The Taste

You know that thirst-quenching relief you get when you pop open a Mexican beer and squeeze in a little fresh lime? The folks at Budweiser want to spare you the trouble of squeezing (or running to the store to get a lime) with this new light lager that comes with a splash of lime flavor. BL Lime -- that's short for "Bud Light" not boozy lemonade -- is brand new, although the concept, of course, is not. Folks have been adding limes to Corona and Tecate for years, and last summer, Miller introduced a "chelada-style" light beer with a hint of lime and salt.

BL Lime looks like a typical light beer -- pale yellow, with a quickly fading head and very little lacing. There's no green hue, no apparent dyes, nothing weird. Interestingly, it's also available in two strengths: 4.2 percent alcohol by volume (ABV) and 3.2 percent ABV. The faux-lime smell overpowers any hint of beer; it's as if you're inhaling some sort of citrus-scented air freshener. It tastes somewhat better: There's a sweet maltiness and an almost instantaneous crisp finish -- certainly appealing on hot summer days.

-- James Oliver Cury