While waiting at my kids’ dance studio this evening, I read through (pretty much cover to cover) my latest issue of BeerAdvocate Magazine (vol. 3 issue 2, for those keeping count). On the back inside cover is an advertisement for Budweiser American Ale. Most of the ad, as expected, was an image but the text caught my eye:
Carefully brewed with caramel-malted barley and Cascade hops for a full-bodied flavor and bright, hoppy finish. Now that’s a fresh take on ale.
It’s the last sentence that caught me. A fresh take on ale? Perhaps it’s a fresh take for Budweiser, but I see nothing fresh (as in new, trendy, bold) about using caramel (or Crystal) malt and Cascade hops; it’s a fairly ordinary recipe for ale.
I’m sure Budweiser’s marketing machine was simply going for a play on words, but the play for the audience of the very magazine they’re advertising in is flawed. At least it is in this beer nut’s opinion.
I haven’t tried American Ale, and to be honest I’m not running out to try it either. It’s not new to me, and doesn’t excite me, mainly because it comes from a macro brewer whose products I’ve learned to avoid. It might be good, or it might not. I’m not going to question its appeal. I’m just questioning its advertising.