuss

Pennsylvania

1.98/5  rDev +10.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 3

Anheuser Busch : Natural Ice

LOOK: Pale, straw yellow, small wispy head. Little lace. Actually has some retention. Appears like an American style pilsner, but falls short on so many levels.

SMELL: Spent grains, must, soiled diaper, corn.

TASTE: Corn, gassy yeast byproduct, mineral/sour note, creamed corn, vegetation, unbalancing bitterness as this finishes sweet and stale, almost off. Extremely watery and the flavor is not good.

FEEL: Light bodied, medium carbonated, watery, and forgettable.

OVERALL: This is not a good beer.

Serving type: can

11-29-2012 23:24:37 | More by Stinkypuss
Photo of BucannonXC5
BucannonXC5

California

1.88/5  rDev +5%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

32-oz. bottle into a pint glass at my house on Nov. 14, 2012 (purchased at a 7/11 for $2.49 on Nov. 14, 2012). Pale clear with less than one finger of white head that dissipated almost immediately. OK retention on the sides, hardly any on the top.

Smelled a sharp whiff of malty alcohol up front. That gave way to a puky pungent follow. Also got corn, honey, cereal and grass.

Tasted a bit similar to the nose, but with a bad lingering aftertaste. Got bread, hay, cereal, biscuit and corn. Lots of disgusting faces.

Light body. Thin texture. Average-to-below average carbonation. Abrupt watery finish.

I’ve had this plenty of times, but this was the first time I rated it. It was actually a bit better than I remember it and I still swear by Natty Light for my cheap beer. The ratings, however, didn’t come out to well, even when considering the style. It is funny that I used to think that “ice” beers were so strong.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2012 07:59:17 | More by BucannonXC5
Photo of angsta
angsta


2.78/5  rDev +55.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Of course this isn't the best beer in the world and I don't think anyone at AB would seriously try to say it was, but it's a good bit stronger and in my opinion more of a 'beer' than natural light which is the same price.

I especially like this as a backup beer when I am going to a party or event I know there will be moochers at. I drink up my good beer then finish off and hand out the ice's.

for 13.99 a case... you really can't find anything that's actually better for that cheap. Possibly Red Dog, but I don't see that beer in stores anymore at least in my state.

Serving type: can

09-29-2012 10:50:50 | More by angsta
Photo of jifigz
jifigz

Pennsylvania

2.88/5  rDev +60.9%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A "pounder" poured into a pint glass.

The beer has the typical macro lager look. Extremely pale yellow, tons of carbonation, and a head that disappeared so fast you would never know that it existed. The top of the beer is seriously alive from so much carbonation burst on the surface-it is dancing everywhere. The smell is grainy sweetness mixed with nothingness. The taste is, well, bland and very vapid. It is extremely sweet and grainy. It tastes pretty much like every other macro lager in the United States. The MF is also basically the same as every other macro lager-it is very thin and very carbonated.

This is an average example of a macro lager. It is extremely cheap at $11.25 a case. I found out that my now ex-girlfriend is a dirty lying bitch and I am really poor so I bought a case of this the other night. I was forced to drink garbage. It got me drunk, didn't take away any of my problems, and made me feel like hell the next day. But when you drink all but a handful of the whole case in one sitting, any beer is bound to do that to you. For the price, Natty isn't to shabby.

Serving type: can

09-12-2012 14:57:42 | More by jifigz
Photo of tectactoe
tectactoe

Michigan

1.44/5  rDev -19.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Natty Ice, or as I like to call it: Natural Eisbock. Sounds much better that way. The disdain of many a college student's Friday and Saturday nights, this beer typically brings nothing but trouble. Usually enjoyed straight from the can or out of a red solo cup; best paired with unprotected sex and various other bad life choices.

More pale than Kristen Stewart with less head than Ichabod. See what I did there? Natty Ice has got me doing crazy things again. Noses were a part of evolution so that when humans smelled something like this, they would be sure not to consume it. Grains, steel, booze (it's only 5.9% ABV... wut). Hops are mildew-ish and musty. But maybe this beer is just old. Who knows.

Take a sip of this shit and try not to flair your nostrils, scrunch your eyebrows, or grimace. It's very hard. Unless you're already about 8 or 9 deep, in which case they'll be flowing like a river at that point. Muted sweet malts, faint graininess, old musky hops, and a stale, metallic astringency in the finish. Crisp and dry, thinner than my bank account.

Why am I wasting my time with this beer. I'm not in college anymore. I have a job. I have a REAL job where I make REAL money and I have a fridge full of decent-to-excellent craft beer. I'm not standing in front of a table of strategically placed plastic cups and there are no Greek letters anywhere around me. Even for "magro lagers", there are much better choices than this swill.

Serving type: can

08-09-2012 00:46:41 | More by tectactoe
Photo of David_Summers
David_Summers


3.1/5  rDev +73.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 4

This beer has continued to be my favorite throughout the years. It's one of the cheapest beers I can think of, being $14 for a 30 can case and it continues to get better and better. Yes, the taste isn't extremely lovable but once you get through it, they continue to get better and better, by the third one, it tastes delicious. To me, the taste is somewhat similar to maybe a bud ice or budweiser, though the only discourse I have is about the 153 calories that are found in the 5.9& Natural Ice. This is while Natural Ice with a 4.2% is a less calorie intake beer though takes a bit longer to dirnk.

Serving type: can

07-30-2012 15:30:22 | More by David_Summers
Photo of jn245
jn245


4.23/5  rDev +136.3%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I love Natural Ice Beer! I like how it does not have a watered down taste to it. The beer has a bite to it. I also like how strong it is compared to other beers in the same price range which is another reason I love this beer. It is cheap! I don't think a beer has to cost a lot to be a great beer. It seems to have a bad rep around where i live, but I love it!

Serving type: can

07-14-2012 20:44:01 | More by jn245
Photo of Brenden
Brenden

Ohio

2.48/5  rDev +38.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

For the sake of experimentation, I'm holding a little tasting of beers I happened to have but would never purchase myself. This is the second.

"Natty Ice," as it's commonly known, is paler than straw yellow. It's extremely fizzy and bubbly, able to form a head almost a finger tall before it immediately dies away, though a little foamy patch struggles to stay alive. Very small spots of lacing can be seen scattered on the glass.
It smells like corn husk and apple skins primarily. There's a mild astringent alcohol whiff as well.
The taste is about the same, with a bit more corn husk and some rice coming out in the finish. Alcohol is barely noticeable as a flavor but warms quite a bit. Bland, of course, but considering what it is, probably average. Being such a terrible style, though, "average" is still low.
The feel is extremely light, as expected, with an unyielding but not terribly spritzy crispness. There's not much else to it.

Serving type: can

06-07-2012 00:19:43 | More by Brenden
Photo of JackMatthew
JackMatthew


1.95/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

The smell is much better than the taste. Sweetness and hops are present here, but the beer taste fades and you taste alcohol at the end of the sip. I didn't expect to taste much alcohol at 5.9 ABV, buts its very much there. If you want to drink a beer that tastes like it has a shot of cheap vodka in it, get Natural Ice.

Serving type: can

04-07-2012 03:53:06 | More by JackMatthew
Photo of nsx1
nsx1

California

1.9/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I do not particularly like a head on my beer, and I was able to pure the contents of the can down the side of the glass with practically no head at all. Very light in color. Very, very light in taste... closer to water than beer. I did not notice much of a buzz.

Serving type: can

03-23-2012 04:04:46 | More by nsx1
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Natural Ice from Anheuser-Busch
46 out of 100 based on 673 user ratings.