Budweiser to release "Black Crown," a new line of higher-alcohol beers

Mmmmm beechwood

yes, because the ABV is the only reason why people are switching to craft. No other reason, nosirree Bob. Just the booze.

Ayup.

"golden amber lager" At least they've come up with an oxymoron for a style designation like their smaller competitors!

Black Crown? More like Black Crow

Can anyone say
WINTER'S BOURBON CASK ALE ?

Vilest SWILL ever tried to be passed off as micro beer

Maybe it'll be more than 12%ABV and they'll pull their magic government strings and raise the cap in Ohio...then I'd be in support of it.

Do not want.

If Platinum were $2.00-$2.50/bottle at a sports bar I'd probably drink more of it. Unfortunately, it's not, and that alone would make me assume that higher alcohol content will result in a price too competitive with craft prices, which when all is said and done, will not sway me into drinking anything different than what I already prefer...a damn good beer from breweries that actually give a damn.

I look forward to Bud Light Lime Black in a snifter!

Where do they get their market research? I don't see who they are going to appeal too...

We alls aid the same thing about Platinum, and they've been selling the ever living fuck out of it. Some people dont want "more flavor," they just want more alcohol, and they will pay more to get it. Best we can hope for is that drinking this makes them want to try actual beer... but it probably wont.


Also, "Golden Amber Lager" is the stupidest thing I've heard yet. BREWED ICE COLD, TRIPLE HOPS BREWED GOLDEN AMBER LAGER, FOR A TASTE THATS COLD, REFRESHING, SMOOTH, FlAVORFUL, SMOOTH, AND MANLY! (also refreshing.)"

This sounds like their version of Dark Lord... or maybe it's just bourbon county base....

Sounds like this could turn out to be an entry to craft beer for the non-believers. Thanks, Bud! [No sarcasm intended, btw.]

The article says it's designed to combat people moving to spirits, not craft beer.

Has anyone here ever drank Wild Blue, AB's high alcohol blueberry lager? That stuff is fucking awful. Hopefully this stuff is a little better than that, but I'm not holding out too much hope.

Isn't that why they have Four Loco???

Seriously though, why does Budweiser think it is a good idea to tweak the same bullshit lager recipes and repackage them differently? I am half tempted to try their new mix 12 pack, but I just know it will be a waste of my money. These beers could push others into the craft beer world, as someone else mentioned. I remember back in the day, trying every different kind of swill I could, before I realized none of them were really any good. That's when I searched further and found craft beer.

And as for the "golden amber lager"... WiTF is that???

I saw that as well, but does that make even a lick of sense?

"Woaaaa.... I was gonna get me a glass of Wild Turkey Rare Breed, but now that I see that them thar black crown, golden amber lager, no way I want that glass of bourbon."

Who knew that bud lite was a gateway drink for single malt scotch and small batch bourbon?

I think the idea is more that less refined drinkers are looking to cheap vodka, wine, whiskey, etc... to get drunk rather than beer.

I remember when all the frat boys got super-stoked about BL Platium, "But it's 6% ABV, bro!"

They're gonna blow their diaper over this news.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right... though I daresay, AB would probably use a different expression than "less refined drinkers."

I mean surely you're not suggesting that many (most?) consumers drink AB products just to get drunk, and that AB is well aware of that fact and is concerned they're losing a signficant chunk of that important market.

Nothing says Black quite like Golden Amber.

Except for maybe India Pale Ale...

Adding more alcohol to a fizzy yellow lager? Wow, if any brewery knows how to diversify its portfolio it's AB.

Looks like they are also targeting craft beer consumers as the Adage article also says:

Either way sounds like yet another awesome marketing ploy from the big boys.

Holy shit, Wild Blue is one of the worst things I've ever had in my life.

"Black Crap"

Between this and their brewmaster zip codes beers it seems like they are realizing they are going to have trouble gaining or maintaining their number of customers in the long run with their current offerings and the huge variety of craft beer out there now. Makes me smile a little bit.

Agreed...Wild Blue was the first beer I ever drain poured.

BRILLIANT, now their beer will taste better faster haha

im surprised Cigar City hasnt messed around with beechwood yet.

Schlenkerla, Hofmark, and many many others have....

yea but I can see a CCB Beechwood aged IPA or saison.

What if the inside of the beechwood barrel were blackened with pitch to prevent any woody flavors from entering the beer?

then its pointless. I was just thinking thats a wood they havent tinkered with yet.

Cigar City does not "mess around".... Cheers

haha I know. Just a wrong word I guess.

Bud just uses the chips for a part in the lagering process. Im not sure if beechwood imparts much flavor.

"While beechwood chips are used in the maturation tank, there is little to no flavor contribution from the wood, mainly because they are boiled in sodium bicarbonate [baking soda] for seven hours for the very purpose of removing any flavor from the wood. The maturation tanks that Anheuser-Busch uses are horizontal and, as such, flocculation of the yeast occurs much more quickly. Anheuser-Busch refers to this process as a secondary fermentation, with the idea being that the chips give the yeast more surface area to rest on." Source is Wikipedia. I've also read something similar in The Oxford Companion to Beer. Cheers, twerps.

When used to dry-smoke the malt for Schlenkerla's beers, it tastes like the best beverage in the universe.