Review:Budweiser’s Wing Sauce

By Gary Glen, Contributing Author

I normally don’t buy wing sauces often, since I really enjoy making my own. I do though, like to see what else is out there, especially with the generic-style “buffalo wing” type sauces.

Like hot sauces, interesting names or even certain manufacturers tend to attract my attention. Then the sucker in me takes over and I feel compelled to give it a try.

This was the case with Budweiser’s Wing Sauce.  I stumbled upon it at my local home center. Of course it was positioned near the area where the smoking wood is stocked. What could I do? One thing was certain, I would have to make up a batch of wings soon. The day began to look brighter. It’s available in Hot & Spicy and Mild & Tangy. Let’s start easy and try the Mild & Tangy.

Initial Impressions

The bottle definitely looks cool with the Budweiser logo. You can see how it was able to grab my attention. The listed ingredients are: Water, Distilled vinegar, Aged Red Peppers, Vegetable Oil (canola and/or soybean), Salt, Beer (water, barley malt, rice, hops) Honey, Natural Butter Flavor (whey, butteroil) Garlic, Xanthan Gum, Cayenne Pepper, Potassium Sorbate and Sodium Benzoate (preservatives), Red 40. Contains: Milk

The sauce is a bright orange with a medium to light consistency. It has a chunky texture which I assume to be pieces of red peppers and possibly garlic. The aroma is definitely that of vinegar followed by a scent similar to French salad dressing.

Out of the Bottle Taste Test

Although I wasn’t impressed with the aroma, Budweiser’s Wing Sauce is packed with flavor. Straight from the bottle, the taste is definitely vinegary. Then a variety of other flavors creep in. For certain, you get a hint of the peppers and garlic, but then comes flavors that I wasn’t able to really put my finger on. Was it the combination of the beer, butter and honey? I don’t know, yet the flavors blend together quite well.

The salt and heat level, although present do not overwhelm. The bottle claims the sauce to be mild and that’s how I would classify it, as well.

Apply the Meat Taste Test

On an actual batch of wings, Budweiser’s Wing Sauce worked perfect. The sauce’s constancy held well to the wings. The vinegar flavor toned down some and allowed the other flavors to come out. I really liked these wings!

The Final Verdict

Overall, I liked this sauce. I originally thought this would just be another marketing ploy to help bolster Budweiser’s brand name. Something they just throw into a bottle and let their massive marketing budget take over from there. No, Budweiser’s Wing Sauce is not an overnight concoction. Someone knew what they were doing.

I would have liked a little bit of smoke flavor included, but Budweiser’s Wing Sauce is a good overall sauce. I also believe it would perform well as a basting sauce for barbecued pork or poultry.