Budweiser Offers New Energy Drink to Younger Genereation

When grocery store receiving clerk Dave Thomas first saw the low-carb cheesecake, he was sure he'd seen every kind of bizarre crossover fusion and slightly oxymoronic product. That is, until he saw the new product for the liquor department, B^E (spoken: B to the E) Budweiser's new energy drink.

"We all thought Buzz Beer from The Drew Carey Show was just a joke," said Thomas, "but I guess not."

The people at Budweiser view it a different way promoting the new specialty beer on its web site Anheuser-Busch.com,
"B^E takes beer to the next level - combining the drinkability and broad appeal of beer with caffeine, ginseng and guarana, B^E is a beer remixed. Well-balanced with select hops and aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry, B^E offers a lightly sweet and tart taste - with a "wow" factor in the finish. Tastes great on the rocks as well."

The idea of mixing an energy drink with alcohol could stem from the night club scene. Recently it has become increasingly popular to serve mixed drinks consisting of an energy drink and hard alcohol.

"I heard somewhere they quit serving Red Bull and vodka in this state," said Nick Cranston, 21, of Carson City, Nevada "because the combination was really threatening people's lives."

Cranston said he probably wouldn't try the new B^E, but speculates that Budweiser probably did it's homework on mixing caffeine and alcohol, so the drink is likely to be safer than something mixed at a bar.

Still, consumers might be wary of mixing such strong yet opposing chemicals.

Even if consumers are satisfied that the drink is safe, they may be confused as to the effect the drink has on those who drink it. Shawn Meryhew's reaction to the new product was, "So wait, can you still get drunk?" The 21-year-old of Carson City Nevada demonstrates another problem Budweiser faces in selling this new product: consumer confusion.

On top of wary and confused consumers, Budweiser faces another obstacle.

"Specialty beers just don't sell like regular old beer," said Kurt Beltrami, liquor department manager at a local Albertson's. "Most people who buy beer have their one favorite brand and they know what it's going to taste like and they know how many they have to drink to get a buzz."

Yet Drew Carey made a profit from Buzz Beer on his show, even though it was entirely fiction. Budweiser may have tapped into a new niche of party animals, or what they might advertise as social drinkers. The product hasn't been on the shelves long enough to show whether it is worth Budweiser's time, but most would agree that other beer makers are watching of B^E very closely.