Caffeinated Beer Becomes a Reality 657
Cylar writes "CNN is reporting that Anheuser-Bush has developed a sweet, caffeinated beer they are dubbing B(E). Intended to compete with the trendy sweet concotions popular on the club scenes (such as Smirnoff Ice), it will contain caffeine, guarana, and ginseng." Not sure how I feel about ginseng in my brew, so I'll have to study this with a few cases.
New taste to acquire (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:5, Funny)
Just f__king great (Score:4, Funny)
Just what the highways need at oh-dark-thirty in the A.M... a bunch of wide awake drunks behind the wheel.
I think it's a bad idea. (Score:3, Informative)
Maybe not enjoy ... (Score:4, Funny)
Caffeine and alcohol may not be all it's cracked up.
I once saw someone use Jolt for mix. By the end of the night he was so bombed he needed to sleep but so wired he couldn't sit still. Not a pretty sight.
At the time, he most assuredly was not in a good mood for the experience.
Cheers
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:3, Interesting)
Guess some marketing exec was watching old re-runs of the Drew Carey show...hahaha. Wonder if Oswald and Lewis are now on the board of directors?
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:4, Funny)
"The combination of alcohol and caffeine should be addictive as heroin but so far the sales haven't born that out." - Lewis Kiniski
Gratuitous Linkage (Score:5, Informative)
This isn't for carb watchers as it has 22 grams in there. Probably all sugar. 6.6 percent alcohol will be chasing the Jager Bomb [google.com] crowd.
Re:Gratuitous Linkage (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Gratuitous Linkage (Score:3, Informative)
Ummm...huh? Beer with flavors like those are still beer. Ever heard of Lambics and Wheat beers? They use very little in the way of hops and they often take on a banana-fruity flavor. I dare you to go to Ayinger's brewery and tell them their Weiss-Brau is "not even beer"
Or go to Young's in the UK and tell them "Chocolate beer is not beer!"
Now some of the alcopop like Smirnoff aint beer. That is what people who don't like the taste of bee
Re:Gratuitous Linkage (Score:3, Informative)
From the raspberry lambic bottle sitting in front of me: "Lindemans Framboise is a lambic made from local barley, unmalted wheat, and wild yeast. After spontaneous fermentation the lambic is aged in oak. Raspberries are added, creating a secondary fermentation and yielding an ale of exceptional flavor and complexity."
I'm sorry, but no. It's not the yeast that makes it taste like raspberries, um, it's the raspberries that make it taste like raspberries.
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:5, Funny)
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:3, Interesting)
Beer, you say? (Score:5, Funny)
Why just the other day my chauffeur took a wrong turn off of the freeway and pulled me past this run down little liquor store where this shabby looking man (who by the way was driving a Pontiac! A PONTIAC!!!) who hadn't shaved for a couple of days was walking out with a bottle of Johnny Walker Red. RED LABEL?! I exclaimed, exhaling a puff of cigar smoke and tipping my top hat back in a bemused manner. WHO ARE THESE CRETINS? I practically had my driver phone the police right then and there...
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:3, Informative)
Re:New taste to acquire (Score:5, Funny)
MMmmmm Beer (Score:5, Funny)
Oh, yeah. Beer busts, beer blasts, keggers, stein hoists, AA meetings, beer night. It's wonderful, Marge. I've never felt so accepted in all my life. These people looked deep within my soul and assigned me a number based on the order in which I joined.
And now he can stay up late drinking beer without passing out -- because it's got caffeine!
Re:MMmmmm Beer (Score:4, Funny)
Peter: No I'm not. I'm just tired from staying up all night drinking.
More gratuitous linkage (Score:2)
Buzz Beer (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Buzz Beer (Score:5, Informative)
I only know this cuz it was Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather (I think thats the right relation) and was mentioned in Time Quake.
Re:Buzz Beer (Score:4, Interesting)
Ginseng, native to Asia and North America both is reputably also an aphrodesiac (and promote well being, yada, yada yada).
I found a great quote here [altnature.com] -
Don't take Ginseng and Ginseng mixtures with Coffee as it will accelerate the caffine effects on the body and can cause diarrhea.
So basically, they want you to get drunk, buzzing, and horny all at once. I would recommend against this one for most geeks, but you probably would match up well with someone drinking it
Drew Carry said it best... (Score:4, Funny)
Whats next? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Whats next? (Score:3, Interesting)
Comment removed (Score:3, Funny)
Re:College kids and yuppies (Score:2)
If they were proper yuppies, wouldn't they at least try the wines? And no, I don't mean Thunderbird.
Re: (Score:3, Funny)
Re:College kids and yuppies (Score:2)
Re:College kids and yuppies (Score:3, Interesting)
2. I don't know a lot of girls that like beer. My wife can't stand the smell of most alcohol. She does kind of like these flavored beers/malted cocktails. On our honeymoon, I introduced her to iced tea a la Long Island.
3. Most college kids don't really do the wine thing. Once you learn to like wine, it can become a very expensive taste. Personally, I limit mys
Re:College kids and yuppies (Score:3, Insightful)
NO fancy stouts or heavy creamy Euro junk.
Red Stripe, Blue Bull, Mickeys, Old English, whatever. Usually in the 40oz variety.
What I did learn is HOW to drink though. If they are adding all this sugar and caffeine to beer, its time to buy stock in Tylenol...
Re:College kids and yuppies (Score:5, Funny)
Ew. (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Ew. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Ew. (Score:2)
We were just ordering regular beers ( lagers in British terms ) and found we could drink 4 or 5 times as much as we normally could back home before reaching a similar level of inebriation. We concluded it must be because the alcohol level is much lower in
It's probably crap. (Score:2)
Re:It's probably crap. (Score:4, Funny)
Re:It's probably crap. (Score:4, Funny)
~S
Re:It's probably crap. (Score:3, Funny)
Hmm, coffee cans on tailpipes. Could that have been the inspiration?
Obligatory Simpsons (Score:4, Funny)
Aussie Bartender: Beer it is
Marge: No, coffee
Bartender: Beer
Marge: Cof-fee
Bartender: Be-er
Marge: C-O
Bartender: B-E
This is a good first step! (Score:5, Funny)
Re:This is a good first step! (Score:5, Funny)
KFG
Re:This is a good first step! (Score:3, Insightful)
I think you may be doing it wrong.
Stimulants and Depressants together at last! (Score:2, Funny)
Yay!
I'll stick to Irish Coffee.
great... belligerent drunks that stay up all night (Score:5, Funny)
Americans and Beer (Score:3, Funny)
As an inhabitant of a country that makes great beers, I have to say I find this highly appaling.
You might wonder why I even care - after all, that beer is not exported to Europe and we can still drink our own (beerlike) beer. There's just one problem - the Football WC (you call it soccer...)
Stupid FIFA has a contract with an American beer producer. Guess which. That means we can only buy American beer in the stadion.
Someone from Europe who's pissed at piss...
Re:Americans and Beer (Score:5, Insightful)
Not all american beers are the crappy bud chains. There are plenty of fantastic brews available stateside.
Re:Americans and Beer (Score:4, Interesting)
The majority of beer drinkers here in the states want something weak and tasteless that they can knock back ASAP and reach for another, thus accellerating their progression towards getting totally pissed (or at least pleasantly buzzed). Or at least this is what my friends and roommates have infromed me after asking how the hell they stand to drink the tan water that passes for beer here.
Now granted, I can see the reasnong behind wanting a not-strong/overpowering beer perhaps with food...but my idea of that is Harp or Newcastle, not Bud piss -in-a-bottle Light
(Disclaimer: I'm a college student)
(Disclaimer 2: I drink imported, microbrew, or nothing)
Re:Americans and Beer (Score:4, Interesting)
US law prohibited small breweries before 1977. In 1977 that law was overturned (or repealed or something of that sort) and microbreweries and brewing in the home was permitted for the first time since pre-prohibition. That meant large breweries (the only ones allowed) had ~50 years to change US tastes to a cheap, bitter, rice-based wheat lager in a market they basically had a monopoly over (you had several choices from some core breweries, but they all were basically the same).
Microbreweries didn't take off until the mid-to-late 1980s and the reputation was their beers were bad - and to American US mass brewery tastes, they were right.
Most drinkers start in late high school or early college. Because those are generally lean times financially, the cheapest swill that does the job is chosen. That, of course, is usually the stuff put out by the largest breweries. Even after college, it's hard to turn down 2-for-1 taps for $1 when imports and microbrews go for $5 or more each at the same bar.
Incidentally, and ironically in a way, the custom-brewed beers (in my case, Leinenkeugel's Red) put out by major breweries were my gateway to imports and other quality beers (though I did have a Pete's Wicked Ale long before that, but nobody, including me, liked it). I also no longer like wheat lagers at all... ok, I admit there's a German wheat lager I like (it's like drinking bread), but that's it.
Re:Americans and Beer (Score:3, Funny)
Finally an explaination to all those football riots!
Guano? (Score:3, Funny)
At first glance I thought I saw "guano" in there...
Re:Guano? (Score:3, Funny)
wheee! (Score:2)
Re:wheee! (Score:2)
This reminds me of both Simpsons and Futurama... (Score:5, Funny)
Immediately following that, though, I thought of a Simpsons episode, then a Futurama episode:
Homer: Uh, yeah. I need something that will keep me awake, alert, and reckless all night long.
Clerk: Well, Congress is racing back to Washington to outlaw these. [puts a bottle of pills on the counter]
Homer: [takes bottle] Sold!
[downs most of the pills on the spot]
Clerk: Hey, you can't take that many pep pills at once.
Homer: No problem, I'll balance it out with a bottle of sleeping pills. [takes another generous helping of pills]
-- "Maximum Homerdrive"
Fry: I'm never going to get used to the 31st century. [He points to his breakfast.] Caffinated bacon? Baconated grapefruit? Admiral Crunch?
-- "The Series Has Landed"
Not a new thing... (Score:5, Informative)
MoonShot contains the maximum amount of caffeine allowed by law: 45mg per twelve-ounce serving. Since this is a moderate level (a cup of coffee contains 70mg), we have formulated MoonShot to be light-bodied, smooth and therefore uncommonly drinkable.
I've tried MoonShot... It's not bad, but not great. Little bit of caffeine tang, like Krank2O or Water Joe, but better masked by the beer. Tastes kinda like Rolling Rock. Weak, in other words.
If you want caffeine with your alcohol, go for irish coffee [castletown.com]
-T
Re:Not a new thing... (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Not a new thing... (Score:3, Informative)
Considering myself an epicurean when it comes to alcohol, I cannot recommend Chouffe Coffee liqueur highly enough [achouffe.be]. It's loads better than Kahlua and actually tastes like coffee, imagine that.
The reason that "Smirnoff Ice" is popular... (Score:2)
While another citrus malt-beverage wasn't going to turn any heads in this market a ginseng/caffeine alternative probably isn't either.
Nothing like supporting the dangers of mixing an upper and a downer together. Yeah plenty of people drink Jagerbombs and coffee after drinking but it isn't marketed in the same drink.
I'll stick to beer and I have a feeling that my fiance will stick to SI.
To paraphrase Mike Myers (Score:3, Funny)
Re:To paraphrase Mike Myers (Score:3, Funny)
Possibly not the best marketing slogan (Score:2)
Hmmm
Oh, Sweet Jesus with a Urinal Cake (Score:5, Funny)
B/E! Now you can piss like the mighty Mississipp!!
Re:Oh, Sweet Jesus with a Urinal Cake (Score:2)
Re:Oh, Sweet Jesus with a Urinal Cake (Score:2)
Just curious about the effects... (Score:2)
alcohol is a depressant
caffeine is a stimulant
Therefore, it would seem that combining the two would make you feel like complete and utter crap. Does anyone have any experience?
Re:Just curious about the effects... (Score:2)
Ever heard of Irish Coffee? It is the wonderdrink - the alcohol lubricates you, and the caffeine (much more than this) wakes you up. Plus, the whipped cream tickles your nose.
Coffee Porter (Score:5, Funny)
He came into work one Monday, and asked what I knew about coffee. Seems he had a bottle with dinner the night before, but hadn't been to sleep yet.
Now any homebrewer can tell you that the typical formula for 5-6 gallons of beer calls for about one pot of strong coffee for a subtle but noticable flavor.
Mark, on the other hand, took a pound of french roast, ground it to the "Espresso" setting, and dumped it into secondary for two weeks. If I remember the back-of-the-envelope calculations, we figured each bottle had 500 - 700 mg of caffiene, compared to 40-70 mg in a cup of coffee.
He gave me a bottle, and we used it for shots at a party, but that's about all I could do with it.
--
Free gmail invites [slashdot.org]
Re:Coffee Porter (Score:3, Interesting)
When I was brewing (haven't dusted off the ol' brewpot in years) my signature beer was Double Jeopardy Espresso Stout. All the alcohol, twice the caffeine!
Start with an Oatmeal Stout recipe. Substitute a good dark roast coffee (medium grind) 1:1 for the oatmeal. Brew as normal. When adding the hops near then end of the boil, toss in a handful of No-Doz (or cheap generic substitute). I used about twenty 200mg tablets per 5-gallon batch. Ferment, bottle/keg, and drink. Cheers!
Coffee does not work very well in home brew (Score:3, Insightful)
Can't buy it, only rent it (Score:3, Funny)
Isn't one addiction enough ? (Score:2)
Never sleep
Are always happy
Work superfast, but super-inaccurate
I think an ACNEA-organization is necessary here (Alcohol-Caffeine Anonymous)...
Bah (Score:2)
down + up = nothing? (Score:2)
Re:down + up = nothing? (Score:3, Informative)
Uppers and downers at the same time... (Score:2)
Bad combo (Score:5, Funny)
This doesn't compete with Smirnoff (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:This doesn't compete with Smirnoff (Score:5, Funny)
Sparks Energy Drink (Score:3, Insightful)
6% alcohol cancels out the stimulants though,
Good mixture? (Score:2)
Caffeine + Alcohol + Lots of Liquid --> You'll be running to the toilets every five minutes.
But is this *really* all that new? (Score:2, Interesting)
Amazing what artificial flavors can accomplish.
Although, yes, it's nice to see a big player pushing new product...
Personally, I'll stick with my scotch.
Pan Galatic Gargle Blaster (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Pan Galatic Gargle Blaster (Score:3, Funny)
I'll stick with NyQuil (Score:2)
B(E)? (Score:5, Interesting)
B(E)? The geek in me reads that as "B of E" and then turns that phonetically into BFE, a vulgar initialism for "bum f* egypt," meaning the middle of nowhere.
How do companies decide to call things by stupid unpronounceable names? Pentax *istD [google.com] Olympus m:robe [google.com]
Then you have the stupid names which are just too close to derogatory names. I'm not talking about creative stretches of normal words like "Back Orifice" or "Internet Exploder." I'm talking about nonsense turned into the nearest possible normal words. Olympus eVolt [google.com] sounds revolting.
Stimulants and depressants...yum! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Stimulants and depressants...yum! (Score:3, Insightful)
There in fact are incidences of ppl mixing Vodka and just about anything and dying - alcohol in sufficient quantities will kill you and in lesser quantities can put you at risk of accidental death.
Are you next going to suggest that rum & coke should be banned because it is a potentially fatal combination? It seems to have been pretty popular over the years. What about black Russians? Irish coffee?
Please come down from your
Re:Stimulants and depressants...yum! (Score:3, Insightful)
Please come down from your prohibitionist mentality and let adults make their own decisions about what they put in their own bodies - provided they don't plan on operating heavy equipment or firearms while under the influence.
Can we add computers to that list? Maybe then there wouldn't be so many security holes in applications and stupid Slashdot posts.
Re:Stimulants and depressants...yum! (Score:3, Funny)
The alcohol takes the unpleasant harsh edge off the speed, and you get the euphoric effect of the alcohol without the sloppy-drunk problems. Plus you don't pass out!
Mixing drugs like this is done all the time by the pros: go into any mental ward, and ask what people are taking. You'll find most of them on a "cocktail" of drugs. Some are for the primary complain
what about Sparks? (Score:3, Informative)
Try this drink (Score:3, Funny)
ouzo
coke
coffee
redbull
An acquired taste, but sure to get you drunk, black you out, and keep you going!
Can't be as good as Mill St Coffee Porter (Score:3, Informative)
Ginko Biloba + Beer = ... (Score:5, Funny)
Shot in the Dark? (Score:3, Interesting)
I still recommend my concoction to any beer loving coffee affectionado. Two shots of good espresso in a pint of stout. After a night of those, you get that perfect wide awake drunk going. If, of course, you can't handle a whole night of these, just one or two is enough to keep you strong until the sun comes up.
I thought the name was fitting because the night I decided to try it I was having a hard time deciding whether to make a cup of coffee or have a beer. It still sounds kind of stupid, though. Oh well.
Great... (Score:3, Funny)
Angry drunks
Sad drunks
Happy drunks
PLUS!
Hyper drunks
Chatty drunks
Oscillating drunks.
Woohoo.
And which genius at AB decided what beer needs is MORE diuretic effect.
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Wowie... (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Wowie... (Score:3, Funny)
Potions are for quaffing, have you learned nothing ?
To quaff or not to quaff? which potion is the question.
Re:Isn't this against the normal definition of bee (Score:2)
Meads and Barleywines are typically quite sweet, and also have a much higher alcohol content than beer. Mead, of course, using honey as it's sugar base, as opposed to using grains. (hot water convertes the starches in grains into sugars)
If you want beer with caffeine that isn't sweet, just drink any of the numerous coffee-based stouts or porters.