Busch Light is the light variant of the popular Busch beer by AB InBev. The beer has been around for over three decades and has solidified itself as one of the best light beers in the United States. Still, some have no idea how it tastes or if it is worth trying. This is exactly what this article will address. Here’s a quick answer before we proceed.
Busch Light is a light American lager with an alcohol content of 4.1% and subtle fruity flavors. There is no bitterness to report while drinking and in its aftertaste. Busch Light is also crisp and refreshing when served cold. This makes this beer one of the most drinkable in the industry.
This is only an overview of the beer, and there are other things you should know about its taste. These include the beer’s flavor, mouthfeel, smell, and appearance. Further, we will consider the reasons for this beer’s special taste and feel. Also, if you plan on taking the beer, you should know how best you can enjoy it. Read on!
Flavor
Busch Light has a very mild flavor profile. In fact, many drinkers refer to the beer as essentially tasteless. That’s not entirely true, though, as the beer has mild fruity notes and a crisp, clean finish. If you’ve had the regular Busch before, just imagine it plus a lot of water, and you will know how Busch Light tastes.
Moreover, the beer is very refreshing, and there are no bitter notes while drinking. The beer isn’t sweet either and remains balanced in flavor, although it tilts more towards being malty.
Busch states that it uses rice as adjunct grain in brewing Busch Light. However, beer experts and brewers state that Busch also uses corn syrup in brewing their beer. In fact, some claim to be able to discern the hints of corn in the beer.
The beer’s flavor also contributes to the beer character, which is simply the total tasting experience a beer has. Many also refer to beer character as hop character, and aside from the flavor, it is influenced by the beer’s carbonation, alcohol content, and bitterness.
Beers with high character typically have medium to high carbonation, relatively low alcohol content, and a high IBU (International Bitterness Units, which is a measure of a beer’s bitterness). Busch Light has a low character because it does not have high values across the stated properties, except carbonation.
Because of the beer’s nonexistent bitterness and low character, you may not enjoy it too much if you’re a fan of regular and traditional beers. However, if you don’t fancy beer’s bitterness, this beer would taste decent to you.
Mouthfeel
Busch Light is a crisp and clean beer, contributing to it being refreshing. Another major reason for the beer’s refreshing feel is its heavy carbonation. The more carbonation a beer has, the more refreshing it is. However, there’s a thin line between high carbonation and complete loss of beer drinkability.
A beer that is too carbonated lets out too many bubbles when drinking, which is certainly not needed in a beer. Also, beers with intense flavor profiles and bitterness need to tone down their carbonation as it may cause the beer to have an unpleasantly overwhelming taste. Busch Light doesn’t have to worry about this, though, as the beer has a very mild flavor profile, and its high carbonation feels decent.
Smell
Busch Light doesn’t smell like anything, although some drinkers point out a sweet malty, and corn aroma. If you’ve ever had a Busch beer or any major light beer at that, you will have a fair idea of how Busch Light smells.
Appearance
Busch Light has a pale, medium yellow to straw-like color when poured. There’s nothing in particular that stands out in the color of this beer. If you’ve ever seen Busch in a clear glass, you have effectively seen Busch Light.
The beer comes in bottles and cans, but the latter is by a mile the more popular container for the beer. The Busch Light can is silver-themed, with mountains in the background. Interestingly, Busch also advertises Busch Light as a beer suited for hiking and other outdoor activities.
There have been complaints about the can giving the beer a sort of metallic taste, which is further worsened by the lack of flavor in the beer. This doesn’t seem to be a common experience, though.
Why Does Busch Light Taste Like This?
Busch Light doesn’t have a strong flavor profile, but it is also not tasteless, as some beer fans claim. As with all beers, Busch Light uses water, barley, and hops in its production. However, the beer also uses adjunct grains, which is where many beers significantly differ. Let’s briefly examine these ingredients and their contribution to Busch Light’s taste.
Water
Water makes up the bulk of every beer, although the amount depends on the style of the beer. The lighter a beer is, the more water it would have. This is also why many beer fans refer to light beers as “beer water.” In like fashion, Busch Light is referred to as watered-down Busch, and that’s a fair representation.
Barley
Barley malt is the component responsible for the sugars in beer that yeast acts on. The amount of barley in beer influences the balance of the beer. Generally, after malt has been added during brewing, beer is sweet. Hops are then added to balance this sweetness. The malt in Busch Light is just enough to keep the beer neutral in flavor.
Hops
Hops are responsible for the bitterness in beer. There are different hop variants, and they influence the flavor of the beer. Regular beers typically use more hops than light beers, and therefore have more pronounced bitter notes. Busch Light uses both American-grown and imported hops to balance the beer taste.
Adjunct Grains
Aside from barley malt, brewers often add other grains to boost the flavor, texture, appearance, and body of the beer. The two common adjunct grains in light lagers are rice and corn. Busch Light states that it uses rice adjunct for its beer, but brewers claim the beer uses corn syrup. The hints of corn in the taste also point to this.
Corn is often discouraged when brewing high-quality beers because it is cheap and makes its way into the final flavor of the beer.
Besides the ingredients, the brewing process Busch Light utilizes contributes to the eventual taste of the beer. Unlike the original Busch beer, which is the regular beer of this brand, Busch Light undergoes a longer brewing process. This corresponds to a beer lighter in body, ultimately influencing its mouthfeel.
What Is The Best Way To Enjoy Busch Light?
Busch Light is meant to be a refreshing and extremely light beer. However, that refreshing feel only really takes effect when the beer is chilled. This is not surprising, considering the beer has a high amount of water, and water’s refreshing effect is best when chilled.
Also, beer experts recommend that lagers be served at colder temperatures than ales. Originally, lagers had to be brewed at cold temperatures because of the bottom fermentation technique involved in its manufacture.
One practice that has caught on with light beers is adding lime and salt to boost their flavors. This is especially common in Mexican beers. This is because lime and salt supposedly offer a flavor boost to an otherwise bland beer. While that sounds nice in theory, it doesn’t always work.
Adding lime only works when the beer originally has a citrusy flavor, as the lime is only supposed to accentuate or complement the flavor already present. A beer like Busch Light has a different flavor profile, and adding lime would feel forced and out of place.
What Do People Think Of Busch Light?
Busch Light has existed for more than three decades, and there have been split reviews in that time. The beer has endured countless comparisons to many of the other significant light American beers, particularly Bud Light. The table below shows the public view of these beers on online review platforms.
| Platform | Busch Light |
| BeerAdvocate | 4.8 |
| Untappd | 5.0 |
| RateBeer | 2.8 |
| Drizly | 9.4 |
| Influenster | 7.6 |
| Average Score | 5.9 |
As the table shows, Busch does not perform spectacularly. It doesn’t perform too badly, either. Let’s add a bit more context to the results.
The initial four platforms on this table are the most experienced beer review platforms and reflect the opinions of seasoned drinkers. Busch Light does not perform too well here, which is somewhat expected considering older drinkers love their beers with flavor.
The last platform is not as experienced as the others in the lot, showing what less experienced drinkers think of the beer. It performs relatively well there, which is also not a shocker as younger people favor lighter beer.
One reviewer had this to say, and I wholly agree – “There is not much to say about the appearance and aroma — if you have seen a light beer, you know how this smells and what it looks like. The mouthfeel is super light, with just a bit of malt sweetness. There is just not much going on at all. It is not offensive, just very lacking. The redeeming quality of it was the light body went down well on a very warm day outside.”
Conclusion
Busch Light has an almost unnoticeable flavor, and you wouldn’t enjoy it if you are not a light beer fan. Even if you like light beers, you need to be prepared for a very watery and bland beer. Nothing spectacular about the beer.
