Anheuser-Busch Takes "Beer" to the Power of E

[Dave]

In a last ditch attempt to revive a declining beer market, Anheuser-Busch has unveiled a fruity, hoity-toity "beer" spiked with caffeine, guarana and ginseng.

According to the press release, the new product is called B(E) where (E) is an exponent of B. It's pronounced "B-to-the-E" or "Gay Beer" depending on whether you are Anheuser-Busch or Brian's Belly. It will be sold in slim-line 10-ounce cans with stylish graphics, brewed with select hops, and contain aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry,

ABC News notes that each can of the B-to-the-E beverage would pack 22.5 carbs, along with 6.6 percent alcohol by volume, 54 milligrams of caffeine and 203 calories.

It is not targeted at most beer drinkers, and it is certainly not targeted at low-carb beer drinkers--Anheuser-Busch is clearly trying to wrangle the fashionably-hip drinkers with the pretty cans and the unknowledgable pseudo-health nuts that drink anything with guarana and ginseng in them.

Pending formal government approval, B(E) will be launched in multiple phases throughout the year in markets across the country.

[Guest]

"If they wanted a beer that would appeal to cocktail drinkers, then they should have invented a proper beer cocktail, not some caffeine-charged blend that's not quite a beer, more than an alcopop and yet much less than a proper cocktail."

- Stephen Beaumont of World of Beer, writing about Anheuser-Busch's new B(E), which is laced caffeine and guarana extract.