October 05, 2004
Caffeinated beer

I believe I have identified another sign of the impending apocalypse: Caffeinated beer.


Budweiser's new brew, Be, pronounced "B-to-the-e," is a cross between an energy drink and a beer.

"You'll be able to wake up and dull the senses at the same time," said Eric Shepard, executive editor of Beer Marketer's Insights, a trade publication.


And to think that before now, most of us had to rely on coffee and staff meetings for that. Truly we live in enlightened times.

In addition to its caffeine content, about as much as in a can of Mountain Dew, the beer will include ginseng and guarana, a Brazilian berry.

It will be the first time a major brewer has infused beer with these unusual ingredients, said Pat McGauley, senior director of new products and high-end brands for Anheuser-Busch.

"In the ongoing evolution of the alcohol industry, we're delivering what the consumer is asking for," McGauley said Monday during a conference call with reporters.


All I've ever asked for is water, malt, hops, and yeast. Of course, I never was particularly "edgy" or "with it" (this works better if you picture me doing the Chris Farley air-quotes thing), or whatever it is that the marketing guys are saying now. So there you have it.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on October 05, 2004 to Food, glorious food | TrackBack
Comments

Be will be to beer what Crystal Pepsi was to soda. A mistake.

Besides, it's Budweiser. How good can it be?

Posted by: William Hughes on October 5, 2004 8:24 AM

Verily, an abomination onto the Face of the Lord.

American beer is vile (and bland and generic and etc) enough. Do they really have to push the limits down?

Posted by: Charles M on October 5, 2004 9:50 AM

Nothing like mixing depressants and stimulants. At least now after you've had too many, you won't need a few cups of coffee to "wake up."

I'll bet this stuff turns out to be more putrid than Zima.

Posted by: Tim on October 5, 2004 10:00 AM

I've tried Sparks before (DrinkSparks.com), which is a mix of alcohol and caffeene. It tastes similar to a Red Bull - a little sweet, but not bad. It does the trick when I wanna kick back and relax for a bit in the evening, but need to stay up to study or work out or what not.

Posted by: Byron L on October 5, 2004 10:15 AM

American beer is vile (and bland and generic and etc) enough.

That's a bit of an overbid. Mainstream American beer, like pretty much anything from Anheuser-Busch, is indeed insipid and bland, but there are plenty of microbrews that are well worth drinking. I'm quite fond of Houston's own Saint Arnold beer, for example.

Posted by: Charles Kuffner on October 5, 2004 10:46 AM

Fry: "I'm never going to get used to the 31st century. Caffeinated bacon? Baconated grapefruit? ADMIRAL Crunch?!?"

Leela: "Well, if you don't like that, try some Archduke Chocula."

Posted by: norbizness on October 5, 2004 10:51 AM

Microbrew, local brew (Yeungling is a good example) or home brew are far better examples of American beer than Budweiser and their ilk. I'm very happy with my Nut Brown Ale homebrew. :-)

Posted by: William Hughes on October 5, 2004 10:57 AM

My apologies.

My generalization was directed to the mass market swill Budweiser, Coors, et. al. produce.

Posted by: Charles M on October 5, 2004 11:58 AM

After touring the Yuengling plant in Pottsville while back in the area I grew up in to see my family, Tim now wishes it was being distributed here in Houston. Me? I think all of it is vile and am quite happy to stick with my froofy mixed drinks. However, 12 plus years of being married to a beer snob have even me saying "eeeeew" to the idea of caffeinated, sweeter beer.

Posted by: Sue on October 5, 2004 1:39 PM

I wonder if the Reinheitsgebot has a provision allowing you to monkey with the brew in pursuit of some ever smaller, multiply-hyphenated mythical demographic.

Posted by: chris on October 5, 2004 2:54 PM

guarana and caffeine?

Guarana's only selling point is that it's a major herbal source of caffeine.

Posted by: julia on October 5, 2004 11:22 PM

Yes, but we aren't addressing the *real* question:

Will it be low carb? :)

Posted by: Ellen on October 7, 2004 8:32 AM

the new bud-e although a different type of alchoholic brew is anything but low carb, it hass 204 calories for every 10 ounces of beer and an estimated 24 carbs per 10 ounces , ummmmmm gggooooood. But it does contain 6.6 % alchohol content per can

Posted by: brett foster on November 13, 2004 5:02 PM

there is already a caffienated beer on the market called moonshot (www.moonshotbeer.com), this beer actually tastes like beer, unlike B to the E which tastes like red bull.

Posted by: Chris on November 23, 2004 5:06 PM

I work at Budweiser and there is a reason we are the KING OF BEERS, we outsell our competition in a way that no other brand has done before. We will continue this tradition when B to the E is released nationwide on Jan 24. We will always be the KING,numbers dont lie.

Posted by: Budking on December 3, 2004 9:32 PM

I love the taste of Bud, you guys are crazy. It's like the best beer in the world....

Posted by: Steve on January 31, 2005 3:05 PM