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Caffeinated Beer Becomes a Reality

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the i've-waited-for-this-day-so-long dept.

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.

17 of 657 comments (clear)

  1. Not a new thing... by Theaetetus · · Score: 5, Informative
    MoonShot Beer!

    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

    -T

    1. Re:Not a new thing... by The-Bus · · Score: 2, Informative

      There's been a malt liquor energy drink for sale around here... can looks like an orange battery. So, no, this isn't new, but it certainly is a first from a major brewer (let's see what SAB/Miller does).

      Considering myself an epicurean when it comes to alcohol, I cannot recommend Chouffe Coffee liqueur highly enough. It's loads better than Kahlua and actually tastes like coffee, imagine that.

      --

      Small potatoes make the steak look bigger.

  2. Gratuitous Linkage by swordboy · · Score: 4, Informative

    Nudge, nudge. Link, link.

    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 crowd.

    --

    Life is the leading cause of death in America.
    1. Re:Gratuitous Linkage by Joey7F · · Score: 2, Informative
      "Blackberry, raspberry and cherry" !?!!? Yuck! It's not even beer.


      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 beer drink to get a buzz. But a growing trend in microbrewing is to get different flavors out of conventional brews.

      Still waiting to try a Pumpkin Ale :)

      --Joey

      BTW if you like SNPA only wish it were more bitter, try their Christmas beer called, Celebration. It is fantastic!

    2. Re:Gratuitous Linkage by Slime-dogg · · Score: 2, 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.

      --
      You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button.
  3. Stimulants and depressants...yum! by jav1231 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Isn't mixing stimulants and depressants (ginseng and alcohol) a bad thing? There are incidences of people mixing vodka and Red Bull and actually dying. I'm sure this is due to drinking an inordinate amount, but still uppers and downers together doesn't sound like good eats.

  4. Re:Buzz Beer by goneutt · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Coffee in the beer products go way back. At the 1904 worlds fair (the same place that gave jack daniels the ribbons on the label) a beer was awarded a medal that used coffee instead of hops.

    I only know this cuz it was Kurt Vonnegut's grandfather (I think thats the right relation) and was mentioned in Time Quake.

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    Bacardi + slashdot = negative karma.
  5. Re:down + up = nothing? by ooby · · Score: 2, Informative

    Alcohol and caffiene do not affect the body in "equal but opposite" ways. Alcohol generally blocks or slows the signals transmitted between neurons in the the brain. Caffiene increases your heart rate and causes you to release adrenaline. The net effect is an increased jitteryness with a decrease in motor skills. Imagine a hyper drunk. Also, both chemicals are notorious for causing dehydration.

  6. Wait a minute ... by Khaotix · · Score: 2, Informative

    Haven't any of you heard of the beer Moonshot? I've seen it around for a couple of months now.
    http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-002337. php

    I drank it once. I had to do a shot of overproof rum to get the horrible taste out of my mouth.

  7. Re:Buzz Beer by diggum · · Score: 1, Informative

    Back in the mid-90's, Red Hook beer mixed up a brew with Starbucks that was a dark espresso stout. i was skeptical, and it wasn't "blow off my socks" great, but it was surprisingly good stuff.

    It did not have guarana or ginseng or any other asian vegetable bits mixed in to give it that "red bull/herbal ecstacy" vibe.

  8. Re:B(E)? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    " apparently AB named "the new beer B(E) -- read as "B to the E power"".

    B to the E power would be written as B^E or B with E as a superscript (not sure how to do that on slashdot)

  9. what about Sparks? by stevetures · · Score: 3, Informative

    Well then what about Sparks malt liquor? As a musician, I can testify to the Sparks, where drinking it gets you to loosen up but you don't stoner out and write drone-ish song. http://www.drinksparks.com/ Ya gotta love how the can is painted to look like an orange battery, with the positive and negative terminals.

  10. Yeuch by suckmyrichard · · Score: 2, Informative

    Actually there's been a caffeinated beer out here in the UK for yonks - but the stuff is undrinkable.. It honestly does taste like drip-tray, there's virtually no distinction in my book..

  11. Can't be as good as Mill St Coffee Porter by Willard+B.+Trophy · · Score: 2, Informative

    Mill St Coffee Porter is brewed around here. It's great. It even comes in proper stubbies...

  12. Re:New taste to acquire by Malc · · Score: 2, Informative

    Hoegaarden? Come come. You can find better products than that from Belgium. Hoegaarden is pretty bland! I've been enjoying Chimay this summer. A nice change from my staple of which I get bored: Guinness. Hopefully I'll have a trip to the UK this Christmas and be able to seek out some of their fine real ales (served at a temperature that one can actually taste the beer too).

  13. Re:New taste to acquire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

    Amen to that. Anheuser Busch label turned me off immediately. "Oh great, caffeinated Buttwiper." People in EU have been mixing colas with beer forever, the concept of caffeinating beer is not new. If I want caffeine, I'll chug something from Starbucks, or a RedBull, and then drink a Hoegaarden or a Schneider, Paulaner, or a Bamberg smoke beer, or any number of real brews. Anheuser Busch is a joke.

  14. I think it's a bad idea. by Viceice · · Score: 2, Informative

    Remember, Alcohol is a sedative, while caffeine is a stimulant. Mixing the 2 isn't really a good idea.

    --
    Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.