Busch

Name: Busch
Style: American Adjunct Lager
Owner: AB-InBev
Slogan: "Clear and Bright as Mountain Air."

BeerAdvocate Rating: 49 (Awful)
RateBeer Rating: 0, 1
ABV: 4.6%

First brewed in 1955, Busch was the low-buck beer from A-B, being the one they made for those not classy enough for Budweiser.  Around here in L.A., it's relegated to the tallboy section of the coolers next to the malt liquors and it's unavailable in 12 packs, etc.  The one I have is in a throwback 25oz. can, harkening back to a time when cars still had tailfins.  Based on my experience, Busch is just Budweiser that uses corn instead of rice as its adjunct.

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  Brokeback Beer...

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The can is emblazoned with:

"Introduced as Busch Bavarian in 1955, Busch has grown from a regional brand to a national favorite.  Described then as "clean, clear and refreshing as mountain air," the quality has never wavered and continues to this day. "I hope you'll try it.  I know you'll like it!" August A. Busch, Jr., 1955"

Now Busch isn't the kind of beer you drink when you're looking for any particular flavor and certainly not one that you'd want your friends to see you drinking.  The corn gives it more body than Budweiser and a little more flavor.  Not awesome, tastebud-popping flavor, but flavor nonetheless.  A-B goes out of its way to tell you how crisp and refreshing this beer is, and that cowboys absolutely love it.   Seriously... according to them if you have a horse and a fucking chuckwagon, you'd better be drinking Busch.  Otherwise, you might find yourself tied to a cactus and left for dead.

Serving:
Aggressively poured from a 25oz can into a Wine Enthusiast Steady-Temp Double Wall Beer Glass.  The glass had flashbacks of that one time it got lost in the desert.

Appearance:
Pours a pale straw color with a fizzy head that ebbs quickly, leaving light lacing in the glass and a ring around the top of the liquid.

Smell:
Pale malt, water and straw with some CORN!  The nose is just like Budweiser with some CORN!  Did I mention you can smell the corn?

Taste:
The taste is just a regular corn-based adjunct lager, with less hop presence than, say, PBR.  It's somewhere between a regular and a light beer and it really doesn't fit in either category.  Little hop presence.

Mouthfeel:
Very light for a "regular" beer, fizzy carbonation and no linger in the finish.

Overall:
Busch is a quintessential lawnmower beer.  On a hot day, it's as refreshing as water and is surprisingly inoffensive considering its format and price point.  One thing to note is that it only has 4 calories more per can than Bud Light, and ten times the flavor.  If you're drinking Bud Light for the calories, give Busch a try.  It's not terrible.  I must admit I keep a few cans of this in the beer fridge to drink when I normally would have a soda.  I stop far short of recommending it, but if you're stuck and need an alcohol delivery mechanism, it's one of the better cheap ones.