This Little Light of Mine...

In the year-end wrap up of beer news in the City Paper (that also mentions a great article in the Atlantic about a new Allagash Lambic that is actually brewed with natural -i.e. random airborne - yeast), a link leads to the most ridiculous trend in beers - the "Light Beer Arms Race." Apparently, MGD 64 calorie beer wasn't enough; now Bud is making "Select 55," with only 55 calories. As the City Paper says: "At a certain point, you've got to just call it water." Well, that's true, because to make it this "light" they have to just add a lot of water, making the alcohol level around 2%.

And how is the taste? Let's just say that the RateBeer reviews have elevated hating on this beer to an art form. A sampling:

"Oh sweet Jesus this is bad. Total lack of anything resembling a beer flavor. Makes Michelob Ultra seem like Guiness Stout. Only redeeming factor is the calorie count because it sure ain’t the taste."

"I don’t know who shared this, but I hate them now. Looks like a dull nasty pisswater, light coppery hay straw with a thinning soda-like head. Aroma is nasty acetaldehyde- green apple skin, rice/corn adjunctiness, pisswater. Crackery dull rice paper flavor with more apple skin and almost as if you can taste some chemical that will give you a hangover- terrible."

"Skunky, light corn and very sweet smelling. Tastes like water that a beer came by and dipped its balls in. No flavor at all, finishing up the same way. Not undrinkable and not super offensive, but there’s really nothing going on here."

"official rating #1800 . . so why not with the lightest beer in the world!! light skunky hay aromas .. . medium head which disappears quickly .. . very watery, light metallic and water-like flavours..?? .. . has this weird slight fizz .. . i put it in your coat pocket .. . clean finish .. . transparent. .. . I’m not drunk! I just have speech impediment... and a stomach virus... and an inner ear infection."

"No flavor whatsoever. I suspect they skunk this beer on purpose just so it tastes like something. Blech. Only thing has going for it is that you can pound them back without getting drunk... tho I bet you’d get a hangover anyway just from all the chemicals."

"Not worth pouring into a glass, but you can see that its a pee yellow through the clear bottle. Not worth the money. But hey its another rating. Is this beer?"

"The only thing I can think of using this so-called colored soda water is, "A little song, a little dance, a little BS-55 down your pants."

"At colder temps, it was somewhat drinkable and not overly adjuncty or offensive. At warmer temps, it all fell apart and tasted like cum-stained bed sheets."

"my grandpa used to piss better brew than this."

"It initially does a good job of masking its castration, but quickly gives in, due to the dry, papery, barley malt water taste."

"Only 50¢ at Binny’s DG singles rack. Wow, less than a penny per calorie! That’s the sign of a great beer! Pop the cap and… Skunk Bomb! Lot of bad smells from being so light struck! Folks, I am trying to be nice, but even while pouring it’s armpit. Bubbly with color of a urine sample. Soda pop bubbles make for a thin, low powered head. This is in a Sam Adams glass, I’m giving it every chance I can. Unlike that homeopathic preparation called MGD 64, this actually shows a little body. Slight note of hops, a flavor that suggests it once went to kindergarten with some malts. There is a small ring of foam around the edge of what’s left in the bottle, so it’s at least a step above Zima. But reason they put this under the Bud Select moniker is probably similar to why Coca-Cola called its diet soda Tab: don’t want to taint the flagship Budweiser beer by association. I admit to liking a Bud on draft on a hot day, but this makes O’Doul’s taste like Orval."