Lately I’ve seen some curious offerings from the Anheuser-Busch consortium:

That's one eyebrow raised...

That's two eyebrows, and that's a FRUIT.

Is this subterfuge?!

Pabst Blue Ribbon has undergone a catastrophically successful rebranding over the last decade. What was once a heartland, working-class beer, brewed in Wisconsin and enjoyed by the Walt Kowalskis and Frank Booths of the world, has now become the beer of choice among hipster 20-somethings. In fact, the change has been so successful that the charitable organization that owns the Pabst Brewing Company is looking to sell it (since a charity cannot own a for-profit company and retain nonprofit status) for $300 million, despite the fact that the brewing company doesn’t actually brew anything. The Pabst Brewing Company mainly operates as a marketing company for the beers it sells, specifically PBR, which has significantly upped its sales figures recently.

Now, I suppose the company deserves credit for PBR’s recent success, but I’m reluctant to credit people for simply knowing how irrational American consumers are, particularly the brand of consumers commonly known as “hipsters.”

I’m reluctant to criticize hipsters because they are an ill-defined, much-maligned breed; like “racists” and “partisans,” “hipsters” are almost universally condemned, even though nobody can agree on what exactly makes one a hipster (although it probably involves skinny jeans).

With that said, we all know who drinks PBR, and it’s not people who like how it tastes. These are people who are trying to send one of the following cool, but factually incorrect signals to those seeing them drinking it (and the fact that PBR is rarely on tap means people generally will know what you are drinking):

1) I don’t care about mainstream tastes. Except that PBR is more popular than it’s been in decades. It’s sales and market share are up more than any other beer, and the only beers that outperform it are the corporate “monsters” put out by MillerCoors and Anheuser-Busch.

2) I don’t like spending a lot of money. Except that PBR’s prices have actually gone up during its recent success. PBR now costs more than other crappy beers, like Keystone, Natural Light, and Miller High Life. And yet, its sales continue to rise. People are drinking it, then, not because it’s cheap, but because it is perceived to be cheap.

3) I’m not responding to advertising. It’s true that PBR doesn’t spend nearly as much on advertising as its competitors; in fact, I’m not sure it spends any money at all on national advertising. But this doesn’t mean PBR isn’t marketed. In fact, the Pabst Brewing Company has been working on a word-of-mouth campaign since 2004 that has tried to brand the beer as “ironic downscale chic.”

4) I like the way this beer tastes. HA! 

5) I don’t drink corporate beer. PBR only qualifies as a non-corporate beer if your only definition of corporate beers are those produced by MillerCoors and Anheuser Busch. As I said before, the Pabst Brewing Company isn’t actually a “brewing company,” but a holding company for over two dozen brands that subcontracts the actual process of brewing. This shouldn’t necessarily factor into your beer selection, but Pabst certainly isn’t an “independent” or “family-owned” brewery.

Basically, all the signals that drinking Pabst Blue Ribbon is supposed to send are inaccurate and inauthentic, and yet people persist in drinking it for these reasons. So the next time you’re faced with a choice of beers, remember this: There is no good reason to drink PBR.

Leffe is an excellent winter beer, though to be honest I think that most of the Belgium and Winter style beers are excellent for this time of the year. There is something about how the spices of the beer work together with the foods and cold air that is blowing through that makes these beers suited to the colder weather. Inbev’s Leffe is an “Abbey” Belgium beer once associated with the Notre Dame de Leffe which was founded back in 1152 in southern Belgium and was the local wild fruits and spices that gave this ale it distinct and unique flavor profile. Currently Leffe is bottled by Anheuser-Busch in the United States, but is produced at the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven. Leffe has tones that can be found in most Belgium Winter ales such as Hoegaarden, but with slightly less spicy character and a smooth wheat flavor. When you pour Leffe into a glass you a get the sweet and fruit tones that give your palate a distinct preview of the flavors to come. In summation, this is a great ale to keep around in the fall and winter months, it would be paired well with bowl of hearty soup or pasta.

Rating:
• Drinkability - 5 out of 5
• Flavor - 5 out of 5
• Refreshness - 4 out of 5
• Overall – 14 out of 15

Hawaii isn’t exactly known for their beer, but Kona Brewing Co. has made a name for themselves over here on the mainland. I remember drinking their Longboard lager when I was over there about 3 years ago, but just recently I found out that it’s owned by Anheuser Busch. Nothing against them as they are easily America’s most popular brewery, but I feel the Wailua Wheat Ale was a bit of a marketing gimmick.

It’s the summer seasonal wheat beer, and is infused with passionfruit. I’m not normally a fan of passionfruit but it started growing on me after about a week of tasting. There isn’t much of a strong aroma, and the head fizzled away quickly despite a lot of carbonation in the mouthfeel. The hue is a pale cloudy yellow and the beer reminded me of a bud light with lime only with the fruit changed and a bit more wheat added in. This beer would be refreshing and a nice summer beer, but I don’t think it’s worth the extra money you’ll spend to pick up a six pack. I give it a 7/10.

As a part of CauseBecause’s (CB) monthly exercise of reviewing the corporate social responsibility space around the Indian subcontinent, we are producing an excerpt of the major happenings that made news in October 2009.

As an encouraging sign for India’s CSR structure, an annual survey conducted by CSR Asia has ranked India fourth in the social corporate responsibility space in Asia. The top 10 Asian countries that were increasingly giving heed to corporate social responsibility (CSR) disclosure includes Australia, followed by China (second), Hong Kong (third), Japan (fifth), Malaysia (sixth), Pakistan (seventh), Philippines (eight), Singapore (ninth) and Thailand (tenth). The top ten companies in India’s CSR rankings include Tata Consultancy Services, ITC Ltd, Infosys Technologies, Larsen and Toubro, Reliance Industries, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharti Airtel, Steel Authority of India Ltd and NMDC Ltd.

Meanwhile, diversified US conglomerate General Electric (GE), as part of their CSR activity, has found use for tech firms’ junked computer. The company is working on a plan to collect these computers, treated as e-waste by many firms, and use them to take IT education to thousands of schools in the country. GE, through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm, GE Volunteers, has already piloted the project and is confident about rolling it to others parts of the country shortly. GE Volunteers is targeting the IT companies that plan to dispose of computers either due to the depreciation of the asset or due to upgradation.

The company plans to collect these computers and refurbish them for extending their life. ‘We spend about Rs 1,000 per system for refurbishment. These computers will then be given to various schools that we are identifying using a group of NGOs. Volunteers from GE would also work with the teachers in these schools for imparting IT-based education to the students,’ Sanjeev Jain, India leader for GE Volunteers, said in a media statement.

The company has so far collected about 400 computers and distributed them to some schools on a pilot basis. ‘The results so far have been encouraging. We did this in Chennai and Hyderabad. The results from Andhra Pradesh are too good,’ Jain added.

Again, Bharti Wal-Mart, which opened its first Best Price Modern Wholesale store in Amritsar in May, distributed 10 of the carts to hawkers last month. ‘We often partner with companies on CSR initiatives, as we did with Coke (Coca-Cola India Pvt. Ltd) for plantations inside the premises of the Best Price store,’ a Bharti Wal-Mart spokesperson said. The carts were donated to their owners. Bharti Wal-Mart said it has received a positive response to its CSR venture and plans to scale it up, though it did not provide any details.

Moving on, many corporates have shifted their focus on to rural areas and villages for carrying out their CSR activities. In one such example, L&T Microfinance has implemented CSR projects in the villages in which it is operating by providing education and sanitation facilities to empower rural communities.

In a similar vein, Tata Power Company Ltd has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) to forge an alliance whereby the benefit of futures price information will be spread to more than 2,000 farmers across 25 villages of Maharashtra where Tata Power has its project and CSR activities. The joint CSR initiative is called Sahyog (‘partnership’).

Focusing on some e-initiatives of online companies, brand merchandising and corporate gifting solutions company eYantra has launched ecoRus.in, an eco-friendly corporate gifting site that claims to offer biodegradable, organic, energy-saving, recycled and handmade products that can be easily customized with the corporate logo.

According to eYantra, ecoRus.in gifts range from organic apparel and jute bags to vegetable-based desktop products and stationeries made from recycled paper, and from solar-powered gadgets to water-based clocks.

ecoRus.in has also partnered with World Clean Air Forest Initiative (WCAFI), endorsed by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to bring in Clean Air Tree Kit in India. Under the WCAFI programme, for every Clean Air Tree Kit purchased from ecoRus.in, WCAFI will plant a tree in India.

On to some awards and recognitions: The Tamil Nadu government presented corporate social responsibility awards to corporate giants including ONGC, CPCL, SAIL, TVS Motors and Orchid Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals. Deputy chief minister MK Stalin gave away a cash incentive of five lakh rupees and certificates to each company, commending their CSR activities in different spheres, including agriculture, education, women’s empowerment, and new and renewable energy.

For the second consecutive year, Anheuser-Busch has been honoured for overall excellence in corporate social responsibility, leading all other beverage companies. Anheuser-Busch recovers and recycles in its own facilities five aluminium cans for every four packaged. The company operates the world’s largest bio-mass recovery system and is installing solar energy arrays at many of its breweries.

All alcohol beverage companies work hard to promote responsible alcohol consumption. Anheuser-Busch’s programmes range from ‘We I.D. a program that reminds retailers to check IDs to prevent sales of beer to underage people’, to working with law enforcement in Connecticut and Indiana to provide outdoor advertising reminding drivers to use seatbelts and designated drivers, to backing the Federal Trade Commission’s ‘We Don’t Serve Teens’ programme with advertising in national publications, or billboards and in stores.

Anheuser-Busch also provides philanthropic support to nonprofits that support its business objectives and which help to make the communities in which A-B operates better places in which to live, work and raise a family.

NMDC, a premier mining PSU with ‘Navratna’ status, said that it has been conferred with the India Pride Award for CSR excellence for the year. NMDC Chairman and Managing Director Rana Som received the award from Home Minister P Chidambaram at a function at New Delhi, the company said in a release.

The award has been given in recognition of NMDC’s sustained efforts for improvement of quality life for the underprivileged through various innovative corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, the company said.

GMR Varalakshmi Foundation (GMRVF), the CSR arm of the infrastructure major GMR Group, has been awarded the Help Age India Silver Plate Award for the CSR works with elderly. The award aims to recognize and applaud the highest contribution given to the cause of disadvantaged older persons.

Meena Raghunathan, director community services, GMR Varalakshmi Foundation, received the silver plaque and citation from Mukul Wasnik, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment.

Finally, on to some analysis: PC Magazine, in a feature Are We Green Yet?, written on energy costs and the threat of global warming, spoke to several corporate honchos, who, voicing similar concerns, spelt out their ways of solving the situation.

Continuing on to the social media field, the realm of CSR has also extended to the recent revolution in online media which is Twitter. Twitter is a microblogging platform that allows users to share their thoughts within 140 characters. Twitter is also used extensively by brands and corporates to market and promote their products and offerings. One of the best features on Twitter is the hashtag. It allows one to find interesting topics, intellectual tweeters and real-time information.

Following is a list of 20 Twitter hashtags for social entrepreneurs, nonprofits and activists:

#SocEnt: The ultimate tag for social entrepreneurship. Original founder unknown

#SocEntChat: A Twitter conversation presented by Tom Dawkins (@AshokaTweets) and Nathaniel Whittemore (@SocialEntrprnr) that takes place on the first Wednesday of each month (also supported by me, @writerpollock)

#Nonprofit: Can’t get any more self-explanatory than this! Use this tag to show those NGO good works

#4Change: A Twitter chat and hashtag, #4Change profiles online technology, like social media, used for good communication

#NPTech: Use this tag to promote and follow nonprofit technology

#CharityTuesday: Spread the good word every Tuesday with this Twitter tag

#MiFiMon: A Twitter chat that focuses on microfinance

#v4change: Video for Change: as simple as that

#m4change: Just as video can be an important part to spreading awareness of a cause, so can mobile technology. This tag stands for Mobile for Change and is complemented by social entrepreneurs like The Extraordinaries

#CSR: Use this tag for corporate social responsibility tweets

#Environment: Use this tag for eco-friendly tweets, along with #green and #sustainable

#Solar: Clean alternative energy! Also, use #wind, #EV (electric vehicle) and #energy, when applicable

#SocialGood: Created by Mashable and the Summer of Social Good, this tag works for any socially conscious tweets

#Microfinance: Like #MiFiMon, but this isn’t a chat, so use it on a daily basis

#Philanthropy: Want to find out, or spread awareness of, someone who’s doing good? #Philanthropy it is

#Charity: Similar to philanthropy, but charity focuses more on organizational work

#Fundraising: Need ideas and help growing donors and funding? Check out this hashtag (and this story on using Twitter to raise funds)

#Poverty: Use this tag to call awareness to, and monitor, stories of those in need

#ClimateChange: Concerned over the upcoming United Nations climate meeting in Copenhagen? Show your support for climate action by using and following this tag (#GlobalWarming works too)

#Health: Into helping medicinal causes? Make sure to put the #health tag on your list

Now that a former female Anheuser-Busch executive has filed a lawsuit claiming the beer company discriminated against her based upon her gender, some wonder if AB is acting a little too much like its target market, with a “locker room and frat party atmosphere” that works against female employees.

Source:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2009/10/anheuser_busch_frat_house_images_discrimination_lawsuit.php

Now that a former female Anheuser-Busch executive has filed a lawsuit claiming the beer company discriminated against her based upon her gender, some wonder if AB is acting a little too much like its target market, with a “locker room and frat party atmosphere” that works against female employees.

Source:
http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2009/10/anheuser_busch_frat_house_images_discrimination_lawsuit.php

Francine Katz, a former high profile vice president of communications and consumer affairs at Anheuser-Busch, has filed a sex discrimination lawsuit against the beer company.

Anheuser-Busch Brewery, St. Lewis

Katz alleges that Anheuser-Busch maintained a male-dominated “locker room” work environment and culture that “adversely impacts women” and that pays women lower salaries and offers them fewer opportunities in top jobs.

Katz alleges she was paid less than half of what her male predecessor, John Jacob, had been making in the same position.

——————-

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Much has happened since neglecting my favorite web site, due to crazy local events. I refuse to bore you with those details, so let me get to the subject at hand: Beer!
I am sure by now almost everybody has tasted their fall marzen, or what is commonly called Oktoberfest. I usually sample as many of these as possible, but this year I slacked off a bit, but still had time to try the Kostritzer version from the black bier people in Germany. A change of pace from the caramel malt laden versions around, like Samuel Adams Octoberfest.
But the caramel malt profile has become synonymous with autumn beers in the United States. As the weather turns cooler the body has a need for more malts, which makes super hop productions seem out of season for the moment.
Since it is autumn and we are rapidly moving towards Halloween, I do want to mention one of my favorite seasonal productions, that being Saranac Pumpkin Ale.
Many compare this beer to pumpkin pie, although I do not eat pumpkin pie as a rule. No, what I like about this pumpkin ale is the recipe. I prefer it over Brooklyn Brewery’s Post Road, which Matt Brewing does the contract brewing for.
About a month ago I attended a distributor trade show where Rochester, New York brewer Dundee had samples of their Oktoberfest. A very good take on the style, that is not as widely distributed as it should.
I also got to sample Sierra-Nevada’s Chico Estate. A complete “in-house” brew, using hops grown by the brewery. It was quite good, but time limitations prevented the kind of serious, sit down contemplation this smooth ale demanded.
At the very same show (hell, it might as well been called a party) the Schlitz Gusto folks were in full promotional mode. Schlitz Gusto is the trade book name for the revived early 1960’s formula of Schlitz, before the marketing geniuses came up with the idea of tweaking the recipe, to supposedly produce more, while using less ingredients. That lead to the ultimate disaster where Schlitz, the number one beer in America since World War II, lost its market dominance to Budweiser, and never gained it back. As a kid, I heard beer drinking adults refer to Schlitz as “Shits” when the reformulated suds turned people away in droves.
But corporate amnesia was in full play this evening. Like Microsoft wanting you to buy 7 and forget all about something once known as Vista, the Schlitz Gusto had not only tied in to their daddy or granddaddy’s beer, with its Schlitz classic logo, they even had buttons promoting it as the beer of choice for the 1969 Woodstock music festival.
I also had to marvel at the riffs being used by the sales representative. Not only was he promoting Schlitz with quite a bit of gusto, he also had on hand their strong (8.5%) malt liquor, which he made a distinction that it was not malt liquor (which is in fact, a rather ambiguous term) but a high gravity lager.
Which was also in full play at this trade show, the distinction between craft, regional retro and corporate has becomes pretty much of a blur. I know the so-called craft brewers want to seperate themselves from the rest of the brewing industry, but is that actually possible, or is it by now, just another marketing ploy? I mean after trying Samuel Adams Coastal Wheat, how is it different than other big brewer’s wheat productions? From Coors’ Blue Moon to Bud Light Golden Wheat?
As I stated in a previous post, the recipe is the final deciding factor. Consolidation of brewing interests can reek havoc on a beloved brew. Take what A-B Inbev as done to the venerable Bass Ale. Corporate concerns have forgotten all about the character of this famous ale, that once upon a time, in Burton-On-Trent England, was brewed with gypsum mineral rich water that provided a somewhat chalky but delicious finish. None of that is present in the concoction now sold as Bass.
Luckily, some recipes have not been changed, or in rare cases, actually improved. Two of the early winter arrivals are outstanding: Avery’s Old Jubilation Ale and Flying Dog’s K-9. Both of these examples show that if you are going to fork out some serious money for a six pack of beer, it had better be worth it. In the case of these two, I would say it is.
As always my only prayer is thank you.

Brewery Name and Location: Anheuser Busch of St Louis, Missouri, USA

Name of Brew: Budweiser American Ale

Style of Brew: Amber Ale

Purchase Info: $5.99 for 6 pack bottles.

ABV: 5.1%

Ingredient Info: Caramel malts and Cascade dry hopped.

Nutritional Info:

Vessel Used for Tasting: Glass Mug

Aroma/Olfactory: The citrusy hop aroma lies atop a distinctly Budweiser smell.

Visuals/Appearance: Clear amber with off-white head and a smidge of lace.

Taste/Flavor: A minimal caramel malt and hop bitter sit above a very Bud tasting ale. The hops do not come through in flavor nearly as well as they present in nose. Tastes adjuncty and a bit metallic to me.

Palate/Tactile: Light bodied and pretty drinkable. Flattens a bit quickly.

Tasting Backstory: It looks like a quality brew, it (mostly) smells like a quality brew… then you taste it. *sigh* Don’t get me wrong, it is not awful. It just is not great. It is like a beer made from a concentrate. Good craft beer is Budweiser American Ale as fresh OJ is to Minute Maid. It reminds me a lot of the Coastal Fog Pale Ale I had a few months ago in that it is an imposter, but it is slightly better than that disaster…. To me it seems like the InBev execs were trying to figure out the bare minimum they could brew to get on the craft side of the beer shelf…. Enough ragging on this, it is, after all, the epitome of mediocre and that is better than sucky. Plus, good price point.

Rating: 5/10

Value Rating: 6/10

You don’t think about Budweiser crossing paths with the Lollypop Tree, but once again, it turns out candy and liquor have a tangled past.

It all goes back to Prohibition, of course.

Anheuser-Busch started out as the Bavarian Brewery in St. Louis, Missouri in 1852. After a number of changes in owners and names, Anheuser-Busch began producing Budweiser in 1876. Michelob followed in 1896. By 1900, Anheuser-Busch was selling one million barrels of beer a year.

And then, the catastrophe known in the American brewery and distillery business as “Prohibition.” In 1920, it became illegal to manufacture and sell alcohol. What is a thiving manufacturer to do? In a word, diversify.

To keep afloat, Anheuser-Busch branched out. They started selling ice cream, barley malt syrup, ginger ale, root beer, chocolate- and grape-flavored beverages, truck and bus bodies, refrigerated cabinets, baker’s yeast and dealcoholized Budweiser.

And they started selling corn syrup, a key ingredient for the growing candy industry.

This advertisement is from the June 17, 1952 issue of Candy Industry. The ad shows that in the 1950s, long past the days of Prohibition, Anheuser-Busch was actively seeking customers for their corn products in the candy business. I’d love to be at one of those meetings, imagine the snack table laden with foamy mugs and candy canes…

An update on Anheuser-Busch: today the company’s principle concerns are beer, packaging, and theme park entertainment. They also have interests in malt production, rice milling, real estate development, turf farming, metalized and paper label printing, bottle production and transportation services. I’ll bet they miss the candy.

Sources: Candy Industry, June 17, 1952; http://www.anheuser-busch.com

Related Posts:

The Anheuser-Busch ad buy, for the Oct. 17 episode, marks the first time in 35 seasons of the show that a single marketer has bought all its national commercial time, according to NBC.

It’s designed to grab attention for Golden Wheat, which the brewing giant introduced on October 5.

Source:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/10/16/saturday-night-live-puts-on-a-show-sponsored-only-by-budweiser/#continued

The Anheuser-Busch ad buy, for the Oct. 17 episode, marks the first time in 35 seasons of the show that a single marketer has bought all its national commercial time, according to NBC.

It’s designed to grab attention for Golden Wheat, which the brewing giant introduced on October 5.

Source:
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2009/10/16/saturday-night-live-puts-on-a-show-sponsored-only-by-budweiser/#continued

I heard rumors and was pretty certain this would happen, but today it was announced that Busch Gardens Theme Parks will be sold to Blackstone group for 2.7 Billion dollars.   I wonder if they plan to keep the “themes” of the various countries throughout the park or have plans to completely revamp the whole theme.  Maybe the Oktoberfest section in the Germany portion of the Virginia park will now serve authentic German beers.  This might be a good thing…

In the new “Nattyisms” ad campaign for its Natural Light brand of beer, Anheuser Busch proves that it lives by the Shakespearean dictum, “To thine own self be true.” Natural Light is clearly a brand that knows its market and knows how to communicate to the target audience. In this case, that demographic is horny, binge-drinking and/or slob-drunk college boys who buy cheap beer by the liver-fouling loadful.

Even if you’ve already seen them on TV, you might want to go to Natural Light’s Web site and check out the five “Nattyisms” spots. Taken together, the ads humorously depict, through standard advertising caricatures, the world that young male Natty enthusiasts inhabit. We also see plenty of the women who exist in this world primarily as carriers of sex organs and inhibitions, the latter of which the boys pray are lowered by a few red-Solo-cup flagons of Natural Light, thereby granting access to the former.

Other points of interest from the five commercials:

1. Each is introduced by a voice almost surely altered by about nine cans of Natural Light. Simply, the narrator dude is drunk, which is an apt choice—would the skits that follow be nearly as effective if they’d been introduced by an avuncular voice of authority and sobriety? I think not, unless that voice belonged to Wilford Brimley. No, the “drunk college kid” voice is perfect, though I would have tried to recruit Michael Phelps to provide the slurred intro. You know that guy’s been to some Natty-heavy parties since the Beijing Olympics and has probably accidentally used Natural Light as bongwater at least once. Now there’s a testimonial I would love to hear.

2. Women carry Natural Light on their “Natty Caddies,” reach for cans of Natty between men’s legs, hold pizza and stare seductively, and cause “Natastrophes” by distracting men with their vexing, siren-like sexuality. In Natty World, that’s all they do. Well, in addition to, as stated above, representing the potential for physical gratification as soon as the Natty works its magic.

3. The commercials suggest that guys who drink Natty Light can live in shitty apartments and have bad facial hair, but still hang out with hot college girls. This is a corollary of the King of Queens Theorem, which governs all TV interactions between fat guys and beautiful women.

4. The “Natapult” spot misses a key point. As the ad explains, a Natapult is getting somebody to throw you a Natural Light across the room instead of going to get one yourself. In the ad, the voiceover says it’s best used to prevent other partygoers from stealing your seat. But doesn’t that leave out the other, more common, more compelling reason to use the Natapult?

A different, perhaps more accurate Natapult ad would go something like this: After 11 Natties in three hours, a young male partygoer finds the first available chair and sits down. In his mind, he proceeds to “hold court,” regaling rapt audiences with ribald tales of classes aced, intramural football foes vanquished, and Pi Phi wenches bedded. In reality, he sits on a Salvation Army couch, calls a lot of things “gay,” scares away every girl within a 20-foot radius, and has his bro Joey “Natapult” him more cold ones until he passes out at 2:15 in the morning. At 3:00, he pisses himself. The ad closes with a reminder to “Please Drink Responsibly.”

In sum, even with this failure to capture the essence of the Natapult experience, the Nattyisms campaign is memorable. More importantly, it’s effective in clearly defining the product’s essence and core mission. This particular advertising brass ring may be covered in backwash and vurp residue (and tarnished with all-too-common objectification of women), but Natural Light has grabbed it anyway.

YouTube has some of the hilarious Budweiser Real Men of Genius ads, alternatively called Real American Heroes. These are some of the funniest beer ads in the post-Lite Beer from Miller Tastes Great/Less Filling era.

Here’s one that needs no commentary:

Yes, time for another Macro review.  I know, I know.  But in my defense, the first few times I had Shock-Top it was on tap (and I was not as learned in the beer culture as I am now) and I had developed a taste for it before knowing of its roots.  And damn it, it’s a mighty tasty brew!

From the Shock Top label: Unfiltered Belgian-style wheat ale brewed with orange, lemon & lime peels and coriander, which is naturally cloudy with a light golden color.

Shock-Top Belgian White is an unfiltered Belgian style wheat beer (a.k.a. an American wheat beer) brewed with spice by the folks over at Anheuser-Busch/InBev.  The beer comes in at 5.2% ABV.

Shock Top is your typical American-style wheat.  Brewed with orange, lemon, lime and coriander and a giving of a delicious smell that says “orange grove”.

The beer pours with a color reminiscent of orange juice with a white, one-finger head.  The head quickly abates, leaving almost zero lacing on the glass.   There is mild carbonation and multiple “floaties” (a.k.a sediment from the orange peels) swimming around the glass that appear to be dancing in the beer when held to the light.

A-B did a pretty good job of replicating a Belgian-style wheat (with the expected American “touches”).  The orange flavor, obviously, overpowers everything else; leaving very little room for the other fruit to shine through.   The mouthfeel has a little bite to it, and savoring the flavor brings a sourness out that wasn’t present before.  Some dryness follows the beverage.

Shock Top is a good session beer.  Perfect for sipping on a warm summer day with the ball game on the TV.  And a nice way for the “average beer drinker” to get a little insight into the world of American (once again, not Belgian) wheat beers.

P.S.  If you’re purchasing Shock Top at a bar/restaurant it will probably come with an orange, but it’s just as good, if not better, without.

Overall:  8 out of 10

As a WHEAT BEER: 8 out of 10

Well, well, well.

Someone other than my wife and TW Geek is tracking this little old blog. What a legitimate surprise. To that end, I received a question via email regarding a potential follow-up to the Hopewell Culture post.

Q: Did your mom enjoy the mounds in Ohio or not?
A: She did. In the end, she’s really all about history and places off the beaten path. We are very different but we have that in common. Most probably it’s common between us because I learned it from her. Now…country music. No. I did not get that from her. She can keep it. I want no part of it. Well…except for k.d. lang, Lyle Lovett and (perhaps) The Dixie Chicks. I know that I don’t even consider two of those three to be country artists.

Q: Reading about your beer–did you ever consider making your own?
A: As a matter of fact, way back in the tunnel of time I made beer with TW Geek. It stunk up the place something fierce (and not in the Christian Siriano way). I remember it being barely drinkable. Two days ago, apropos of nothing, I turned to my wife and told her I wanted to try homebrewing. I think that I might be able to spend more time, effort, and money to do it up right this attempt. I harbor no illusions that the first batches will be any good. But I do have hopes for something drinkable eventually. At present, I am in the research phase. Oh…and I know that I will not be bottling. I plan to keg it. The hassle of bottling is not something I want to deal with. I also do not have the space for a bunch of bottles. I’m sure to revisit this topic occasionally as I take my baby brewing steps.

Have you ever been on a brewery tour? They’re universally similar and the main goal of attending one is the sample room at the end. If you’ve seen one brewery line, you’ve essentially seen them all. I’ve done the Anheuser-Busch tour twice now (now with extra Belgian goodness). What’s fascinating about that tour is that they have free samples at the beginning and at the end. It’s well worth the free admission. You get to mill about in a waiting area where you can purchase pretty much anything that’s been licensed with the A-B brand. Then…you get to see stables, maybe horses, and fake assembly lines. The architecture and design is generally fascinating but you can see the looks on faces and here the barely audible murmurs of, “Get this damn tour over and get me to more free beer!” It’s the same look you see on any brewery tour. No one really cares about your beechwood aging, or the number of bottles you brew fill per minute, or whether you’re infusing Belgian chocolate into your malts. In the end…it’s all about the samples.

Look! An old beer wagon. Where's Friar Tuck?

Note the pre-tour beer in hand.

See...horses...

More horse stuff...where's the beer?

Now…winery tours are another beast entirely and worth a separate post. I actually have a long history with those. I anticipate a multi-part series.