The most dominate beer ads this time  were Bud Light’s “Here We Go” ads. This series features various situations in which people unexpectedly discover large amounts of Bud Light. A spontaneous party erupts regardless of everyone’s current circumstances fun is had by all. Take a look at this one set on a deserted island following a plane crash.

The others follow the same basic template with different settings – an observatory, a book club, etc. The most notable thing about all of these ads is how little they actually focus on the beer or its quality. This was a theme which was also evident in this year’s Budweiser Clydesdale ad, which had almost nothing to do with beer.

Perhaps the decision to focus more on the social aspects of Budweiser beers rather than its taste or quality is indication that Americans are becoming savvier about beer. With craft beer steadily growing in popularity, more and more people are trying quality beer and realizing how much light lagers like Budweiser lack. Anheuser-Busch can no longer get away with bragging about their taste, because people know theirs better things out there.

The other beer ads on Sunday were for two super light beers.

Michelob Ultra:

and Budweiser Select 55:

These are beers which are brewed to be as light as possible, Michelob Ultra was the first, weighing in at 95 calories per serving. The success of Ultra led to Michelob coming out with MGD 64, which has just 64 calories per serving. Budweiser Select is the latest in this category, with, as you might guess, 55 calories per serving.

We’ve looked at these beers in articles before. As we said previously, beer isn’t a sports drink. It isn’t something that should be enjoyed for the dietary benefits, it should be enjoyed for the taste. The caloric difference between these beers are slight to say the least. Are the six calories you save by drinking Select 55 really going to matter much? We certainly don’t think so. As we pointed out before, the caloric difference between Ultra and regular ‘non sport’ beers isn’t that much either. We’re all for staying healthy and watching what you eat and drink, but we feel the amount of calories you save by drinking these super light beers hardly make up for the significant loss in taste.

What did you think of these year’s ads? Let us know in the comments.

1.There are fish guts in your beer.

Isinglass is an ingredient made from the swim bladder of fish (specifically the beluga sturgeon) that has been traditionally been used by brewers as a clarifying and finning agent in beer. Although most of the major macro brewers in America have discontinued to use of this product, plenty of other notable brewers such as Guinness, Red Stripe, Foster’s and Newcastle still put it in your beer. For a more complete list of what brewers still use this and other animal-derived products check barnivore.com.

2. All lagers are brewed cold, it’s nothing to brag about.

Many different brewers over the years have bragged about how cold their beer is brewed. As we’ve pointed out before though, all lagers are brewed cold, that’s just how lager beer is made, so bragging about it in commercials doesn’t really mean much, all you’re saying is that you followed directions.

3. Drinking light lager isn’t saving you money.

A common defense among folks that prefer light lagers is that it’s cheap and they’re just drinking it for the alcohol. We happen to think that beer should be enjoyed for its flavor, but if you feel otherwise that’s cool too. It’s true that light lagers like Coors and Miller have some of the lowest prices on the market but they also have some of the lowest alcohol content as well. Miller Light, Coors Light and Bud Light all clock in just above 4%, while the average for the style is usually at least 5%, so you’re hardly getting your money’s worth.

4. Light lagers aren’t made with barley, they’re made with corn and rice.
As we’ve explained many times on this blog, barley is one of the main ingredients of beer, and probably the ingredient which defines beer the most. While other traditional grains such as rye and wheat are sometimes used, barley is the ingredient which really makes beer what it is. The Germans even passed a law in1516, the Reinheitsgebot, that forbade the brewing of beer with anything other than barley. Don’t tell this to Miller, Coors or Budweiser though, as there’s hardly any barley in their beer at all. They mostly use rice and corn because it’s cheaper, and they think you can’t tell the difference. Miller has been even known to use high fructose corn syrup in their beers, the same stuff that sweetens Kool-Aid. I doubt that would past the Reinheitsgebot.

5. There aren’t real hops in your light lager.

As we’ve mentioned before, the reason beer can get ‘skunked’ after being left out for awhile is due to a reaction between the hops in beer and sunlight. How can some breweries like Miller and Newcastle get away with clear bottles? Because they don’t use real hops. Thanks to the miracle of modern science there is a synthetic chemical known as Tetrahop available to brewers that mimics hop flavor, while being immune to the adverse effects of the sun. A downside is that Tetrahop has no aroma, which is too bad as aroma is a major component to perceived hop flavor.

The much anticipated ‘Beer Summit’ took place last evening at the White House between Pres. Obama, Prof. Henry Lois Gates and Sgt. James Crowley two weeks after Sgt. Crowley arrested Prof. Gates in his Cambridge home for disorderly conduct under questionable circumstances.  The arrest lead to charges of racism by many in the media and Obama proposed the meeting to help create a “teachable moment” to address the issues raised.

Although no apologies were given during the meeting, Sgt. Crowley said afterwards  that it had been a pleasant experience and that they had “agreed to  disagree” when it came to the specifics of the arrest in question.

Regardless of how you feel about the arrest, I think everyone can agree that this incident and the interest it has attracted really demonstrates the brotherhood and sense of community which can come from sharing a beer with someone else. Can you imagine them hashing out their differences over a vodka tonic, glass of wine or anything else?

Although we really applaud Pres. Obama’s recognition of this unique quality of beer, it’s a shame he wasn’t able to enjoy a quality American craft beer instead of Bud Light, but that’s politics for you. It was also nice to seem them pour them into appropriate glasses, although we were a little disappointed Sgt. Crowley and Vice President Biden put fruit in their beer, something we’ve warned against  in the past.

After much speculation about the choice of beer, Gates ended up drinking a Sam Adams Light, Officer Crowley had a Blue Moon, and Vice President Biden, who also joined them had a Bucklers, a nonalcoholic brew made by Heineken as he does not drink.

The Beer Summit in Washington of course wasn’t the only one held last night. Beeriety also co-hosted it’s first meetup with BostonTumblrMeetups at the Publick House in Brookline, Mass. It was a lot of fun and we meet a lot of new friends, stay tuned for details on the next one.

Budweiser has recently launched a major ad campaign centered around Bud Light’s unique ability to be placed in your mouth and swallowed, or as they refer to it, “drinkability.”

This is apparently something that sets Bud Light apart from other drinks. Really Budweiser? Let’s take a look at one of those ads.

I have to agree with Budweiser on a few points. Something is generally easier to drink when it’s not being sprayed at you from a hose at full blast, or not hot sauce, or not hail (which as a solid and not a liquid is in fact impossible to drink.) Last time I checked however none of the other light beers out there were any of these things, they were in fact beer, and generally served in glasses. So unless there’s some brewing company I don’t know about making a hail and Tabasco flavored beer that’s sprayed at you from a hose, I’m not sure if Budweiser is really making much of a claim for Bud Light.