You might have missed this news due to the hectic nature of the holidays, but last month (in an Instagram post) Anheuser-Busch announced that it was proudly bringing sour beers to the U.S. The post was a reference to the various sour beers made by Asheville’s Wicked Weed (a brewery recently purchased by AB). It also references the idea that these types of beer, which use wild yeasts, have been brewed in Belgium for centuries. That part of the statement is accurate. But the problem craft beer brewers and fans had with this post was the sour beers have been readily available for years and Anheuser-Busch had no hand in bringing them to the states.
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One brewer, in particular, was a bit miffed by this post. That’s why Colorado’s Wiley Roots Brewing decided to create a beer designed to troll the beer mega-company and its vexing post. The beer that came from the social media uproar is called “Beer Flavored Beer” and it’s a German-style Helles lager created look and taste as similar to Budweiser as possible without some type of copyright infringement.
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But the brewery didn’t just post that it would be giving a very simple German-style lager to the world. It also poked fun at Anheuser-Busch’s Instagram post. Playing on the reference to how long sour beers have been available in Europe, the post read: “After centuries of development in and around Belgium, lager beers have arrived in the United States.”
But the similarities don’t end there (and for good reason). “In addition to standard ale yeasts, lager beers make use of ‘lager’ yeasts like Saccharomyces and Saccharomyces: microorganisms that consume sugars to create uniquely crisp, sometimes enjoyable flavors,” it reads. “Often, heavy doses of rice or corn are added to these beers before they’ve gone through initial fermentation. #ABeerWithBeer.”
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The best part of this whole internet grudge match is this beer is actually being produced by the brewery and will be available beginning on Jan. 18, thus proving once again that it’s best to get a few opinions before you post anything on the internet. Either that or don’t post it at all.
