Back in 1972 when a buddy and I took a tour of the home brewery in St. Louis (the Clydesdales were gorgeous, huge, and smelled better than us), the tasting at the end was Michelob. Even before the “light beer” craze, regular Budweiser was just slightly colored fizz water.
About 10 years ago AB had a beer called American Brew. It was comparable to a decent craft brew at an affordable price. Unfortunately they stopped making it. AB could make a good beer if the wanted to.