Beer Review: Michelob Irish Red

Anheuser-Busch Brewing Company Michelob Irish Red Ale

Time for a seasonal Michelob release. Have to give the "King of Beers" a fair shot too. Price is right too. Hard to beat just over six dollars for a six pack of good beer. Lets just hope this actually turns out to be good beer. The Irish Red pours a medium copper color with an average tan head. No lacing present. The aroma is very malty. So far so good.

The flavor is surprisingly balanced and drinkable. Very nice sweet malt flavor up front followed by a very nice hop balance. The lightly toasted malt really adds a lot to the body. The hops aren't extremely assertive but they really shouldn't be for an Irish red. They are ample for balancing the malty ale. There is still that characteristic Anheuser-Busch yeast flavor that seems to come up in most of their products but the malt power dominates.

This is a very solid example of the style. This won't blow you away with a deep malt complexity but it will provide you with a great session beer. The price really makes this a great buy. I would still point you too the slightly (under a dollar) more expense Saranac Irish Red over this due to the better crystal malt quality but this is a very close second. Good job AB!

Final Score: 84% (Drinkable and Simple with a Sweet Malty Flavor. Great Price!)