'World's Lightest Beer' More Like Bud-Flavored Water

Budweiser has launched what it says is the world's lightest beer just in time to reach Super Bowl fans worried about their beer guts. But Joshua Bernstein deems Bud 55 a loser. At 55 calories and 2.4% alcohol by volume, the brew has half the calories of Bud Light but it's "barely more caloric—and flavorful—than water," he complains at Slashfood.

Bud 55, which was tested in 25 markets before the nationwide rollout, "seems like another blind grasp at rapidly disappearing market share," Bernstein writes. Instead of trying gimmicks like this beery water, Budweiser should tackle falling sales by "brewing beer that, you know, actually tastes good," he writes. "A touchdown for our taste buds is a win-win for everyone." (More Budweiser stories.)