“This can is certainly a conversation starter: eye-catching, easy-to-grip, trendy and – according to our research – very appealing to young adults,” McGauley said. “It’s a beer can like no other.”
Unfortunately, the actual beer is unappealing enough to this young adult to make it not worth it. Plus, what? Easy to grip? Does McGauley live in infomercial land? Who are these baby-handed adults they’re trying to corner the market on?
Ever tried to hold a regular can when you’re hammered? 
It’s all part and parcel of the fact that when it comes to drinking out Irish consumers are ripped off.
In point of fact? No. I usually have a deathgrip on a bottle of gin, though.
It may make it easier for the Neanderthals to squash the empty can flat against their foreheads.
Clearly they have never met a 21 year old “man”.
Bud’s been screwing drinkers forever just by being such a shitty beer.
But that’s not the standard Budvar sold all around. That’s a special high-alcohol version. If we’re comparing apples to apples, Budweiser Budvar Czech Premium Lager is the one to compare it to. Otherwise, I can say, hey Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) Brewmaster Private Reserve is 8%, so it’s stronger. But that’s not the beer people think of when they say “Budweiser.” They think of one of two beers: Either plain ol’ American Budweiser or Budweiser Budvar. If you’re at a Euro pub, drinking Budvar, you almost certainly are drinking the 5% version.
And, yes, look at their website. Right here. What beer do you see? It’s the standard Budvar. They have exactly one product over 5% on their page, the one you cherry-picked. Most are under 5%.
Right- both are roughly in the 4.5-6% ABV range. What differs is the final gravity and bitterness level- Budvar comes in at the usual Bohemian pilsner level of 1.014-1.020 with about 40-50 IBU of bitterness, while American Bud comes in at something like 1.009 and 10-15 IBU.
So although they have the same alcohol content, Budvar’s a “bigger” beer in every other sense of the word.
People notice that, and assume like they do for other strongly flavored beers, that the alcohol content must be correspondingly higher, which isn’t usually the case. Guinness stout for example, is only 3.5% ABV, but people routinely think it’s stronger than normal Bud/Miller/Coors products.
Meh. Beer supply follows beer demand. It wouldn’t have gotten so big if people didn’t want to drink it. I’m not going to fault them for taking money given willingly. I’m not so much a beer snob I’ll dismiss it out of hand.
Still, that’s no excuse for all the people who buy it (with the exception that it’s usually vastly cheaper than superior alternatives).
Exactly, except that the standard Guinness draft is 4.1% ABV, at least here in the US, not 3.5%. (Although there apparently is a 3.5% version sold only in Scandinavia.) People do think that “heavy” or “dark” corresponds with “high alcohol.” You’ll also note that the dark version of Budvar is also lower in alcohol than the standard 5% version.
I also think there may be some confusion with Czech and Slovak beers that often have a number on them like 10° or 12°, which is a Plato measurement, not an alcohol percentage, which I have had some people confuse it with. 10° and 12° are roughly 4% and 5% ABV, respectively.
Nothing intrinsically wrong with Budweiser, or any of the other American domestic macro lagers. The only issue is a bit of blandness, a lowest-common-denominator appeal to the greatest number of people through the avoidance of any distinctive flavor.
I can hardly fault them for trying to steal market share from the other macro lagers. This funny-shaped can is clearly not an attempt to attract beer snobs.
Maybe they are running out of raw material? They should start giving the Clydesdales more water.
“I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I stay far away from Bud.”
They should have consulted Coke; who tried to market a contoured can several years ago. It caused too many problem with vending machines; so now it’s just a novelty item at the coke museum and a few other places.
*my site for this is the Coke Museum tour.
Actually the 10° and 12° Plato measurements are the original gravity of the wort, which very roughly corresponds to alcoholic strength and final gravity, with 12° being roughly 1.048-1.050, which is a good sturdy beer, while US Bud is more like 1.044-1.045, or 10°-11° Plato. That’s why they have the same ABV percentage, but the Budvar is a bigger beer.
But yeah, I’m sure 90% of Americans see 12° and think 12% on Czech beers.
Yeah, it depends on how far you’re able to ferment it. At equal Platos, the “thinner” you get the beer (closer to water’s specific gravity), the more alcoholic it will be.
Why would Coke’s problems with vending machines be of any interest to Budweiser?
Here in Sweden there are two versions of many beers, one for bars and the state run alcohol stores and one for supermarkets. This is because only the state run stores can sell anything above 3.5% for consumption off the premises. I’ve just finished a 3.5% Staropramen, for example.
I do get very confused by the whole ‘which Budweiser’ debate, mainly because I have never in my life met anyone that refers to the Czech stuff as anything involving the word ‘Budweiser’. It is always simply ‘Budvar’.
That’s been my experience, too. But maybe there are some places that refer to it as “Budweiser.” It does say “Budweiser Budvar” on the label itself, so who knows? It’s always been Budvar to me (except here in the US, where it’s “Czechvar.”)
No matter what anybody says about Bud, it sure as hell is better than Coors! 