Budweiser Project 12: The Final Offerings

Over the summer, Budweiser conducted Project 12, where each of their 12 U.S. breweries and brewmasters were asked to come up with a unique new beer using the Budweiser yeast strain and brand values. The final three beers hit shelves in a mixed six-pack this fall.

Batch 63118

Brewery Location: St. Louis

Brewmaster: Jim Bicklein, with help from Fort Collins, CO, brewmaster Katie Rippel.

Beer: Golden Pilsner, 6% ABV

An homage to the German immigrants like Adolphus Busch, The pilsner uses ingredients that were common in the St. Louis area in the late 1800s.

Review and notes: Pours deep gold with a moderate head. Noticeably round and a little boozy, the beer doesn’t win points for subtlety, but has a nice tang from the Tettnang and Hallertau hops. True to style for a Bohemian Pils, but the alcohol and thinness will turn off some drinkers, who might associate the flavors with discount beer. The the malt character will proabably make this the least challenging to lovers of traditional Budweiser, and the bitterness in the aftertaste will add a level to which they are not used. By far my least favorite of the six brews I tried, let alone the three that made the final cut.

Batch 91406

Brewery Location: Los Angeles

Brewmaster: Bryan Sullivan, with help from Scott Ungerman (Fairfield, CT) and Dave Cohen (Houston).

Beer: Amber Lager, 6% ABV

Using a caramel malt, Sullivan and co. aimed for a beer with both more malt and more hops than traditional Budweiser.

Review and notes: Pours amber with little head. Slight roast in the nose. Fans of amber lagers like Yuengling will likely enjoy this beer, though the hops and yeast give it a much crisper, cleaner finish than most. It’s well-carbonated with not a ton of body, and so the roastiness comes through well. A well-crafted lager, if not bursting with flavor by non-macrobrew standards, the LA batch should be acceptable to almost anyone and enjoyable to many.

Batch 23185

Brewery Location: Williamsburg, VA

Brewmaster: Daniel Westmoreland, in collaboration with Mike Anderson (Jacksonville, FL) and Dan Kahn (Cartersville, GA)

Beer: Bourbon Cask Lager, 5.5%

Westmoreland made an all-malt brew and aged it on staves from bourbon barrels.

Review and notes: Pours light, whiskey-colored amber with significant head. Nose has a nice malty roastiness with a hint of vanilla. Definitely the most complex of the three beers, the description shouldn’t intimidate anyone. The bourbon staves suggest rather than demonstrate vanilla character in the beer, and give only light hints of the traditional flavor. The beer – like all of the Project 12 offerings – has a crisp and clean finish from the Budweiser yeast, and could be easily drinkable in some quantity. While craft beer fans will lament the lack of bold flavor, I actually find the subtlety refreshing. I love bourbon, but too often it’s used as a flavor cudgel in craft beers. This is a well-crafted lager that I enjoyed in the blind six-pack before I knew it had bourbon staves.