[flapjack]

As I sit here drinking a can of Old Style it made me wonder...Why are there so many negative comments about these beers? Have we forgotten our roots? Or is it really crap beer? I know we weren't all drinking  Chimay Bleue right out of high school. I agree 100% that these beers don't touch a good micro or homebrew, but are they really that bad?

[BrewArk]

To a degree I agree with you.  On a hot summer's day when I come in from yard work or working on the car a lighter beer can be refreshing.  I've been known to have a 12 pack of Hamm's, Schafer, or Pabst on hand from time to time in the hot season.

But recently, after a party, when I had an extra case of Coors Light to dispose of, I noticed that no matter how many I drank, I was never satisfied by it.

[tygo]

It's not that it's bad, just that it's fairly tasteless and without any sort of redeeming characteristics that make you want to have another to see if you missed anything.  It can be very refreshing after a hot day of mowing the lawn but so can Perrier.  I usually drink the mineral water to rehydrate and then have a quality brew to celebrate when I'm done.

[weithman5]

so can Perrier.

really?  i actually find budweiser to be a "quality brew"  just not the brew i want to drink often.  especially now that it is foreign owned.  but if i wanted something refreshing (and not having to drive ) i would take an american lager over a perrier.  it is like the old commercial of the guy crawling through the desert and comes up to the man who offers him water.  "no thanks, i really had my heart set on an ice cold Stroh's"

[tygo]

Really.  If I'm at a social event and Bud is the beer I'm not going to turn my nose up at it.  But it really doesn't do much for me.  I'm certainly not going to spend money on it.  So when I'm thirsty after the lawn mowing I'll drink the water.  After crawling through the desert I think I'd make the same choice.

[hopaddicted]

+1 on walking past a Bud in the desert. Ole Mil and the Beast serve a purpose, as does PBR, Piels, Genny, etc. I drank more than my fair share of $6.99 cases of Ole Mil Ice, but the quantity you drink out of necessity doesn't make it any good. When I could afford to buy a decent beer I did.

Bud is piss, it isn't even their brands best beer. Busch is better. Both are WAY overpriced and a refreshing beer can be bought (or brewed) for the same price. I'm sure good beers can be brewed in the styles, and though there is a place for adjuncts, most macrobrewed commercial American lagers lack any malt, hop, yeast, or spice flavor. If you need some cheap beer to unwind after a long week, by all means go for it, fortunately I do not need to. I'll take a well drink before a bud any day of the week if no beer selection is available.

[euge]

I prefer Icehouse to Bud etc and keep some in the fridge always. It is refreshing. However, I think American Light Lagers appeals to the power drinking crowd and the uninitiated more than craft beer.

If I could change things on a national scale my preference would be to beef up the hops and malt in standard America Lagers to produce something more like Czech Lagers. They are still refreshing and the bomb-diggity always.

Yes we have forgotten our roots. And Budweiser did the forgetting for us.

[The Professor]

...Yes we have forgotten our roots. And Budweiser did the forgetting for us.

That statement sums it all up pretty well. 
Ironic too, since despite it's lower common denominator kind of appeal, I think that most of us here agree that it is probably one of the most skillfully made and utterly consistent commercial beers out there. 
Unfortunately, with all of that skill and the strict QC that goes into it's manufacture, the one thing missing is any distinctive flavor. 

 After years of burning out my tastebuds with hop bombs, I've found that I can truly sometimes enjoy beers whose flavors are on the lighter side of things if it's all in balance.  I consider Bud to be in a category of beers that lack balance (simply because there isn't really much of anything to balance to begin with).

I think that AB-InBev makes some good beers, but if I am in a situation where Bud is the only beer around, I almost always opt out. 
Even a glass of cheap red wine is far more satisfying to me.

[babalu87]

Yes we have forgotten our roots. And Budweiser did the forgetting for us.

+2
Well said!

Not that I dont like REAL American Lager as I call it

10 gallons

14lbs  Pils Malt
3lbs  2-row Malt
2lbs  Corn

Mash that puppy up @ 148

FWH with 22.5 IBU of "Noble" Hop (I used Vanguard)
.5 oz at 30 minutes
1.5 oz at 1 minute

Ferment it out with a pile of lager yeast.

I'm not against adjuncts, just against rice.
It brings nothing to the table

[majorvices]

Meh, I'll drink a "BMC" from time to time. But I have to be really thirsty to actually enjoy one. I do not like Light beers and generally won't drink them unless I am offered one by a host. If Light Beers are our "roots" something went terribly wrong.

Lets also keep in mind that the Standard American lager is a direct result of the most unfortunate and terrible civil experiment in our nation's history. Really, not a lot to be proud there. Call it "quality" beer if you like, it is basically a "barley-pop" and is made with the same kind of "craft process" as American Cheese and White bread. IMO these types of bland, industrially-processed foods are not really something to be proud about. Food in general is much better tasting and is much better for you when it is locally produced.

[beerocd]

one of the most skillfully made and utterly consistent commercial beers out there. 
Unfortunately, with all of that skill and the strict QC that goes into it's manufacture, the one thing missing is any distinctive flavor. 

The utter consistency is one of the things that bugs me. Sure there's a lot of science and research in it, but there has got to be more in that bottle than barley, hops, water, and yeast. The beers are not similar, they are exact: every beer is the same color, taste, smell, amount of head. And if they were pure or clean beers I would think they wouldn't give me headaches.

[dirk_mclargehuge]

I'm not against adjuncts, just against rice.
It brings nothing to the table

So you wouldn't drink a Trade Winds from The Breuery because he uses rice? 

[babalu87]

I'm not against adjuncts, just against rice.
It brings nothing to the table

So you wouldn't drink a Trade Winds from The Breuery because he uses rice? 

I dont think I said that did I?
I am just against the use of rice, if I want to do something similar to that I'd just use table sugar
Cheaper
Easier

[dbeechum]

I am just against the use of rice, if I want to do something similar to that I'd just use table sugar
Cheaper
Easier

Not quite the same though is it? Rice does have a distinct character in beers that don't over power it. The Bruery's TT just mentioned has a distinct glutenous sweetness that comes from the rice. Budweiser for all of it's maligning does actually pick up a crispness from the rice. (It's far more noticeable in the chip beer) And it's still ironic to me that the most expensive ingredient in Budweiser is the rice.

[babalu87]

Miller does have more of a sweet thing going on as opposed to Bud's being crisp but I always attributed that to Millers use of corn more than Buds use of rice.

To be fair I'd have to brew two recipes the same using rice in one and table sugar in the other to give it a fair shake