Anheuser-Busch
USA, 4.2% ABV

Picture the scene – an industrial American town under a big greying sky, where men are big and women are bigger, where industry is in the blood, and graft is the marker of a true man. Now ask yourself – what do these honest, wife-fearing, hard-working men drink when they knock off for home? Quite possibly Michelob Ultra, a beer that conjures up images of Minnesota millworkers and loggers and others of suitably gritty professions enjoying a hard-earned after-work tipple. I am but a humble British shop keep, and when I wish to feel manly, there’s nothing quite as testosterone-nurturing as the pleasant metallic note of this vastly superior cousin of Budweiser. Be warned however, it tends only to be sold in places that feel the need to charge you a price that reflects every step of the brewing process. Michelob Ultra is an unpolished gem, rough yet smooth, and undeniably soulful, a true contender, if it were given half the marketing focus afforded to stable-mate Bud. It was invented by Anheuser-Busch co-founder Adolphus Busch in Fergus Falls, Minnesota in 1896. Ultra is the Michelob of choice for the UK, but US drinkers get a portfolio of Michelob beers ranging from the low calorie alternative to a gag-inspiring Pumpkin Spice Ale, presumably produced in some gaudy brewery version of Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, where some buffoon is adding all manner of crazy ingredients to a vat of glorious Ultra. ‘Mmm, pumpkin..! I think that’s just zany enough! Hang the flavour consequences!’ SG