Bud Light Platinum Delivers A Punch With A Smooth Swing

Beer Review Of Anheuser-Busch’s New High-Alcohol Brew

 

You know the kind of athlete that quietly goes about his business, who is so smooth while he’s playing it’s easy to overlook his accomplishments? The one who always gets overshadowed by his big-play teammates?

Then you check the box score and see that he’s rushed for 125 yards, scored 25 points or driven in four runs. Including the game-winner.

That’s what the new Bud Light Platinum beer is like. It’s as smooth as a singles hitter, yet it packs the power of Albert Pujols. It’s the Wes Welker of beers, subtle in appearance but prodigious in what it delivers in the end.

I tried it for the first time at the Northern Trust Open, the PGA Tour stop in L.A.  At first, I approached it the way players do the 18th at Riviera. That is to say with caution. Lagers are my beer love, but I prefer ones with a little more, well, drive to them than normal light beers. Give me the heavy hitters. I like to reach the green in one, if possible, to put it in golf terms. Stella, Longboard Lager, even Leffe on occasion.

And let me just say that Bud Light Platinum could fly the greens.

It goes down so easy you’re likely to have several of them before pausing to count the dead soldiers. While engaged in some diversionary activity – watching sports, listening to bands at a music festival, hitting on girls in a bar – it’s the perfect sidekick.

But then comes the kick. One minute your fine and the next you’re speaking a bit faster, a bit louder and are suddenly the life of the party.

Bud Light Platinum packs a powerful 6% alcohol by volume content. Compare that to 4.2% for Bud Light. It’s even more than Budweiser and Stella (5.0), Bud Ice (5.5), though well short of Leffe Blonde’s whopping 6.6%. Platinum’s alcohol content is on par with many of the microbrews.

Some say it has a bit of a sweet taste, but I didn’t really detect it. What I got was an unexpected “whoa” when that 6% hit the system! It just catches you by surprise in such a smooth-tasting beer.

Perhaps I should have used the dayglow blue bottle as a clue.

Released at the end of January, BL Platinum is available in grocery stores and is making its way into bars. Give it a taste. Just watch out for the “whoa.”