"It's Missing the Taste of Beer" - Budweiser thouroughly whipped Bud

Czech Republic may have defeated the USA on the field on Monday. But the real action was outside the stadium. In a taste test, Czech Budweiser thouroughly whipped American Bud.

To anyone watching the Czech Republic national team dismantle the United States in the coal mining town of Gelsenkirchen on Monday night, the balance of power in the soccer world was clear. America's super-power status reaches its limits as soon as the US boys step onto the football pitch. But off the field and behind the polished metal counters of the concession stands, another contest was being waged -- one in which the US seemed to have the upper hand.

The St. Louis brew known to Americans as Budweiser and Europeans as Anheuser-Busch passed across the lips of many a Czech fan for the first time Monday night. The American brewery secured the exclusive rights to tout their tipple at the World Cup way back in 1998, and during the last tournament in Japan and South Korea, hardly anyone complained.

In Germany, though, the outrage started months before the soccer balls started rolling. How could Germany, the home of some of the best beer in the world, allow an American brew to take over Germany's World Cup party? A deal was eventually struck allowing the German brand Bitburger access to the stadiums.

But that wasn't the only beer related brouhaha. After all, the only Budweiser in Europe is brewed in the Czech town of Ceske Budejovice (formerly known as Budweis) -- and has been since the 13th century according to the brewery's Web site. The Czechs first began selling beer under the name "Budweiser" in 1895, almosts 20 years after Anheuser introduced its tipple of that name. But in Europe, beers are often traditionally named after the town in which they were brewed. With hundreds more years of brewing tradition, Ceske Budejovice has long felt it had the upper hand. And legal battles over which beer can be called Budweiser on the old continent have always ended in the Czech's favor. But on Monday night, visitors to the FIFA World Cup stadium were required to drink the American brew.
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http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,421130,00.html

:rofl:

how could anyone drink that when they are in Germany? That's just heresy. Good to hear the Czech version won out.

Which naturally doesn't work, as the version sold here is brewed in London and tastes even worse. Well, it has a taste. A bad taste. But it looks American, which is the whole point.


At the world cup: because Fifa is a clever organization: the hosting country pays for the event and Fifa sells the tickets in shady sponsorship deals. So: at worldcups, the alcoholic beverage is bud.

at the annual family Independance Day cookout and I always get a rebuttle along these lines : "The sell the most beer, that means it must be good."

:banghead:

To force that making-love-in-a-canoe crap swill puke bilge to represent US beer at the WC is just. plain. wrong.

It's far less expensive for essentially the same taste (that taste being "cold"). And US Budweiser's pretention to being the greatest beer ever made by anyone ever is seriously annoying. And of course, the Czech Budweiser is totally unavailable here, so I've never been able to try it.

If I'm drinking any of those, it isn't for the pleasing aroma or choice hops.

despite often being too hoppy, microbrews are pretty good. too bad we can't serve that to the euros.