Anheuser-Busch betting on two new products.

AP--Anheuser-Busch is not going to sit idly by in 2005. The company is fine-tuning its brand arsenal with two new national rollouts. The company is giving its caffeinated B(e) a national roll-out this week, and high-hop, low-carb Bud Select goes national February 21st.

B(e) or "B-to-the-E" is beer spiked with caffeine, fruit flavoring, herbal guarana and ginseng is aimed to counterbalance the strides liquor companies have made in luring young consumers to flavored and mixed drinks.

Anheuser-Busch test marketed B-to-the-E from in the fall, eventually assessing in 55 U.S. cities whether the new "beer" appealed to 20-something consumers craving something zippy in their highly social, fast-paced lifestyles.

"It's producing a lot of excitement for this beer category in that consumers and bartenders are not looking at this as a typical beer," in many cases with B-to-the-E served over ice, said Dawn Roepke, A-B's brand manager of new-product development. "It's going right up against mixed drinks."

Slightly sweet but tart and coming in the aromas of blackberry, raspberry and cherry, B-to-the-E is to be marketed toward "active 21- to 27-year-old experimenters looking for new tastes and options."

B-to-the-E comes against the backdrop of the company's existing line of Bacardi liquor-branded flavored malt beverages--and the increasing line of alcohol-free energy drinks, often used as mixers.

Anheuser-Busch said each can of B-to-the-E packs 17 grams of carbohydrates, along with 4.5 percent alcohol by volume, 54 milligrams of caffeine and 145 calories. By comparison, Anheuser-Busch's Bacardi Silver Low-Carb Black Cherry has 2.6 grams of carbs and 96 calories.

Before taxes, B-to-the-E generally will fetch $1.29 for a single can, $4.99 for a four-pack of 10-ounce cans, Roepke said. A bottled version is to arrive by the end of February, she said.

Bud Select is described as an American-style lager, with a higher hop profile but a lower carb and calorie content. Don Meyer, director of new products at A-B's domestic brewing unit, said, "You get a real good taste upfront, but it is a clean-finishing beer with no aftertaste."

Meyer said A-B extended the mashing time, and used a blend of imported and domestic hops. The brew also includes roasted specialty malts to provide a deeper color in the glass. "We looked for hops that were very aromatic so that you get a real good, full-flavored taste profile on the front-end," Meyer said.

Bud Select has 99 calories and 3.1 grams of carbohydrates per 12-oz. serving.