So Anheuser-Busch is debuting their new Black Crown this week, and I was lucky enough to get a sample pack sent my way. When I say “sample pack” I should mention this is a full-size, reinforced suitcase, with a padded inserts for 3 bottles of Black Crown, a USB key with all the details, and 6 vials of the magic that goes into this beer…including caramel malt, beech-wood, great show (full of glitter), passion (with a lipstick kiss on the outside of the vial), handpicked (outlining the fact that this is Budweiser Project-12 91406 brewed in Los Angeles, CA) and an empty vial called “The Unknown.” This is a great delivery vehicle for a beer sample, and clearly a lot of thought went into the packaging.
Black Crown will be featured in a 30-second Super Bowl commercial coming soon. Anheuser-Busch has clearly put a lot of energy (and $$) into the marketing of this beer, and I suspect it will pay off. So after loving the delivery vehicle, I’m sure you’re asking how was the beer?
We sampled Budweiser Black Crown tonight…and while it carries the Budweiser name, this is not your father’s Budweiser. Black Crown is a Golden Amber Lager, but the taste is much deeper than “golden” or “amber” would indicate. Yes it uses Beechwood aging and yes it uses the original proprietary yeast dating back to 1876, but for me there is only a distant family resemblance to the original Bud.
First off Black Crown is not really a dark beer as you might suspect…and even though it’s based on 2-row malt and 4 domestic hops, this is not your standard Budweiser. For me it’s medium body actually makes it better, and I definitely think the 6% ABV does it good. This beer is crisp but complex for a lighter beer and it has flavors that are slightly bready and slightly woody. There’s a lot of carbonation here which makes it finish clean, but may mask some of the flavors in there as well. It has more body and hops than regular Budweiser and it finishes clean and crisp. This is a good beer, and I suspect the lager-fans will really like it. I actually like this beer better than it’s original Project-12 counterpart. 
This beer is a creation of Budweiser Los Angeles brewer Bryan Sullivan and it was clearly one of the best Project-12 beers. Add in brewers Scott Ungermann (Fairfield, CA) and Dave Cohen (Houston, TX) and you have a recipe that I suspect will do well with existing Bud drinkers and new Bud drinkers.
This beer is available now so try it for yourself. For more information on Budweiser Black Crown, visit www.budweiser.com/blackcrown….and again my thank you to everyone at Budweiser for sending the samples.
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