Mmmm...Beer! Budweiser American Ale

American Ale is a relatively new brew from Anheuser Busch released in 2008. Budweiser (the diesel) is one of my favorite 'low end' go to brews, so I was excited to try out the American Ale. I first tried it out this past fall, and its been a few months so I'm giving it another go-round. Jen and I have thoroughly enjoyed the craft packs that Michelob (another Anheuser Busch company) has been putting out, and they have clearly been trying to appeal to those of us who desire taste and quality in our beer. Good for them and luckily they've hit some home runs (most notably the Michelob Dunkelweissen). I'll probably be doing a full blown craft pack review here pretty soon. Enough with their other offerings, onward with the review!

American Ale is a Red Ale that clocks in at 5.1% alcohol content. As you can see in the stock picture above it pours a very pleasing, almost mahogany, color and a decent amount of foam that doesn't dissipate very quickly when poured into a pint glass. It smells pretty sweet, the cascade hops are definitely there, but not overpowering, and a little bit of that amber malt scent you get with most red ales.

The flavor is somewhat sweet upfront and there is little bit of red malt on the tongue. The cascade hops are definitely present, but not like you would expect from a pale ale or an IPA. I'm a hop-head, and this is by no means that, but this flavor profile fits with the Red Ale style. The bitterness from the hops lingers on the back of the tongue for about 5 seconds, but then again, it probably depends on how many you've had!

All in all a pretty decent beer. Not something that I will rave over, but it is a good go-to if you're looking for something that tastes a little bit more microbrewish, but is easy on the wallet (around 10-11 bucks a 12 pack). I would think this would be a good introduction for someone who isn't used to craft/micro-brew beers. Budweiser accomplished their goal with this one and put together a mass market brew that even beer snobs can't stick their nose up to...ok, not stick their nose up to that much! At least give it a try, you won't be disappointed. I give it 3.5 out of 5 pints. Cheers...