Bud Light Platinum
Anheuser-Busch

Bud Light PlatinumBud Light Platinum
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From:
Anheuser-Busch
 
Missouri, United States
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #299
ABV:
6%
Score:
54
Ranked #28,562
Avg:
2.24 | pDev: 34.38%
Reviews:
401
Ratings:
2,016
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 20, 2024
Added:
Dec 31, 2011
Wants:
  23
Gots:
  646
No description / notes.
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Ratings by NeroFiddled:
Photo of NeroFiddled
Reviewed by NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

3.05/5  rDev +36.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Bud Light Platinum
16. oz. can, coded "14226 SH23"

Poured into a clean glass Bud Light Platinum delivers a nice looking pint with a straw gold body beneath a short head of bright white foam. The head drops readily but maintains a solid surface covering. The lacing is limited but it does leave some nice craggy splashes behind.

The aroma is clean, and expresses only sweetish adjunct malt with a hint of apple-like fruitiness.

The flavor is quite a surprise! My initial impression was that it tasted like a malt liquor... a watered down malt liquor, but one with that sweetish adjunct-laden maltiness that lingers in the mouth because there are very little hops present. It's fruity and sweet, without any noticeable hop flavors at all, and a very low bitterness level to balance it out. Odd.

In the mouth it's medium bodied and smooth with a very moderate carbonation. If I hold the glass to the light I can see tiny bubbles steadily streaming upwards but there are not nearly as many as might be expected, especially for a light beer, which should be crisp.

So what's going on here? If you read the can it states that it's 6.0% ALC./VOL., which is very odd for a light beer, and it's also got 137 calories and 4.4 grams of carbs per 12 oz. serving (thank you A-B for including that, sincerely). I had to get my head around this so I put together a list:

110 calories in Bud Light @ 4.2% abv
137 calories in Bud Light Platinum @ 6.0% abv
145 calories in Budweiser @ 5.0% abv
158 calories in Hurricane @ 5.8% abv

So what we have here is basically a 'light malt liquor'. Is this a new American style of beer?

Unless the cost difference between Hurricane Malt Liquor and Bud Light Platinum is pretty great, I can't imagine anyone going for the Hurricane. The Bud Light Platinum is clean, and actually delivers a slightly bigger punch.

So how to rate this? I generally look at the whole world of beer as a guideline, meaning that there are poorly made beers that suffer from defects, and then there are pristine examples of certain styles that have a certain 'je ne sais quoi' of magic to them that exemplify the 'creme de la creme'. An OK beer then scores a "3" as a "3" is average, and on that world-scale a standard Budweiser scores a bit higher at about 3.5. As far as a 'light malt liquor' goes I think this is really the only one. Compared to other malt liquors it's pretty damned good, but if we look at it just as 'a beer' thrown into the world mix it comes out short. I think for what it is it's not bad. I find no defects with it, and I thought it was much more drinkable than a lot of malt liquors.

I'm not sure I have an answer to this one yet, but I'm gonna stick with "okay" until something else pops up.
Oct 10, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 1.87 by HS676 from Pennsylvania

Jan 01, 2024
 
Rated: 2.5 by Iggy88 from Ohio

Nov 23, 2023
 
Rated: 2.4 by AndyGG from California

Oct 02, 2023
 
Rated: 5 by Zachboyd3334 from Indiana

Jul 28, 2023
 
Rated: 2.67 by ronniebruner from Arizona

May 19, 2023
 
Rated: 3 by Andyman22 from Texas

Apr 28, 2023
 
Rated: 3.06 by morsa_95 from California

Apr 26, 2023
Photo of EmperorBevis
Reviewed by EmperorBevis from England

3/5  rDev +33.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottle share at Temperance street with a bit of a mad one
Pours an ultra pale golden ale looking body with splatterings of white head
Aroma is bready malts and yeast
Flavour is
Apr 21, 2023
Photo of ZenAgnostic
Reviewed by ZenAgnostic from Texas

3.2/5  rDev +42.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Handwritten notes from 10+ years ago.

Appearance - Clear straw body. Very clear and pale. Very active carbonation in the head. Sounds like a soda more than a beer. Head lasts for a minute then disappears completely. No lace. 3

Smell - Alcohol and musky corn. A little thick and gummy. Very much like a malt liquor. 3

Taste - Stale and musky. Tastes much better straight from the bottle for some reason. Pretty clean. Some faint artificial sweetness, like splenda. Almost flavorless. A more alcoholic Michelob Ultra. 3.5

Mouthfeel - Slight crispness. Leaves faint stick on tongue, but very clean. 3

Overall - The ultimate frat beer. 3
Apr 02, 2023
Photo of BlueMountain
Reviewed by BlueMountain from Iowa

1.4/5  rDev -37.5%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
Clearly below average for an adjunct. Smooth, alcoholic, slightly sour. Only drank because it was free. I'd much rather drink a Corona or even a Busch Light over this. Please don't drink this; much better adjuncts exist. If you want the alcohol without other redeeming qualities, then go right ahead.
Mar 04, 2023
 
Rated: 2.26 by JustLikeMyDad from Michigan

Feb 26, 2023
 
Rated: 2.13 by Beergod420 from Michigan

Feb 04, 2023
 
Rated: 2 by Crabmando from Ohio

Jan 28, 2023
 
Rated: 1.71 by Slyde180 from Texas

Jan 22, 2023
 
Rated: 1 by carolinabeerguy from North Carolina

Jan 06, 2023
 
Rated: 2 by brewme from Massachusetts

Dec 31, 2022
Photo of Chitechdude
Reviewed by Chitechdude from Illinois

4.22/5  rDev +88.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I think there are far too many opinions due to this beer being the American beer category, but I completely disagree with most of them. It doesn’t taste or smell disgusting like many reviewers say, in fact I truly believe that most of the negative reviews are beer drinkers that typically don’t drink light beers or what they call “adjuncts” but I think this is a fairly decent tasting beer!
Nov 29, 2022
Bud Light Platinum from Anheuser-Busch
Beer rating: 54 out of 100 with 2016 ratings