162. Shock Top Apple Wheat

Just a few minutes ago, I took a look at what's currently sitting in "draft" status and I can see that I'm about fifteen beers behind.  Hopefully I'll be able to make a dent in the backlog.  I'm still going through the beers that I needed to drink before moving, and that was almost two months ago.  Just goes to show that I haven't consumed a lot of beers since then..well, that's not true.  I haven't consumed a lot of new beers since then.  MillerCoors has Blue Moon, Anheuser Busch has Shock Top.  This is the first one from Shock Top that I've ever tried, I'm crossing my fingers for good things.

The beer pours as expected, an apple juice colored beer that has little to no head, with no real retention or lacing as it settled in my pilsner glass.  The aromas are predominantly red apple with a little bit of sugary malt and wheat.  Exactly what you would expect with this beer.

The taste on the other hand is not what I would expect.  I personally found it to be bad.  Very bad.  I enjoy a lot of hard ciders, so I came prepped with some sort of preconceived expectation for what I was going to taste.  The biggest problem I have with the beer is that I think the apple flavor pairs horribly with a wheat beer.  The wheat gives the apple a bad aftertaste and the crispness goes by the wayside.  Maybe if it was blended with a light ale, things would have been better.  With the wheat..?  No.  It felt more like conflict than cooperation.  The body was light with moderate high carbonation.  This was almost a drain pour, but I toughed it out and consumed the whole thing.  That said, I don't plan to ever drink another.  Pass on this one folks!

Grade: D-

Price Paid: $1.66 (12 oz bottle)

13. Budweiser

Bud.  Weis.  Er.  Maybe you're old enough to remember the famous lizards that debuted during some Super Bowl in the 1990's.  Budweiser (http://www.budweiser.com) is known as the "Great American Lager".  The "King of Beers".  Maybe it was deserving of that moniker back in the day, can't say the same thing about it now.  

A Budweiser has a little more ABV than Bud Light, as expected (5.0% range).  The beer is also more full bodied and packs more flavor than its Light counterpart.  I could drink this more than a Bud Light, but that's not saying much since I'd drink almost anything over a Bud Light.  

I read an article that Budweiser doesn't use the same hops in an effort to cut costs, and that for the "Great American Lager", they're Bud Lighting it because it appeals better to their overseas counterparts.  Capitalism at its finest.  I haven't had a Budweiser in a while, but I'm also not interested in supporting InBev either (I might indirectly support them, just don't expect me to buy a Budweiser anytime soon).  Don't be cheap.  Bad, bad, bad!

Grade: C-

Price paid: Free (12 oz can)

12. Bud Light

Ah yes, Bud Light (http://www.budlight.com).  The #1 selling domestic beer in the United States.  Reduced calorie and reduced taste, so everyone is comfortable drinking more of it.  I will give Anheuser Busch credit for making some pretty funny commercials, but that's about the extent of it.

As the #1 beer in the US, I have obviously found myself consuming some Bud Light here and there.  I can't remember the last time I bought Bud Light...maybe college or something.  I'm sure that the last time I had one, I grabbed one from a friend's fridge and that was that.

Most folks drink it out of the can and bottle, myself included.  If it was actually purchased on draught, you would notice the golden color and about two fingers of head, give or take depending on who is doing the pouring.  Even more so than Budweiser, the beer still tastes incredibly watered down, with little to no flavor. It's the everyman's beer, good for any time.  At least, that's what their marketing department would say about it.  I'll tell you this, it's certainly not for me.

Grade: D-

Price paid: Free (12 oz can)

11. Bud Light Lime

Alright, onto some of the domestic offerings that I can say that I've consumed.  Bud Light Lime (http://www.budlightlime.com) is the first on the list.  Through the picture, you can notice the low ABV of 4.2% and the "infused" lime flavor into Bud Light.  The makers from Missouri must have thought that this would cater to women, I don't know.

First of all, I'm not a fan of Bud Light.  So what would make a Bud Light Lime any better?  I didn't know, but I was willing to give it the ol' college try to see if anything stood out.  It has a nice golden color to it.  I poured it incorrectly to give it a decent amount of head.  The lime aroma is not subtle on the first whiff.  It drinks easy enough, but that's because there's not a lot of taste there.  The lime presence is evident, but so is the fact that I'm drinking a Bud Light.  There's not a lot of pronounced flavor, I feel like I'm drinking watered down beer.  Unless I was visiting friends and this was all they had, I wouldn't drink again.

Grade: D

Price paid: Free (12 oz bottle)