# Budweiser accused of watering down their beer. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** beer\ **Created:** [February 27, 2013, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494 "2013-02-27T05:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/41 "2013-02-28T14:10:33Z")
Nobody is picking up on the point that smacked me in the face when I first saw the story. They are being sued. For millions of dollars in several states at once. It wasn’t like beer drinkers got together and decided to sue because of damages done to them. Some lawyers who specialize in class action suits went out looking for a giant payday. If they succeed AB will take a giant hit which will be transfered to their customers and workers, the consumers may get coupons or something out of it and these lawyers will make millions. God Bless America. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/42 "2013-02-28T14:10:35Z")
> [@Waenara](#): > > It’s late and my reading comprehension is not so good right now. But the way I’m reading this is that a beer is labelled as say 5% alcohol. But it’s being diluted by 3-8%. So I’m assuming it’s 3-8% off of the 5%. So the suit is alleging that beer labelled at 5% is really 4.6 to 4.85% ? Correct? > > Wouldn’t it be pretty simple for the lawyers to buy a bunch of random cases of beer and have them tested at an independent lab? Seems like it wouldn’t be too hard to test. My thinking as well. And the headline “Budweiser waters down its beer” seems misleading as well. I’m pretty sure they don’t carefully brew their beer to exactly 5% then mix in more water at the last minute (well, except for maybe Michelob Ultra which is basically water with alcohol.) Isn’t the claim really that AB is mislabeling their beer? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/43 "2013-02-28T14:53:30Z")
> [@shiftless](#): > > Isn’t the claim really that AB is mislabeling their beer? They should get sued for mislabeling their product _as_ beer. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/44 "2013-02-28T16:36:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > Nobody is picking up on the point that smacked me in the face when I first saw the story. They are being sued. For millions of dollars in several states at once. It wasn’t like beer drinkers got together and decided to sue because of damages done to them. Some lawyers who specialize in class action suits went out looking for a giant payday. If they succeed AB will take a giant hit which will be transfered to their customers and workers, the consumers may get coupons or something out of it and these lawyers will make millions. God Bless America. This didn’t smack me in the face, because if AB went out of business, I wouldn’t miss a drink. But it is the core problem here. I’d love to take AB down a peg or two, but I’d rather it be by people wising (heh heh) up to the fact the beer’s not great, not by some silly lawsuit. But I don’t have any ideas that would stop this kind of lawsuit without stopping lawsuits that have merit. In regard to respecting the tastes of AAL, I like the slightly sour taste that Coors has. I’d never buy Coors for it, because I can get better beer for the same or less money. I think it comes from their yeast strain, and I’m always happy to find it in a beer where it’s not the only standout flavor. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/45 "2013-02-28T16:57:06Z")
I hate Bud because I can’t stand rice in beer. I actually prefer the use of corn as an adjunct in my lawnmower beers. The reformulated Schlitz, for example, is very good for what it is. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/46 "2013-02-28T19:07:13Z")
Hay guise does anybody else hate Bud Light because it isn’t a premium $5-a-bottle beer? Stupid plebe-Americans drinking their nasty pee water. The only liquids that pass these lips come from the most hipster-revered nanobreweries of the West, using clean water filtered through the eastern Oregon mountains, and barley that the brewers personally met and chatted with while they were still wee sprouts. I’m glad us intellectuals are actually able to appreciate beer and we don’t just buy whatever has a flag on the can. I mean yeah I guess I’ll drink a Bud when I’m already doing something distasteful. Like the other day I was cleaning the hundreds of pounds of dung from my elephant sanctuary? I said to my life partner, “throw me a Bud!” I made sure to ironically salute him afterwards so he knew I was just drinking it _ironically_. But yeah, when I’m on my chaise lounge, studying Virgil’s minor works, or arguing with pretend lawyers on the Internet, I wouldn’t dare deign to even think of Budweiser, unless to spit on the commonfolk and hope that my SDMB compatriots retain me in their circle for sharing this sacred belief: Budweiser? You mean water, right? ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/47 "2013-02-28T19:11:02Z")
And hops. Mountains and mountains of hops. If you aren’t snorting a line of ground hops between every swig, then you are a disgrace to Beer, PBUH, and should be returned to your rightful home sleeping amongst curs in a fetid alleyway…behind a Wal-Mart. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/48 "2013-02-28T19:25:00Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > But yeah, when I’m on my **chaise lounge** , studying Virgil’s minor works, or arguing with pretend lawyers on the Internet, I wouldn’t dare deign to even think of Budweiser, unless to spit on the commonfolk and hope that my SDMB compatriots retain me in their circle for sharing this sacred belief: Budweiser? You mean water, right? It’s _chaise longue_. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/49 "2013-02-28T19:33:42Z")
You are soooo funny! Because totally everyone who hates macrobrewed light lagers also can’t get enough of hops, OMG right? Or yeah, not really. I’m just not a fan of light lager unless it’s hot and I want a thirst-quencher. This includes New Glarus’ [Totally Naked](http://www.newglarusbrewing.com/index.cfm/beers/ourbeers/beer/totally-naked), for the record. I know, I’m hating on one of the most desired and hard-to-acquire (only sold in WI) breweries out there; better run me out of town on a rail. And I’m a hop wuss; the hoppiest I can handle is part of a Goose Island ( **whoa** they’re owned by AB InBev maybe I should stop drinking their stuff :rolleyes:) IPA. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/50 "2013-02-28T19:38:16Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > And hops. Mountains and mountains of hops. If you aren’t snorting a line of ground hops between every swig, then you are a disgrace to Beer, PBUH, and should be returned to your rightful home sleeping amongst curs in a fetid alleyway…behind a Wal-Mart. A touch! A touch, I say! Wounded to the quick are we. 'Tis a pity the _professional brewers_ in the thread have been so trounced by such wit. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/51 "2013-02-28T19:38:20Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > I hate Bud because I can’t stand rice in beer. I actually prefer the use of corn as an adjunct in my lawnmower beers. The reformulated Schlitz, for example, is very good for what it is. Schlitz is darned good for what it is. My only problem is for that style of beer, it’s a little bit on the pricey side. It’s kind of situated pricing wise in between the usual macrolagers and the cheaper craft brews, so if I’m in an American Light Lager kind of mood, I tend to go for the Old Style (who also recently switched back to an older, krauesened, formula) or I’ll spend two bucks more a six pack and get something a little more substantial. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/52 "2013-02-28T19:40:08Z")
Old Style, you say? I’ll have to pick up a six-pack next time I’m in Bevmo. It’s starting to get warm enough to merit switching from Guinness as an after-work beer. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/53 "2013-02-28T19:46:28Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Old Style, you say? I’ll have to pick up a six-pack next time I’m in Bevmo. It’s starting to get warm enough to merit switching from Guinness as an after-work beer. Do they sell it out there? I’m not sure if they still sell a non-Krauesened version, but the krauesened stuff definitely says “krauesened” on the can, right on the main logo. I think the Schlitz is better in terms of being more flavorful, but Old Style has the price advantage and I like the value-for-quality ratio there. I also grew up with the stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/54 "2013-02-28T19:47:53Z")
I’m really not fancy. I refuse to pay more than 8 dollars for a 6 pack and I couldn’t tell you the difference between a lager and ale if you paid me. But beers like bud or coors just don’t seem worth it to me. There’s no there there. I’d feel the same sort of betrayal as if you handed me a bag of chips and upon opening all I got was a wafting of salty air. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/55 "2013-02-28T19:48:49Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I also grew up with the stuff. There’s the key. That’s the reason Coors still holds a place in my heart. Not Silver Bullets, but the plain old bootlegged Banquet Beer. Total piss water, but it’s what I grew up drinking. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/56 "2013-02-28T19:59:30Z")
Same here on the Coors Banquet and Miller High Life. It’s whay I knew from 17 on. Btw, are there any other Trappist beers on par with Chimay? I love their red label and at $13 plus a bottle I don’t want to buy anything Trappist-like that’s gonna come up short. ---
**Author:** ![Alan\_Smithee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2acd7d/32.png) [@Alan\_Smithee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alan_Smithee)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/57 "2013-02-28T20:11:16Z")
It’s rather sweet (and not at all hoppy), but Trader Joe’s Nametag Lager is a flavorful, full-malt American Light Lager that’s cheaper than soda. ---
**Author:** ![drew870mitchell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drew870mitchell/32/3946_2.png) [@drew870mitchell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drew870mitchell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/58 "2013-02-28T20:27:58Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > A touch! A touch, I say! Wounded to the quick are we. 'Tis a pity the _professional brewers_ in the thread have been so trounced by such wit. I don’t care who you are. Jesus could come in here with that “macros are piss water” routine and I’d think a little less of him too. It’s one thing to be a connoisseur, but beer attracts the worst kind of snobs, people who must make it clear that certain libations are below them. Signed, A homebrewer and self-professed hops lover who cringes every time someone takes a fashionable dump on macrobrews. P.S. Thanks **August West** , ignorance has been fought. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/59 "2013-02-28T20:36:33Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > There’s the key. That’s the reason Coors still holds a place in my heart. Not Silver Bullets, but the plain old bootlegged Banquet Beer. Total piss water, but it’s what I grew up drinking. You know, I actually like Coors as well. Of the standard Bud, Miller, Coors, Coors is my favorite. I think Old Style is a clear step above them (and those beer review sites seem to agree), but you can’t underestimate the power of nostalgia. I would put the current Old Style much, much closer to the reformulated Schlitz than MGD or High Life or anything like that. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2013, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494/60 "2013-02-28T20:46:07Z")
> [@drew870mitchell](#): > > I don’t care who you are. Jesus could come in here with that “macros are piss water” routine and I’d think a little less of him too. It’s one thing to be a connoisseur, but beer attracts the worst kind of snobs, people who must make it clear that certain libations are below them. > > Signed, > A homebrewer and self-professed hops lover who cringes every time someone takes a fashionable dump on macrobrews. > > P.S. Thanks **August West** , ignorance has been fought. There are macrobrews, and then there is Bud. I have already stated my liking of Schiltz and Coors. I **refuse** to drink Bud or anything like Bud. Total garp. Signed, A homebrewer with 250+ awards from 13 different states and self-professed hops lover who would happily watch A-B burn to the ground, and would dance a little jig around the fire singing Hallelujah. 😛 P.S. **August West** needs to post more. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/budweiser-accused-of-watering-down-their-beer/651494.md?page=4)