People drink with their eyes. They drink with the memories too. Even a fairly old and stale Guinness can still taste decent to me, because it sparks memories of incredible Guinness. Similarly, it can be hard for me to try to stay objective (or as objective as any sentient person can be), when I drink a product from one of the mega-big breweries, like Anheuser-Busch/InBev. I walk into the situation with expectations, no matter how much I try to be open-minded. I know that the vast majority of ABIB drinkers consume beers that are just not that exciting to me. But as the winds of change blow, the big guys are realizing that a bigger and bigger segment of the beer drinking population want more interesting, more flavourful beers. So we’ve seen things like Molson-Coors purchasing Creemore and Granville Island. We’ve seen ABIB purchase Goose Island in Chicago. And we have also seen them start making products in their portfolio to compete in the craft market. This has led to many many arguments among us geeks about “craft vs crafty” beer, but regardless of what you think defines “craft”, there is no doubt some of these beers are actually quite good, and would please most beer enthusiasts, if they could get past the label. So I was interested when I received a package from Budweiser, with bottles of their new Crown Amber Lager. As my friend Jordan pointed out, by clearly and proudly making it under the Budweiser name, there can hardly be arguments about if this is a big company trying to fleece would-be craft drinkers out of their money. The beer will live or die based on it’s quality, and not on any perceived trickery. So how does it hold up?
Budweiser Crown
From a 341ml bottle, Budweiser Crown pours a brilliantly clear amber, with a very active carbonation. About 1.5″ of loosely formed head dropped pretty quickly, but kept a bit of a layer going via the carbonation. Aroma is sweet and malty, a bit of caramel and toast. A little touch of an herbal hop is in there too. Taste is also sweet, more caramel malts and a bit of whole wheat bread. A little drying hops on the finish leave a clean and dry linger, with just a touch of caramel sort of echoing around. Mouthfeel is definitely on the light side, but is not too thin. I prefer a bit more weight to an amber lager, but this will definitely keep the beer accessible. To be honest, if a new craft brewer handed my this and told me it was their flagship beer, I would tell them they were doing a good job and to keep it up. Explore bigger tastes, but keep making this to pay the bills without compromising their values. It is a solid beer, and will be a welcome sight when I’m at a sports bar and considering a G&T.
Cheers, Budweiser!
Buy Budweiser Crown
Available at the LCBO (#356188), The Beer Store (http://www.thebeerstore.ca/beers/budweiser-crown) and, I’m sure, bars everywhere.
Drink It With
I have no idea why, but the first thing that popped into my mind was “Jacket Potatoes”. A big baked spud with sour cream, chives, melted sharp cheese, bacon bits (if you dig the swine). There’s an earthy quality to the hops that would compliment the spud well, and the lightly sweet beer would cut some of the weight of the cream and cheese. Incidentally, that could also be the cheese pairing, but I’ll tell you, I would love to have a chunk of some kind of smoked cheese, maybe a Gouda, to try with this. While the beer isn’t one-dimensional, I think some smokiness would add an interesting layer of flavour.
About The Brewery
Budweiser has been brewed in Canada since 1980 and is the #1 beer in the country. It’s naturally brewed using only the finest ingredients, without artificial ingredients or preservatives. Our Exclusive Beechwood Aging produces a taste, a smoothness and a drinkability you will find in no other beer at any price.
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