Anheuser-Busch Mocks Alcohol Content Claims

Meanwhile, CNN conducts its own beer testing
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2013 7:17 AM CST
Anheuser-Busch Mocks Alcohol Content Claims
This image provided by Anheuser-Busch InBev shows a full-page advertisement, placed by the maker of Budweiser and other beers, that was meant to counter a lawsuit.   (AP Photo/Anheuser-Busch InBev)

Anheuser-Busch is having a bit of fun with the class-action lawsuits accusing it of watering down its beers, Bloomberg reports. In full-page advertisements that ran in 10 major newspapers yesterday, the brewer jokes, "They must have tested one of these," showing a can of drinking water. The company says it has donated 71 million such cans to the American Red Cross and other disaster relief organizations, the BBC reports.

"We take no shortcuts and make no exceptions. Ever," the ad continues. Tests commissioned by NPR backed up the brewer's claims, finding that alcohol content did match what the labels say. Now CNN has conducted its own tests, finding:

  • Budweiser label: 5%. Actual alcohol by volume: 4.94%
  • Bud Light Lime label: 4.2%. Actual alcohol by volume: 4.13%
  • Bud Ice label: 5.5%. Actual alcohol by volume: 5.35%
"The sample test results you provided are well within the variability of the all-natural brewing process and all in full compliance with all alcohol labeling laws," an Anheuser-Busch spokesperson tells CNN. But an attorney for the plaintiffs says internal testing will provide the most accurate data; the lawsuit claims a bottle of Budweiser has 4.7% alcohol, while the label claims 5%. (More Anheuser-Busch stories.)

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