Bud Ice - Who Knew It Still Existed??
Posted By Zach Monday, 11 August 2008 15:21
Clearly, I haven't been doing many updates on the site lately, so we decided it was a good idea to pick up some stuff at the liquor last week while we were chilling. Venturing outside of the regular stores we frequent proved to be a good idea as I was able to score that classic of all beers, Bud Ice.
Now, you may be like me and question if this 24 ouncer of Icey goodness was left over from the '80s. AB has relegated Bud Ice and it's equally as scarce, but less popular sister, Bud Dry to the bargin bins at most liquor stores.
I decided it was worth the risk at less than $2 to see if the Penguins need to return or Bud Ice deserves it's spot in the hands of college kids and losers like us with nothing better to do. Read on...
Taste: C Fortunately, I was able to find a nice 24-ounce version of Bud Ice. While a 40 would have certainly increased my coolness factor, I already had the pre-requisite brown paper bag and getting down that much of this tasteless swill would have been a chore. This certainly is not the worst beer I've had, but it basically has no taste while it is cold. This could very well have been the intention of those wonders of beer making at AB, so perhaps that should not be counted against Bud Ice. However, once the cooling effects of your brown bag wear off and this stuff warms-up, it is like falling off a cliff to skanksville. The lesson here is drink this bitch fast!
Packaging: B Bud Ice doesn't do much well, but it really nails the packaging. Clearly, when this beer was first conceived, the intent was to put some megamarketing money behind it while skimping on the actual beer. This seems to have worked successfully with the label and it's nice lettering flying into the screen over a pleasant blue and red background. While no longer around, the whole Penguins campaign was great, but just proves that AB got a little ballsy when they successfully passed off Budweiser off as a "quality" beer. Lesson for them is that marketing only goes so far when your product blows.
Value: C+ Certainly, Bud Ice is priced right at less than $2 for 24 ounces. However, you can get a nice 40 of malt for less than this, so it can't quite pull off the A or B in this category.
Drunkeness: C Bud Ice tips the scale at 5.5%, which is slightly higher than it's more popular brother, Budweiser. However, to be a real player in the ice beer world, you need to up the ante in this department. Hell, we aren't drinking ice beer for the taste, so at least give us a fighting chance to black out and forget the flavor (or lack thereof).
Overall: C Well, Bud Ice certainly didn't impress me, nor did it leave me running to rid my stomach of it's contents. Unfortunately, the heyday of this beer is long since passed, so there will be no improvements in taste or alcohol % which makes me kinda sad as single guys can't impress the ladies with a fridge stocked full of Bud Ice. Bottom line for this beer is if you can find it and have less than $3 in your pocket, it is worth a try for the novelty factor. If you happen to have a fiver, spend it on something a little less crappy.