Behold the new can.
They say it’s to attract the younger (legal) drinker. Never mind that the can went from 12 oz. to 11.3 oz. That wasn’t the motivation at all for the world’s largest selling beer. Not in the least.
Fuck you, Inbev! On behalf of beers drinkers without taste buds everywhere, fuck you!
However it’s done, less Budweiser is a good thing.
I don’t see the outrage. According to the article, it won’t replace 12 ounce cans. You’ll still be able to buy those in the traditional 6 and 12 packs. The smaller cans will come in 8 packs for those who want them. They’re not being forced on anyone.
First of all, the can is kind of ugly…looks like someone stepped on it.
It took them years to design this and perfect it in aluminum?
And seriously…they couldn’t figure out a way to scale the design a small percentage more to keep the same amount of beer in the can? Really?
BTW, the “real” Budweiser (a Czech beer) is quite good and - as I learned the hard way when living in Berlin - can knock you flat on your ass after only a few cold mugs with its rather higher alcohol content. Always fun to watch Americans over in Europe and listen to those famous last words, “Ha! It’s only Bud - I can drink a 12 pack back home and not get drunk…” right before you see them start to pass out after they drink about the 3rd “real” Budweiser beer.
I’m irked that Sierra Nevada knocked 2013 Bigfoot down to a four pack for the same price of 2012’s sixer.
The end of the article also mentions that they’re working on a 25 oz can to replace their 24 oz can. So not only are they not replacing the traditional 12 oz can with this new can, they do plan to replace their 24 oz can with a bigger one.
Budvar/Czechvar and American Budweiser have the same alcohol content, at 5%, believe it or not. I don’t know who started this whole Czech/German beers are stronger thing, but it’s not true. I lived next door in Hungary and had a lot of Budvar. It’s a normal strength beer.
And here’s two cites:
Same info at ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com.
Here’s American Budweiser at ratebeer.com.
The only thing I could think of is possibly larger serving sizes. I can’t remember what size the Budvar bottles were, but, typically, beers came in 0.5L bottles in Hungary.
11.3 oz? Dude, don’t be like that, man. Don’t be that kind of company. That’s lame. It should add .1 oz or something to be cool.
As others have noted above, Budweiser isn’t replacing the 12-ounce can. This is just a special can. It may or may not last.
It’s not the first time. I remember when you could get Bud in bottles (plastic) shaped like a bowling pin. It was sold like that only at bowling alleys.
I read an article several years ago about how aluminum cans are made, and changes that saved a fraction of a gram in making each can. You basically start with a flat circle of aluminum and (in a couple of steps) pound it into shape. A piston (the size of the inside of the can) drives the aluminum through a hole (the size of the outside of the can) and the metal stretches up to form the sides. Really makes me wonder how they manage to pinch the sides of the new can inward. It’s an interesting technical challenge, but way, way more trouble than it’s worth.
As for making it hold more, that would probably be tough. The only way would have been to make it taller or bigger around. I’m sure there’s a massive infrastructure built around the standard 12 oz. can; anything bigger would have required a shit ton of custom handling to ship and store.
11.3 oz, eh? Lots of European brews come in that size (it’s 1/3 L).
Are they shooting for some kind of worldwide standardization?
Bud has those insulated red bottles too. I think they are 4 packs? They’re trying a lot of special packaging.
I’ll continue buying the 18 pack with regular cans. It lasts me nearly two months.
Funnily enough the American Budweiser sold in Europe has a lower alcohol content than the American Budweiser sold in America.
Honestly it’s all about shelf space. If a Budweiser sales rep can walk into a liquor store and convince them there is a demand for one product in:
7oz bottles - 6 packs, 24 packs
8oz cans - 6 packs, 8 packs, 12 packs, 24 packs
11.3oz cans - 8 packs
12 oz bottles - 6 packs, 12 packs, 18 packs, 20 packs, 24 packs
12oz cans - 6 packs, 12 packs, 18 packs, 24 packs, 30 packs
16oz cans - singles, 4 packs, 8 packs
16oz aluminum bottles - singles, 6 packs, 12 packs, 18 packs, 24 packs
22oz bottles - singles
24oz cans - singles, 3 packs
24 oz bottles - singles
32oz bottles - singles
40oz bottles - singles
That sales rep can fill an entire cooler door with one product. Double it when you add in bud light and all the bud light flavors, then add in another door of shock top, hoegaarden, stella, and the other InBev imports and another door of malt liquors and below premium brands and you’ve taken over more than half the cooler without even carrying anything especially worthwhile.
Is that Europe-wide or just in the UK due to the taxes? Apparently, it was relatively recently dropped from 5% to 4.8% abv, but it says it only affects sales in the UK.
Regardless, American Budweiser can be deceivingly strong compared with its European brethren. Most of your everyday drinking European beers top off at around 5%, often a hair lower. Some people might be surprised to find that Guinness, Krusovice Dark, and Pilsener Urquell are all sub 4.5% beers, for instance.
Dunno about the UK, in Ireland it is 4.3% due to that being the standard in this country. Maybe Budweiser isn’t as weak Europewide though now that you mention it.
It is kind of amusing to think that American Budweiser is “watered down” for the Irish market, though. 
This is exactly what I came in here to say. They are providing a much needed service. 
From the Budvar website:
Bud Premier Select Special Beer
Bud Premier Select Special Beer is strong beer with an alcohol content of 7.5 %. Compared to the regular lager, there is a difference of approximately 2.5 %. Therefore consumers are required to be more experienced, responsible and mature.
For that reason we have decided to recommend that the young consumers wait with this beer until they are 21, as at this age a man is physically and mentally more mature and can cope with drinking this specialty as well as appreciating and savouring it.
We do believe that Bud Premier Select deserves such respect. Owing to its record-breaking 200-days long maturing period the beer is referred to as the peak of the beer alchemy. It is characterised by a rich thick fine head, darker golden colour and distinct malt flavour.
Content of alcohol
7.5 % vol.
Packing
0.33 litre bottle, carton 4 x 0.33 litre, KEG barrel