The sad state of beer drinking in the US

[jj410]

The good news: Light beer sales share is declining.
The bad news, these are the top selling beers in US in 2014:
1. Bud Light $6.1B
2. Coors Light $2.2B
3. Bud $2.1B
4. Miller Lite $1.9B
5. Corona $1.3B
6. Natural Lite $1.1B
7. Mich Ultralight $.9B
8. Busch Lite $.8B
9. Modelo $.7B
10. Heineken $.7B
So in top 10, 6 light "beers", 3 semi-light "beers" and one European beer that is usually stale by the time it reaches the US.
No wonder Yuengling (at # 20) is considered a "craft beer".

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/gallery/145991

 

[lein]

What's wrong with light beer?

 

[pandaczar12]

What's wrong with light beer?

It's not beer. It's watered down pi$$. It's cheap swill for the purpose of getting drunk. It needs to be served extra cold to dull your taste buds.

 

[skilion]

Very poor logic in use here. Just because these brands sell the most does not mean that the beer available in the US is bad. In fact the opposite is true. There are almost too many options for great beers in the US that rival or surpass what would be considered the European original. The worst part is trying to find all the regional beers that might not be available in your area but that is what makes travel great.

 

[JoeBatters1]

It's not beer. It's watered down pi$$. It's cheap swill for the purpose of getting drunk. It needs to be served extra cold to dull your taste buds.

Not sure how old you are, but I think even the hardiest of drinkers start to appreciate light beer as they get older and realize one glass/bottle of regular beer makes them feel bloated. After 40 (at least for me and many of my friends) it seems like it's mostly light beer, wine, and/or liquor; regular beer just seems to heavy.

 

[Player2BNamedL8r]

Very poor logic in use here. Just because these brands sell the most does not mean that the beer available in the US is bad. In fact the opposite is true. There are almost too many options for great beers in the US that rival or surpass what would be considered the European original. The worst part is trying to find all the regional beers that might not be available in your area but that is what makes travel great.

Agree, and I think what the OP was suggesting is that despite all of the fantastic craft beer choices in the U.S., the masses still flock to the big brands and their diet/light varieties.

 

[psuro]

Beer is for 19 year old frat boys. Real men drink whiskey.

Man up.

 

[Hartzie]

Beer is for 19 year old frat boys. Real men drink whiskey.

Man up.

AMEN. More specifically, bourbon.

 

[PSUSignore]

I believe the big breweries like those on your list are experiencing big declines, and that the craft beer industry sales are at an all time high. They haven't cracked your top 20 list, but right now the market for high quality beers is the best it has ever been. I'd say it's quite the opposite of a "sad state." I know my local grocery stores have an amazing selection, and they aren't even specialty stores. It's a great time to be a beer drinker!

 

[jjsocrates]

Very poor logic in use here. Just because these brands sell the most does not mean that the beer available in the US is bad. In fact the opposite is true. There are almost too many options for great beers in the US that rival or surpass what would be considered the European original. The worst part is trying to find all the regional beers that might not be available in your area but that is what makes travel great.

Agree. Its not that the majority of beer in America is bad, its more like the majority of beer drinkers in America are. (Spoken like a true beer snob.) Compared to 20 years ago, the quality and quantity of available beers has improved dramatically. You just have to look in the long tail of this chart.

BTW, craft beer as a % of the total beer market has gone from ~0% in 1990 to 20% in 2015. That there is what is called a TREND. And its why A/B has essentially been buying up craft breweries when they can.

 

[KnightSlayer]

The good news: Light beer sales share is declining.
The bad news, these are the top selling beers in US in 2014:
1. Bud Light $6.1B
2. Coors Light $2.2B
3. Bud $2.1B
4. Miller Lite $1.9B
5. Corona $1.3B
6. Natural Lite $1.1B
7. Mich Ultralight $.9B
8. Busch Lite $.8B
9. Modelo $.7B
10. Heineken $.7B
So in top 10, 6 light "beers", 3 semi-light "beers" and one European beer that is usually stale by the time it reaches the US.
No wonder Yuengling (at # 20) is considered a "craft beer".
http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/gallery/145991
http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/gallery/145991

The older I get, the less I pay attention to beer snobs, music snobs, movie snobs etc.

 

[jjsocrates]

What's wrong with light beer?

This is equivalent to asking "What's wrong with white zinfandel?"

Good to those who drink white zin. I never will - if you like it, drink it. But there's so much more out there that is fuller, richer and worth your palate.

 

[jj410]

The older I get, the less I pay attention to beer snobs, music snobs, movie snobs etc.

It's matter of taste.
Most people outgrow childish tastes.
Some people like MacDonalds cardboardburgers, others like real hamburgers or steak.
Some people like real beer, others like watered down pee.

 

[jjsocrates]

Not sure how old you are, but I think even the hardiest of drinkers start to appreciate light beer as they get older and realize one glass/bottle of regular beer makes them feel bloated. After 40 (at least for me and many of my friends) it seems like it's mostly light beer, wine, and/or liquor; regular beer just seems to heavy.

At my age, one of two glasses/bottles of beer should be plenty. If I'm going to drink a beer, its gonna be something good.

That bloated feeling? I don't understand why you'd think light beer vs. a stronger ale makes a difference. The bloating comes from carbon dioxide gas. Its STILL 12 oz. of mostly water that you're putting into your stomach. Drinking 36 oz. of light beer takes up just as much space as 36 oz. of a nice IPA. This "less filling, taste great" slogan is nothing more than a marketing pitch...they are neither. Guinness Stout has about the same amount of calories/alcohol as most light beers anyway.

 

[jjsocrates]

AMEN. More specifically, bourbon.

Bourbon is for hillbillies. Real men drink single-malt scotch. I prefer barley to corn.

 

[jjsocrates]

The older I get, the less I pay attention to beer snobs, music snobs, movie snobs etc.

The older I get, the more I pay attention to quality over quantity...and the more I'm able to make decisions about my purchases based on something other than price alone.

I've found that my ratio of McDonald's burgers to Filet Mignon steaks has declined dramatically over the last 20 years. If that makes me a Meat Snob, so be it. I've also watched fewer Adam Sandler movies and more best picture nominees too.

I've always been a music snob...even when I WAS young. Mostly because at 18 I realized most music on the radio was crap, and the much more interesting stuff was on the fringes, and not on the Billboard Hot 100. When everybody was listening to Milli Vanilli in the 80's, I was waiting for the newest R.E.M. album to come out. Now I turn my nose up at Bud and track down Victory and Dogfish Head releases. I'm proud to be a snob, because I've always learned to choose things I like and enjoy rather than things everybody else buys.

Walmart or Target?
McDonald's or Morton's?
Adam Sandler or Benedict Cumberbatch?
Low-brow or High-brow?
Low-brau or High-brau?

 

[Victor E. Bell]

Beer is for 19 year old frat boys. Real men drink whiskey.

Man up.

Great story I recall from work some years ago. We get a new boss, "George" who gets a welcome call from the "regional office" from his boss, "Jim," one of the senior higher-ups. Call goes like this:

JIM: George, I wanted to congratulate you on the promotion and welcome you to the "region." Hope we can get a lot accomplished.

George: Thank you, sir, I'm looking forward to it.

JIM: That's fine George, and I'll buy you a drink sometime. I understand you like a drink now and again...

George: Well yes, I do like a beer once in awhile.

JIM: Yeah, I know what you mean, George. I used to drink a lot of beer. Now I drink a lot of Scotch.

 

[jj410]

Agree. Its not that the majority of beer in America is bad, its more like the majority of beer drinkers in America are. (Spoken like a true beer snob.) Compared to 20 years ago, the quality and quantity of available beers has improved dramatically. You just have to look in the long tail of this chart.

BTW, craft beer as a % of the total beer market has gone from ~0% in 1990 to 20% in 2015. That there is what is called a TREND. And its why A/B has essentially been buying up craft breweries when they can.

My posts was not the "sad state of beer drinking" not the "sad state of beers".
No doubt it is true things are improving re the availability of good beer.
But that just makes drinking bad beer sadder - there is really no excuse for it.
We have more choice and better beer, yet light beer, all of which is just watered down pee for people who don't really like beer but for some reason want to pretend they do, is still over half of the sales. Light beer is a recent invention of mass advertising that has boosted profits for big breweries since it costs far less to produce and appeals to beer-haters. Go into most bars and see what they are drinking.
I recently was at an event where the price of all the beers, from light beer to craft beers was exactly the same. Most people were buying the light beer. It made me want to cry.

 

[jjsocrates]

It's not beer. It's watered down pi$$. It's cheap swill for the purpose of getting drunk. It needs to be served extra cold to dull your taste buds.

Calling it pi$$ is obviously hyperbole, but calling it watered-down is not far off the mark. To make beer "light" you literally use fewer ingredients - less malt, less hops. Its like making tea by steeping the leaves for 10 seconds rather than a minute. Yes, its still tea, but it will taste more like tea-flavored water that way.

As for ice-cold beer...your right. Below 40 degrees, your taste buds don't work as well. People make fun of drinking beer warm or lukewarm (actually ~50-55 degrees is nice) but you can actually TASTE more of the beer flavors when it warms up. By telling you to drink their beer ice cold in frosty glasses, companies like Coors/Miller/AB are literally telling you to drink it as cold as possible so you can't taste it. Light beer is literally beer made for people who don't like the taste of beer.

 

[jjsocrates]

JIM: Yeah, I know what you mean, George. I used to drink a lot of beer. Now I drink a lot of Scotch.

I'm sure most people know this already, but Scotch is simply distilled beer.

You make scotch by brewing a big vat of beer, without the hops, then distilling the wort.

Its no wonder why so many craft beer snobs also love to drink Scotch. Or why some 12+% barleywine beers are drunk in snifter glasses. Similar taste profiles.

 

[jjsocrates]

My posts was not the "sad state of beer drinking" not the "sad state of beers".
No doubt it is true things are improving re the availability of good beer.
But that just makes drinking bad beer sadder - there is really no excuse for it.
We have more choice and better beer, yet light beer, all of which is just watered down pee for people who don't really like beer but for some reason want to pretend they do, is still over half of the sales. Light beer is a recent invention of mass advertising that has boosted profits for big breweries since it costs far less to produce and appeals to beer-haters. Go into most bars and see what they are drinking.
I recently was at an event where the price of all the beers, from light beer to craft beers was exactly the same. Most people were buying the light beer. It made me want to cry.

Don't cry. More good beer for you!

As I said, light beer costs far less to produce, because they literally skimp on the ingredients. Can you imagine people buying a bottle of iced tea that barely tasted like tea? Sure - for people who don't like the taste of tea, but find an ice cold bottle of tea to be really refreshing! Just like a glass of ice-cold water is really refreshing!

 

[Chickenman Testa]

When you guys say "cold" do you really mean "two-stage cold-activated"?

Because when the can itself signals to me it contains cold ingredients, that's all I need to know to make my choice - taste be damned!

 

[Grant Green]

Modelo is actually a quality beer. Mexican beers are generally modeled after German Helles and Martzens. They are typically not patterned after the American lager.

Also, just because a beer is light in color, doesn't mean it's low in quality. Czech and German pilsners are some of the best beers in the world.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

This is a beer thread but also a drinking thread - let's allow my favorite drinker, Papa Hemingway, to chime in (he didn't drink, or write about drinking, much beer):

On Wine:

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” —Death in the Afternoon, 1932

"In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary." —A Moveable Feast, 1964

On Whisky:

"The whiskey warmed his tongue and the back of his throat, but it did not change his ideas any, and suddenly, looking at himself in the mirror behind the bar, he knew that drinking was never going to do any good to him now. Whatever he had now he had, and it was from now on, and if he drank himself unconscious when he woke up it would be there." —To Have and Have Not, 1937

On Drinking:

"Don't you drink? I notice you speak slightingly of the bottle. I have drunk since I was fifteen and few things have given me more pleasure. When you work hard all day with your head and know you must work again the next day what else can change your ideas and make them run on a different plane like whisky? When you are cold and wet what else can warm you? Before an attack who can say anything that gives you the momentary well-being that rum does? . . . The only time it isn't good for you is when you write or when you fight. You have to do that cold. But it always helps my shooting. Modern life, too, is often a mechanical oppression and liquor is the only mechanical relief." —Postscript to letter to critic, poet and translator Ivan Kashkin, August 19, 1935); published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917-1961, 1981, edited by Carlos Baker

 

[KnightSlayer]

It's matter of taste.
Most people outgrow childish tastes.
Some people like MacDonalds cardboardburgers, others like real hamburgers or steak.
Some people like real beer, others like watered down pee.

Why are beer snobs such experts on what watered down pee tastes like? I don't drink light beer but, I don't make fun of people who do. I enjoy a good steak but, I also enjoy a cheap burger now and then.

 

[jj410]

Modelo is actually a quality beer. Mexican beers are generally modeled after German Helles and Martzens. They are typically not patterned after the American lager.

Also, just because a beer is light in color, doesn't mean it's low in quality. Czech and German pilsners are some of the best beers in the world.

I never said anything about light in color, I meant light as in watered down.
I do like Negra Modelo.
Many good Belgian beers also have a light color.

 

[Pardlion]

Not sure how old you are, but I think even the hardiest of drinkers start to appreciate light beer as they get older and realize one glass/bottle of regular beer makes them feel bloated. After 40 (at least for me and many of my friends) it seems like it's mostly light beer, wine, and/or liquor; regular beer just seems to heavy.

In particular, really hoppy beers have started to kill me. My entire system is wrecked for at least a day after drinking any more than 2 Hopdevils.

 

[Lionsburg]

Why do people feel the need to complain about what brand of beer other people drink? Drink what you like, let others drink what they like and everyone will be happy!!

 

[jj410]

Why do people feel the need to complain about what brand of beer other people drink? Drink what you like, let others drink what they like and everyone will be happy!!

OK, just saying. After all even light beer is (arguably) better than none.

 

[stneumann83]

This is a beer thread but also a drinking thread - let's allow my favorite drinker, Papa Hemingway, to chime in (he didn't drink, or write about drinking, much beer):

On Wine:

“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” —Death in the Afternoon, 1932

"In Europe we thought of wine as something as healthy and normal as food and also a great giver of happiness and well being and delight. Drinking wine was not a snobbism nor a sign of sophistication nor a cult; it was as natural as eating and to me as necessary." —A Moveable Feast, 1964

On Whisky:

"The whiskey warmed his tongue and the back of his throat, but it did not change his ideas any, and suddenly, looking at himself in the mirror behind the bar, he knew that drinking was never going to do any good to him now. Whatever he had now he had, and it was from now on, and if he drank himself unconscious when he woke up it would be there." —To Have and Have Not, 1937

On Drinking:

"Don't you drink? I notice you speak slightingly of the bottle. I have drunk since I was fifteen and few things have given me more pleasure. When you work hard all day with your head and know you must work again the next day what else can change your ideas and make them run on a different plane like whisky? When you are cold and wet what else can warm you? Before an attack who can say anything that gives you the momentary well-being that rum does? . . . The only time it isn't good for you is when you write or when you fight. You have to do that cold. But it always helps my shooting. Modern life, too, is often a mechanical oppression and liquor is the only mechanical relief." —Postscript to letter to critic, poet and translator Ivan Kashkin, August 19, 1935); published in Ernest Hemingway: Selected Letters 1917-1961, 1981, edited by Carlos Baker

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hemingway blow his head off?

 

[ApexLion]

Bourbon is for hillbillies. Real men drink single-malt scotch. I prefer barley to corn.

Scotch is for fobs from the 19th century. Real mean drink Absinthe.

 

[jj410]

Girlie drink.

 

[pandaczar12]

Why do people feel the need to complain about what brand of beer other people drink? Drink what you like, let others drink what they like and everyone will be happy!!

Agreed, just imagine how terrible the world would be if all the people who drank lite beer wanted real craft beer with actual taste! Good craft beer is already very hard to obtain.

 

[Hartzie]

Bourbon is for hillbillies. Real men drink single-malt scotch. I prefer barley to corn.

Oh, you mean whiskey aged in used bourbon barrels? At least you may get a small portion of the taste to offset the taste of dirt.

 

[eric2015]

The good news: Light beer sales share is declining.
The bad news, these are the top selling beers in US in 2014:
1. Bud Light $6.1B
2. Coors Light $2.2B
3. Bud $2.1B
4. Miller Lite $1.9B
5. Corona $1.3B
6. Natural Lite $1.1B
7. Mich Ultralight $.9B
8. Busch Lite $.8B
9. Modelo $.7B
10. Heineken $.7B
So in top 10, 6 light "beers", 3 semi-light "beers" and one European beer that is usually stale by the time it reaches the US.
No wonder Yuengling (at # 20) is considered a "craft beer".

http://www.bizjournals.com/dayton/gallery/145991

Say what you want about me, but please do not talk ill of my Bud Light.

 

[anon_xdc8rmuek44eq]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Hemingway blow his head off?

Yeah. What does that have to do with this?

 

[jjsocrates]

Also, just because a beer is light in color, doesn't mean it's low in quality. Czech and German pilsners are some of the best beers in the world.

The color of the beer has to do with the malt used, and how long it is roasted for. Not unlike certain teas or coffees.

As you all have said, there are some fantastic beers that are light in color. Golden Ales, Pilseners, etc. My personal favorite are Pale Ales - and by pale, it usually means light in color, but they still pack a lot of taste.

BTW, isn't a Black IPA an oxymoron? I like that some brewers have renamed the style as Cascadian Dark Ale.

 

[jjsocrates]

Say what you want about me, but please do not talk ill of my Bud Light.

LOL. I won't make fun of you for drinking it, but I will make fun of the beer.

 

[jjsocrates]

Why do people feel the need to complain about what brand of beer other people drink? Drink what you like, let others drink what they like and everyone will be happy!!

Not complaining about the people, just the beers. To each their own, but I can criticize a product that I think is crap as much as I wish.

 

[Lattner]

Troegs is $4.50/pint in dive bars I go to.
ML is $2.50.
I prefer Troegs, but I ain't dropping $50.