Budweiser, Michelob or Miller: Who Wins the Battle of the Lime Beer?

First came Miller with its Miller Chill, a light beer brewed with hints of lime and salt. Then came Michelob with its unique light beer, flavored with lime and cactus. Finally Budweiser realized it was missing the boat and leaped into the fray with its latest offering, Bug Light with Lime. Apparently, in Mexico, lime- and salt-flavored beer is a pretty popular option, but it's just now catching on in the United States.

I've seen the lime flavored beers in the past, but I never really felt the urge to try them. After checking out the Bud Light with Lime, I decided to give the other offerings a try. After all, the best way you can compare and contrast is to try all the drinks at one time, right? I'll try to pretend that we did this in some scientific way instead of admitting that my boyfriend and I used this article as an excuse to drink three six-packs at one time.

Michelob Ultra Lime and Cactus.

First up is the Michelob Ultra with Lime and Cactus. Neither one of us were very fond of Michelob beer in the first place, though I have to admit that their Pomegranate and Raspberry flavor wasn't too bad. I could smell the lime as soon as we opened the bottle, but the smell was definitely stronger than the taste.

This lime flavored beer has a light yellow color, but it doesn't have any of the fizz you'd expect from a beer. The first sip wasn't too bad as it had a light lime flavoring. After a few more sips though, I had to put it down. It started to taste like Michelob's strange version of a lime wine cooler. My guy reached for a Bud Light to clear his mouth.

Miller Chill.

I'll admit that I was most excited to try the Miller Chill since I'm a Miller Lite kind of girl. I had the chance to try it once before, but it had already faded from my memory. Miller went the real Mexican Chelada beer route with this one, making it with traces of lime and salt.

The Miller Chill has less of a lime scent than the Michelob version, but it has a nice and smooth taste that goes down easier than a bottle of Miller Lite. My guy pointed out that it tasted a little flat and more like a light beer than a lime beer. It does have a little hint of salt, but it didn't seem to kick in until I was halfway through the bottle.

Bud Light with Lime.

Of all the three lime beers, this was easily the best and both of our favorite choice. Bud Light previously released the absolutely disgusting Mexican beer mixed with Clamato juice, but they redeemed themselves with this one.

The Bud Light with Lime has a nice clean taste, though I didn't notice the lime flavoring until I was well into the bottle of beer. There isn't any annoying saltiness like with the Miller, just a nice clean beer with a few traces of lime. We finished off this six pack before going back for any of the other bottles.

If you're looking for a nice lime beer, go for the Bud Light version. The Miller version is good, but it has a fairly weak taste, though if you're a calorie counter the Miller has less calories than the Bud. As for the Michelob, well reach for the Pomegranate before you grab the Lime.