Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Drink Who melted popsicles in my beer?
Posted by Besha Rodell @BeshaRodell on Tue, May 6, 2008 at 9:37 PM
GIMME A GIMMICK: The new breed of fruit infused beers
In the past few weeks, many of the major beer companies have released fruit-flavored versions of their light beers. Most of them involve lime flavor, but some go beyond. Products like these make me seriously question the sanity of marketing executives at these huge companies. What sorority house do they live in to think that fruity beer is what America wants?
These same marketing departments have sent me samples of many of the new beers in the hopes that I'd cover them somehow. They should be careful what they wish for. Looking for a good procrastination project yesterday, I decided to put my skepticism aside (not really) and give these fruity beverages a try. I chilled down four examples: Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus, Miller Chill, Bud Light Lime and Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit. I enlisted the help of my colleague, Arts and Entertainment editor Debbie Michaud (who has been known to enjoy a fruity beer occasionally) and our Food & Drink intern Brooke Williams, who is probably the exact age and gender these beers are aimed at. A taste test produced these results:
Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus: This drink had no discernible beer flavor whatsoever, and the lime flavor was so artificial it reminded me of those lurid green lime flavored tube popsicles. "God," Brooke said, "that's awful."
Miller Chill: Wins the award for the worst bottle design. More beer flavor than the Michelob, and less lime flavor. The lime that is there though mainly manifests itself as an unpleasant sour/bitter aftertaste with no relation to citrus. "Ugh," Brooke said.
Bud Light Lime: This beer had the most success at replicating the flavor of putting actual lime in an actual beer. Debbie commented that the presence of beer was more discernible from the smell than the taste. I agreed — it tasted like very weak beer with very weak lime in it. I wouldn't drink it, but it didn't make me gag.
Michelob Ultra Tuscan Orange Grapefruit: Like the other Michelob, this beer had absolutely no beer flavor. But the orange and grapefruit flavor was much less offensive than the lime cactus flavor. It tasted more like tonic water with citrus flavoring. "I'd drink that," said Debbie, "but I'd be more likely to if I didn't know it was supposed to be beer."
"I do not like that," said Brooke. "God. These are all really awful."
(photo by Joeff Davis)
Comments (5)
Showing 1-5 of 5
Tuscan Orange Grapefruit beer? Seriously? HA! Definitely trying to turn the tide of Americans drifting to wine.
like
dislike
Your taste test confirms my suspicions. I don't even drink the regular beers by these mega breweries (except an occasional Miller High Life -- the champagne of weak American beers), so I had no hope for flavored versions. Re: "the tide of Americans drifting to wine" -- the good news is that even though the mega breweries have seen sales dip, the craft brewers are doing very well comparitively. Read about it here: http://www.ibabuzz.com/beer/2007/03/09/craft-beers-sales-are-booming-in-supermarkets/ My complaint is that craft beers have become more expensive than wine. Freakin' rising food costs! My beloved Red Brick blonde is almost $2 more expenisive per 6-pack this week at Mac's than it was last week.
You are braver than I am, Besha (and Shana and Brooke). I can't believe Richard Blais picked that Lime cactus to pair his dish with on Top Chef. At least he didn't say anything about it being delicious. It baffles me how A-B can put out this candy and a craft beer line under the Michelob name and expect us to take it seriously when they say that the brand still represents something special. I do plan to try the Michelob craft line for a future Talking Head column. Word is they are not terrible and they are considerably cheaper than craft beers now. But damn, I would hate to support that machine. I would not be surprised if the hop and malt shortages were carefully engineered by A-B to put the micros out of business. Darin, don't give up on the micros. Cut your budget elsewhere or just drink a bit less and help them weather the crisis.
Re: "drink a bit less" does...not...compute... data input error... :) I'll support good beer no matter who's making it. If Michelob produces something excellent then I'll give them my business -- I have no ethical concern with a huge, wealthy beverage corporation. Well, as long as they aren't using 10-year-old kids as slave laborers in the hops fields. But likewise I'm not going to switch to Bud Lite Rasberry-Lime Fruitbrew (a.k.a 'Skittle-brau') just because it's cheaper that Saison DuPont. I have my standards. I just hope I don't hav to start drinking tap water with dinner. Blech!
Latest in Omnivore
-
Local restaurants honor the late Warren Bruno
Percentage of sales will be donated in Warren Bruno's honor.
-
Weekend food events, May 25-27: 3B Fest, a patio party, and more
Weekend events for Friday May 25 to Sunday May 27.
-
Waiting on Shaun Doty's chicken at Ansley Mall
It's a game of retail dominoes
- More »
More by Author
-
Brew Your Cask Off ticket winners
Beer for the winner!
-
Review: Briza 18
Janine Falvo presents high-concept cooking in Midtown's Renaissance Hotel
- More »
