Saturday, September 30, 2006

Dammit, I just gave money to Budweiser

So I was craving some pumpkin beer – yes, this time of year, I actually start wanting some, and I don't care if you think I'm a freak – and I decided to be brave and try something other than Buffalo Bill's. So after considering the five (!) different varieties available at HEB – man, everybody is getting in on this fad – I settled on something called Jack's Pumpkin Spice Ale. Only after I got home did I discover, much to my disgust, the words "Anheuser-Busch, Inc." on the bottle.

Now, despite the impression I give off, I'm not completely anti-corporate. If big companies put out a product I like or need at a price that's reasonable, then fine, I'll buy it. (Frankly, I've always thought Starbucks-bashers were a little irrational. Starbucks makes good coffee.) But the point is, there are plenty of small brewers who are making pumpkin beer as good or better as anything A-B is going to put out, and in that case, I'd just as soon give the little guy my money. Anheuser-Busch isn't as desperate for me to buy that six-back as the dedicated small breweres are. (Which is why I'll still go to Quack's or Little City instead of Starbucks
if the option is available.) So now I'm really wishing I had paid more attention. I probably could have just taken it back for a refund. But I decided to suck up my snobbishness and give it a try.

And of course, it was quite mediocre. Oh well, lesson learned.

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