July 20, 2012 11:20 am

Budweiser introducing new small batch beers with ‘Project 12′

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Small batch beer and Budweiser go together like orange juice and freshly brushed teeth, but that’s exactly what’s happening. The brand best known for mass producing America in a can is going small with “Project 12.”

Budweiser

Call it a friendly competition, one best argued over a bottle or pint. Its name is “Project 12.” Twelve Anheuser-Busch brewmasters at Budweiser’s 12 geographically dispersed breweries worked together to create their own “tribute” beers to fit the Budweiser brand’s reputation for quality and consistency.

If Goose Island’s Fulton & Wood series is any indication, putting new beers in the hands of current brewers is always a good idea. The beers are all named for the zip code of the brewery, and each is it’s own unique lager. The only requirement was that they all use the same yeast. The initial twelve have been narrowed down to six finalists. From these three will be chosen and sold.

Budweiser Small Batch 91406 (Los Angeles): A deep-amber lager with 6 percent ABV that uses four different types of hops. The beer is brewed by brewmaster Bryan Sullivan in Los Angeles and was developed in collaboration with Scott Ungermann in Fairfield and Dave Cohen in Houston.

Budweiser Small Batch 63118 (St. Louis): A deep-gold 5 percent ABV American lager that uses the same types of hops (Hallertau and Tettnang) commonly used at the St. Louis brewery during the 19th century. The beer is brewed in St. Louis by brewmaster Jim Bicklein and was developed in collaboration with Katie Rippel from Fort Collins.

Budweiser Small Batch 43229 (Ohio): A light-amber lager using eight different types of hops with 6 percent ABV. The beer is brewed in Columbus, Ohio, and was the brainchild of the brewery’s general manager, Kevin Lee and developed with assistant brewmasters Travis Burge and Tyler Hunter.

Budweiser Small Batch 23185 (Virginia): A light-amber all-malt bourbon cask lager aged on bourbon staves and vanilla beans and with an ABV of 5.5 percent. The beer is brewed by Daniel Westmoreland in Williamsburg and was developed in collaboration with Mike Anderson in Jacksonville and Dan Kahn in Cartersville.

Budweiser Small Batch 13027 (New York): A bright-golden lager brewed with six imported and domestic hops and with an ABV of 7 percent. The beer is brewed in Baldwinsville, N.Y., by brewmaster Nick Mills in consult with general manager Steve McCormick.

Budweiser Small Batch 80524 (Colorado): A deep-gold, filtered wheat beer with 5.2 percent ABV using lemon peel, orange peel and coriander. The beer is brewed by Katie Rippel in Fort Collins and was developed by Nick Mills in Baldwinsville, Otto Kuhn in Merrimack and Tiago Darocha in Newark.

Before you get up in arms about how terrible Bud is and blah blah blah, let’s remember that it’s the 2nd best selling beer in the United States. Gen pop obviously loves Bud. It’s easy to forget that though because the haters are typically the loudest. That said, while the picture below may give the opposite impression, I don’t drink much Bud Heavy these days. I’m still interested in new options from the brand though, which is why I’m excited to give this new project a shot. Find out more here.