If you have not taken Bud Light, then it means you are not from our times, but is Bud Light a lager? Being one of the most widely consumed beers in the United States, it is important to know its classification. So what kind of beer is it?
Bud Light is classified as an American Light Lager with a clean taste and light gold color (SRM of 2-3) with subtle hop aromas that is brewed by Anheuser-Busch in Saint Louis, MO. It is classified as an American Light Lager because of the bottom fermentation producing a low bitterness (IBU of 6), low alcohol content (4.2% ABV), and high carbonation.
The beer was introduced in 1982 and is one of the most ordered American-style lagers on draught. It is thus a light, crisp, and refreshing lager available all over the world.
Is Bud Light a Lager?
Bud Light is classified as an American Light Lager with a clean taste and light gold color (SRM of 2-3) with subtle hop aromas that is brewed by Anheuser-Busch in Saint Louis, MO. Bud Light is thus classified as an American Light Lager because of the bottom fermentation at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F) producing a low bitterness (IBU of 6), low alcohol content (4.2% ABV), and high carbonation beer.
In order to classify a beer as a lager or an ale, you need to know the type of yeast used in the fermentation- top-fermenting at warm temperatures (60˚–70˚F), or bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). The top-fermenting or bottom-fermenting process produces brews with different alcohol content and taste.
The pale lager type of beer helps to bring light moments when they are required. The beer has a pale golden color that balances the light body lager and some sweetness. The use of rice in fermenting the beer changes its categorization as will be discussed in detail.
Moreover, different types of hops from within and outside the United States are used in the brewing process to produce crisp-tasting beer. The premium hops define the final taste of the beer by adding bitterness that balances the sweet taste.
Is Bud Light A Lager Or Ale?
Due to the fermentation process, Bud Light is a lager. The beer is produced by brewing barley and yeast using bottom-fermenting yeast at cold temperatures (35˚–50˚F). The lager yeast strain converts the barley and yeast into alcohol and carbon dioxide.
The lager has crisp & easy drinking with no aftertaste. This beer uses the slow fermentation process to produce sweet-tasting beer.
Let’s go through the fermentation process for the two major beer classifications and the end product of the fermentation process:
Ales
The difference between a lager and ale is the fermentation process. Ales are fermented using top-fermenting yeast strains at a high temperature (60˚–70˚F). Ales thus have a fruity flavor profile with a sweeter taste and a fuller-body satisfying mouthfeel.
Moreover, most of the ales are darker with a cloudier appearance. The result of ale fermentation is higher alcohol content, more robust taste, increased bitterness, and a stronger hop flavor as compared to lagers.
It is important to know that the hop quantities are different in ale as compared to a lager. This is even though hops are used in the brewing of almost every beer style.
Lagers
Lagers such as Bud Light are produced using bottom-fermenting yeast at lower temperatures (35˚–50˚F). The fermentation process of lagers thus takes longer than that of ales but results in a light, crisp taste that is mellow and smooth of the lager.
Moreover, lagers have more carbonation and are less bitter than ales- well-balanced, mellow, sweeter, smoother, and more refreshing flavor. Thus the appearance of the lagers tends to be lighter and clearer. Moreover, the lager has lower alcohol content as compared to ales.
The result of lagering is a beer that is higher in sugar content. Finally, the smell comes from the heavier yeast smell during the fermentation process. The fragile type of yeast used in lagers produces low alcohol content in the lager.
Is Bud Light a lager or a pilsner?
Bud Light is an American Pale Lager. This means that Bud Light is a bottom-fermented American high-quality beer that is brewed using barley, rice, hops, and bottom-fermenting yeast at a low temperature.
A Pilsner is a lager. However, pilsners are light-colored lagers that undergo “lagering” during the brewing process that maintains the bright color.
What knocks out Anheuser-Busch made Bud Light from being classified as a Pilsner is the presence of rice in the brewing wort. This is unlike other pilsners which are “all-malt” beers. All malt beers only use malted barley or wheat for the fermentation process.
The European Bud light variants may be classified as Pilsners since most have no rice in the brewing process. This is unlike the American Bud Light which uses almost 40% rice in the production.
The similarity between the Bud Light fermentation process and the Pilsner brewing process is the use of bottom-fermenting yeast at cooler temperatures to produce beers having a lot of carbonation. Bud light also has an approachable and refreshing taste.
Thus, technically, Bud Light is not a pilsner but an American light lager.
Is Bud Light Platinum a lager?
We have discussed the Bud Light beer being classified as an American Light lager. This beer makes a great refreshing taste for any race, age, and sex. Lets now discuss how Bud Light Platinum is classified:
The Bud Light Platinum is an American-style, premium beer classified as a triple-filtered light lager. The Platinum is brewed using mild hops and a unique combination of golden malts and cereal grains such as premium barley and rice.
Even though it is a lager, Bud Light Platinum contains a higher than other Buds alcohol content at 6% ABV as compared to 4.2% ABV in Bud Light and 5% in the Budweiser regular. The beer has a lightly sweeter taste with a signature cobalt blue glass bottle. Therefore, Bud Light Platinum gives beer drinkers an upscale light beer taste for any moment.
Finally, the Bud Light platinum, also brewed by Anheuser-Busch in Saint Louis, offers beer drinkers a smooth finish and superior drinkability and has a sweeter taste and higher alcohol content as compared to Bud Light.
How Bud Light is classified as an American Light Lager
American light lagers have International Bitterness Units (IBU) of between 6 to 12. Thus, Bid Light which has an IBU of 6 means that it falls squarely in the classification of an IBU. Moreover, all the other Budweiser variants fall in the range of IBU between 8 to 18.
Moreover, with Bud Light having a very light, golden color, the Standard Reference Method (SRM) of 2 confirms that the beer is an American Light Lager. This is because all American Light Lagers have an SRM of between 2 to 3.
The Bud Light, therefore, is a medium-bodied, flavorful, crisp American-style lager that is sweet with a finely balanced hop flavor. The flavor and taste emanate from the use of the best barley malt, and premium local and imported hops in the preparation.
It is important to note that American Light Lagers such as Bud Light are quite different from their European counterparts in the SRM as described below.
How does the rice change the Bud Light Beer Categorization?
The difference between the Amredical lagers and the European lagers is how the brew is made using rice. The American light lagers including Bud Light use almost 40% as an ingredient in making the wort. The European light lagers do not use the same amount of rice in the brewing process.
The rice affects both the taste and color of the beer. Therefore, you will get a lighter golden brew as compared to the European lagers. Therefore, American Light lagers have a Standard Reference Method (SRM) of between 2 to 4 while European lagers have an SRM of between 2 and 6.
SRM scale as devised by the American Society of Brewing Chemists gives a scale of between 1 to 60 and covers colors from pale straw to straight black respectively. The color is determined by the grains and extracts that you use in the brewing process.
Therefore, when analyzing the effect of rice in brew making is the final color of the beer. The rice gives your beer a lighter and clearer brew as compared to when the rice is minimally used in the European light lagers.
Conclusion
Bud Light is a perfectly balanced light-body lager with a hint of sweetness. The beer is classified as an American Light Lager with the following features:
- Clean taste and light gold color (SRM of 2-3)
- Subtle hop aromas from the brewing process and premium hops
- It is bottom-fermented at lower temperatures
- The brew has a low bitterness (IBU of 6)
- Low alcohol content (4.2% ABV) and
- High carbonation
The brew is one of the most widely enjoyed drinks in the United States. It is loved because of its taste, low-calorie output, and low ABV. Therefore, try it today for the best taste.
