If you Google the best quotes about beer, chances are you will see one attributed to US Founding Father and inventor Benjamin Franklin that says, “Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
There are two things about this quote. Firstly, Franklin never said it and it’s an urban legend, and second, even if he did, chances are Franklin never tasted Budweiser.
I’ve had Budweiser a couple of times in my life. The first was when it came to India and I, who was averse to even trying beer, did not know the difference between a stout a blonde or an IPA, knew something was off when I tasted it for the first time. The second time was more recent when the state government allowed wine shops to reopen after nearly a month of lockdown. When I called my local guy, all the other beers – Kingfisher included – were out. The only thing left were a few cans of Budweiser. Out of curiosity, I asked him how local hard liquor sales were doing. He mentioned that McDowell’s and Bagpipers were out of stock, which made me realise that people would rather drink that than sip rubbish beer.
I’m not the only one. Friends have referred to it as chilled urine and have even chosen not to drink at a beer night that has only served Budweiser. If they ever read this article, they’d probably disown me over the fact that I chose Budweiser because I desperately needed beer. Nobody can be that desperate, they would say.
To give Budweiser some credit, they probably spend more on advertising than they actually do on the beer. Budweiser regularly features during the Superbowl. A 30-second commercial in 2019 was approximately $5.2 million. Budweiser has played at least one ad, averaging a minute or $10.4 million. However, there are exceptions to the ad as well, if you have ever seen the ‘Wazaaa’ Budweiser ad. If you grew up in the 90s in India, this ad would be on par to the ads done by Japanese electronic brand AIWA.
With a fake news story that Budweiser staff peeing into drums of beer going viral on social media, and some people even thinking it to be true, it’s no surprise that the world-famous beer is trending on social media for all the wrong reasons
While the brand is still one of the most popular beers on the planet, there is hope because of the microbrewery that has made us appreciate beer like a finer drink rather than some cheap thing that you may consider flushing down your toilet.
