Can Anheuser- Busch Make a World Class Lager?
Written: Oct 10 '05 (Updated Dec 14 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Better than most A-B beers; Smoothness
Cons: Foam dies quickly; Skunky aroma; Not very rich or complex
The Bottom Line: This is a respectable effort on the part of Anheuser Busch, but the taste isn't good enough to rank among the world's finest lagers.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Anheuser World Select |
Anheuser- Busch is a giant among brewers, with an output of beer that makes it second to none among American brewing operations. A maker of mostly bland products, A-B has been experimenting a little bit over the past decade or so, trying to carve out a small niche in the growing craft beer market. One of its latest attempts at making a good tasting brew is Anheuser World Lager, a beer made to compete with the world’s finest lagers.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
World Select Lager pours to a light golden color with a crystal clear body and lots of active carbonation. The white foam on this beer is decent at first, but like most Anheuser- Busch concoctions, it falls apart in only a few minutes, even though the bubbles are still actively flowing from top to bottom. The aroma of this beer combines some grassy hops with a little bit of skunkiness, for a mixed level of appeal.
The flavor of this beer is mostly sweet, with the tastes of light cereal grains, corn, and some finishing hops to make it complete. The hops taste like Saaz, although I cannot confirm this is what A-B uses. They add a good touch of bitterness at the end, resulting in a finish that is slightly bitter, but clean overall.
Brewed using two- row barley malt and Munich malt, this beer adds European hops and lager yeast to achieve its taste. The alcohol content of this beer is 5 percent by volume.
Food Compatibility:
World Select Lager would make a good choice of beer to drink with finger foods like chips and salsa, wings, corn chips, and similar fare. It would go well with pizza and perhaps sausage too. But I think it’s safe to say that most people who try this beer will do so for the purpose of drinking it solo.
Final Thoughts:
Anheuser World Lager is a relatively new addition to the A-B lineup. This beer was introduced back in May of 2003 and it was originally known as Anheuser World Select. Today, it is named Anheuser World Lager but it is still common to see the words “World Select” or “World Select Lager” when looking up facts about this brew.
With this beer, Anheuser- Busch decided to tap the talents of brewers from ten different countries in its effort to create a recipe that would be world class: A lager that would be smooth enough to sell well and sophisticated enough to compete with the Heinekens, Becks, St. Pauli Girls, and other popular beers in the export lager market. And to create the proper image, A-B decided to cast this beer as a classy brew designed for those with a strong sense of fashion and a desire to live life a little better than other people. If you look at the company web page for this beer, you can clearly see that it emphasizes art and fashion as the key components of its marketing campaign. Even the bottle, with its green, black, and gold colors, is designed to look classy and elegant.
Looks are one thing for a beer, but what matters most is the taste. I would happily trade a bad beer in a pretty package for a great beer in a plain envelope and I think most beer experts would agree with me on this point. Nice packaging can catch the eyes and convince one to purchase a new beer. But it takes a good tasting product to encourage repeat business.
So how does World Lager stack up? Well, let’s start by saying that this beer is an improvement over most of the products currently brewed by Anheuser Busch. It is better than Budweiser, Busch, Natural Light, and most other A-B products. Its closest match in taste quality (among A-B beer) is Michelob. Personally, I think Michelob is just a little bit better but I know there are others who will appreciate World Lager as a slightly better brew than the “super premium” Michelob brand.
This beer is skunky in aroma (due in part to the green bottle) and this quality is a definite turn- off from the start. But I must admit that the flavor itself isn’t as skunked as the aroma leads one to believe it will be. It tastes more like a real beer, but still not quite full enough or rich enough to please the palate the way other lagers do. It is, in many ways, better than several of the more popular import lagers, like Corona and others. But it isn’t good enough to compete with some of Europe’s classic examples of the style, like Pilsner Urquell.
Anheuser- Busch made a respectable effort in creating World Lager. The packaging is appealing to the eye and the marketing department at A-B has gone out of its way to promote this as a sheik, complex product for those who want a little more out of life. Unfortunately, the overall taste experience isn’t quite good enough to rank this beer as world class. A pretty bottle and fancy gold lettering is nice, but it’s the beer inside that counts. And this beer, in spite of A-B’s best efforts, isn’t quite tasty enough to rank among the world’s finest lagers. It’s a decent effort, but it falls a little bit short.
Be sure to Click the Links Below to Read Reviews of Other Anheuser- Busch Products:
Budweiser:
Budweiser
Bud Light
Bud Ice
Bud Ice Light
Budweiser Select
Michelob Products:
Michelob
Michelob Light
Michelob Ultra
Michelob Amber Bock
Michelob Black & Tan
Michelob Honey Lager
Michelob Marzen
Michelob Pale Ale
Michelob Pumpkin Spice
Other Anheuser- Busch Beers:
Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale
Busch
Busch Light
Natural Light
Natural Ice
Recommended:
Yes
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