Budweiser's Reserve Black Lager

They're absolutely capable of doing it. They just choose to make a beer that will sell millions and millions of bottles instead.

 

Due to a shipping error they were overstocked with bourbon staves.

Had to do something with them.

 

There’s some breweries beers I just don’t like for whatever reason. I’ve had a few of these special beers the Winter beer forgot what they called it, but they brewed a few years ago with bourbon barrels In staves whichever was a drain pour. I occasionally drink a Bud or Michelob which imo is much better, but there’s not another beer in their inventory that I like. These special releases imo are just half steps, they’re neither really good nor are they special. I like the Bud Light commercials, and Charlize Theron certainly isn’t tough to look at, so they’re marketing is first rate to the competition.

 

Lots of folks use staves, not all used barrels can be re used and hold liquid. Staves still have value.

Take barrel apart. Dump wet staves in tank. Add beer. Age.

 

Michelob Dark was an occasional purchase for a couple of years when that and Heineken dark were the only dark beers available to me. IIRC it tasted a lot like a smoother version of dark Heinie

I was not aware that was a common practice, thanks.
Do breweries tend to follow the same wood surface area:beer volume ratio when they use staves or is there a tendency to skimp (parts of one barrel in two barrels worth of beer)?

 

Here's an example of a fairly nice beer aged on used barrel staves rather than in barrels.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10272/323594/


(Homebrewers often use oak chips that have been soaked in Bourbon, etc.)

As for the amount of exposed surface that's a brewer's decision depending on the effect they want to achieve, just as, say, selecting which barrel staves to use based on the level of char that was used in the original barrel, etc.

Skimp? Why would they do that. There's not much point in using an ingredient or process that doesn't give you the effects you want... Waste of time and money.

 

If the effect you want is to increase sales while cutting costs you can half the amount of wood to beer and still tout your “Bourbon Barrel Aged” special release.
Maybe I'm just being cynical. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Yes, you're just being cynical. (Plus they'd not advertise it as Barrel-aged given that it was aged on staves....) False advertising and all that....

If you provide your customers with what they want they buy your product. Fans of ABInBev beers prefer light but noticeable flavors, why would they would buy the stuff more than once if they didn't? The Bud beers I've tried all had flavors, just not a lot. I'd expect this one to be the same.

(Contrary to popular opinion advertising/marketing only gets folks to try something. It doesn't keep them coming back for more.)

 

Guarantee to Spend enough money with them, they’ll be happy to oblige.

Until then.... why should they bother?

 

Okay, was thinking this was aimed more at attracting people who wouldn't normally buy an AB product

The only thing I could find related to “barrel aged” is part of massive proposed changes to 27CFR7 (https://www.federalregister.gov/doc...ons-for-wine-distilled-spirits-and-malt#h-220)

There's nothing on the current federal law so a brewery using staves might be able to get away with “aged with bourbon barrels”

 

The larger universe of AB-Inbev actually makes several beers I enjoy.

Hoegaarden Wit, for one.
Spaten Oktoberfestbier for another.

 

Which cycles us back to something @MNAle raised, i.e, about biases going into any tasting/review. Some of those beers you don't like, if rated with style in mind....

(Kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy.)

 

TTB Ruling 2015-1 covers the current labeling rules for such a beer:

 

"Winter's Bourbon Cask Ale" by Michelob. The name was a mouthful and I agree the beer was pretty awful. It tasted like heavily watered down bourbon to me.

I've had a few AB beers I've liked over the years, though. For a while the Michelob line-up was pretty strong. All-malt lager, dunkelweizen (aka. Ascent 54), amber bock, honey lager, Bavarian wheat, Marzen, etc. Some of those were on par with "craft" versions. Maybe better in some cases. The Holiday All-Malt Bud in the large bottles used to be pretty good, too. Most of their stuff tends to be one-note and underhopped by pretty much any standards, but some of it can be okay to good.

 

Thanks, where did you find that? It looks like the goal is to formalize that ruling into code.

 

Not sure what you think "my camp" is, but notice that I didn't say "rate to style" as if we were supposed to pretend to be BJCP folks.

I've seen AALs with full nice heads and lacing patterns that got dinged because of who brewed them rather than because there was not a decent head or lacing. Hardly seems fair to rate two beers that have similar and nice-looking heads differently because of who made one vs who made the other.