In Friday’s Round-Up, reader Ryan Russell posted an interesting anecdote describing a possible struggle with trying to find out if he can get the new Budweiser American Ale:

So with this new “Budweiser Ale”, how do we order it in public? Based on my interaction with many, many, MANY local bartenders and waiters (gender neutral), I believe that if you asked, “What kind of Budweiser do you have?” The answer will start with, “Well we have Budweiser, Bud light, Bud Lime…”

“Yes. I know you have A-B products, but which Budweiser?”
“We have the one and only Budweiser.”
“Is it Budweiser Lager or Budweiser Ale?”
“It’s called Budweiser!”
“Which one do you have?”
“Which one what?”
“Which Budweiser?”
“I don’t understand”
“Is it Budweiser Ale or Lager”
“It’s Budweiser, I don’t know whatcher sayingby ale or lager. We have Budweiser beer.”

As humorous as this is, I don’t think Ryan is very far off from the truth, I could see this very conversation happening in many a bar across the St. Louis area. Or how many bars will get this new beer in without informing their staff about it being a different beer and accidentally giving it to a customer thinking it’s the lager with a new label? I guess the solution would be to order the “New Budweiser”, bu you’d have to wonder how quickly that name gets associated with something like New Coke. That’s not really a association you’d be very happy about if you’re Anheuser-Busch.

Well, it’s Hop in the City Eve. I don’t think that’s a real holiday, but I think we should lobby for it to be. Unfortunately I won’t be live-blogging the event as I’ve decided I just want to hang out and enjoy it. I’ll make sure to have lots of pictures and a nice recap for those who can’t attend though.

Kind of a quiet week as far as new releases. Here’s the Round-Up:

Stuff from around the web

• Schlafly and O’Fallon are expanding!
• Tin Can Tavern is opening a spot in Columbia.
• Review of Pi pizza (and beer).
• AB makes changes to Michelob. (When is Ultra getting a name change?)
• A review of Budweiser American Ale.
• Hop harvest is here and so are the fresh hop beers.
• Beer Philosopher is loves talking local.

Retail Beer Releases

• Andrew from Bon Vivant Wines informs me to some beers he has in his stock:
  • Capital Oktoberfest
  • Dogfish Head Punkin
  • Moylan’s Moylander Double IPA
  • Victory Festbier
• Paul at The Wine and Cheese Place in Clayton alerts me to some new beers he has in stock:
  • Schlafly APA (bottled 9/4/08)
  • Schlafly Hefeweizen (bottle 9/3/08)
• Scott from Corral Liqours informs me to some beers he has in his stock:
  • Dogfish Punkin
  • Atwater Blocktoberfest
  • Ambar
  • Clipper City Oxford Organic Raspberry Wheat
  • Mad River Steelhead Double IPA
  • Mad River Steelhead Jamaican Sunset IPA
  • Mad River Steelhead Jamaican Red
  • Fantome Saison
  • Cantillon Kriek
• Lukas Liquor posts on their blog some of the new and special selections they have in stock:
  • Mendicino Octoberfest
  • He’brew Coney Island Freaktoberfest
  • Southern Tier Oat

Local Restaurant Draught Lists

• Jerad Gardner, of the Rotten Apple lets me know about his most current draught selection. If you haven’t been to the Rotten Apple, take the time to visit:
  • Founder’s Brewing - Rubaeus
  • Founder’s Brewing - Dry Hopped Pale Ale
  • Lagunitas Brewing - Gnarly Wine
  • Avery Brewing - Maharaja Imperial IPA
  • Lagunitas Brewing - IPA
  • Jever Brewing - Pilsener
  • Lefthand Brewing - Black Jack Porter
  • Founders Brewing - Breakfast Stout
  • Avery Brewing - Ale to the Chief
  • Lagunitas Brewing - Censored Copper Ale
  • Dogfish Head Brewing - India Brown Ale
  • Stag - Always $1

Here’s a list of upcoming beer events:

• Sept 13 - Hop in the City
• Sept 20 - Growlers Sunset Oktoberfest
• Sept 21 - Iron Barley Oktoberfest
• Sept 24 - Trappist Beer Tasting
• Sept 27 - Provisions Beer & BBQ Competition
• Sept 30 - STL Hops Meet-Up at The Stable

Way back in May, I posted a photo of the newest addition to the Anheuser-Busch profile, the Budweiser American Ale.  At the time I didn’t really post any thoughts on it.  One, because it was the weekend of the Heritage Festival and I was pretty busy and two, because while trying a beer in the AB tasting room is nice, there’s something nicer about tasting it at your own leisure at your own home.

So a couple of weeks ago I received the press kit from AB containing not only two bottles of Budweiser American Ale, but a pint glass, two Budweisers and the new Budweiser glass as well.  Not to mention it was packaged up in a very nifty box.  It’s amazing what millions of dollars for marketing will get you.

As for my thoughts on the beer, well I’m going to try and avoid a full fledged review, because honestly my opinion doesn’t really mean much.  The first thing I noticed when I smelled the beer is just how much malt aroma I picked up.  It’s mostly a bready smelling malt, with a bit of caramel aroma as well.  I also picked up a lot of citrusy Cascade as well.  I don’t know if the recipe as been reformulated a bit more or if I just received a really fresh sample but the hops really came through more on this one than it did when I tasted it in May.

The aroma carries right through to the flavor, bready and slightly hoppy, but never overly bitter.  The dry hopping seems to have done it’s job well as you can really pick up that hop flavor without being overpowered by the bitterness. My biggest complaint was the carbonation level, it was far too carbonated for my taste.  I thought it could have a touch less carbonation and it would make for an easier drinking beer on the whole.

I guess my way of fully judging a beer is if I’d ever do one of two things: buy a six-pack of it and/or buy it while I’m in a restaurant.  Unfortunately, I don’t think I’d ever buy a six-pack of it.  That’s not to say it’s a bad beer, in fact it’s a very nice sessionable beer.  But I personally prefer something with just a bit more character.

Now, being this is St. Louis and trying to find a beer in a restaurant that isn’t AB is sometimes I challenge I’d probably say that if this is available at a restaurant with a limited beer selection, I’d probably make this one my first choices. In fact, I’d probably go so far to choose this over Schlafly Pale Ale and New Belgium’s Fat Tire as I think this beer has a bit more character than both of those.

If you haven’t had the chance to try this beer yet, you’ll have your opportunity very soon.  This beer is scheduled to be released on September 15th on draught and  September 29th in bottles.  As soon as I know where this will be available in the area, I’ll post it here.  If you’ve tried the beer, let me know your thoughts.