Tuesday Beer Review - Bud Light Golden Wheat

I know, I know, we usually save these reviews for Friday, but this is a special occasion.  Yesterday, October 5th, was the nationwide launch for a brand new Bud Light product.  Bud Light Golden Wheat.  Since the days of Bud Bowl as a child, Bud Light has held a special place in my heart.  And yes, smart marketing aimed at children is actually an effective practice for future indoctrination.  But anyway, for some reason I always rooted for Bud Light to dominate Budweiser in those games, even during the embarrassing Bud Dry years.  So, although, I am skeptical of any changes to my dear Bud Light, I feel it necessary to give Golden Wheat a fair and thorough review.

Quick facts to get out of the way.  It comes from a bottle, which I approve of, and has slightly less alcohol content (4.1% to 4.2%), but slightly more carbs (8.3 to 6.6) and calories (118 to 110) than traditional Bud Light.  It also has this spirally wheat logo which is relatively mesmerizing when stared at.  All in all, nothing much to note here.

When it come to taste, however, I think you will be a bit surprised. According to the bottle, this is a “light beer brewed with coriander peels.” Since I have no idea what the hell that is, and don’t like when I don’t know what something is (especially when it means a beer bottle is smarter than me), I quickly concluded that this new brew would probably suck.  I mean, I like my fruity hef/belgium beers in the local or imported variety for the most part.  Hoegaarden, Widmer, Pyramid all have a great thing going and in my opinion are the best in the market. But after a few swigs and even a boat race contest with the roomies, I decided BL Golden Wheat didn’t suck after all.  And while it doesn’t quite match the above-named on taste, I don’t think it needs to.  Why? Because it is pretty good on it’s own.  And more importantly, the “Light” in Bud Light holds true.  Calories and carbs are still way below your standard wheat beer (I am talking 30-50% in a lot of cases), which means I can drink this baby through the night without passing out early or getting a nasty case of the i’m-too-full-to-hit-on-girls-ache.  Double bonus, if I run out of regular BL, this could serve in a flip cup/beer pong/boat race pinch.  You certainly couldn’t say that about most wheats.

I checked out Beeradvocate’s review and they gave the new BL line a ‘C’. I can see where they are coming from, and that is beer connoisseur land. I respect that land, but it is not where I am coming from.  They discuss carbonation and stickiness, when all I care about is “do i want another one.”  My answer is yes.  And in fact, I think I would choose BL Wheat over a number of other beers in my stable these days.  It’s not too often you can get a good tasting beer without feeling like you just had the super-sized surf & turf at Black Angus after 3 or 4 bottles.  So there you have it.  Go buy some and try it for yourself.  Better yet, buy a keg of it at your next party, cover the label, and your guests might even think you sprung for something expensive.