(c) Falstaff Brewery

It should surprise approximately nobody that there are folks on our staff who drink beer on occasion. Similarly unsurprising is the recent trend for breweries to try and cater to the more weight-conscious beer drinker in increasingly stark and dramatic ways. Sadly, compared to the days when the first Light (or Lite) beers were introduced, it’s not just the advertizing for these new ultra-light brews that’s complete weaksauce. Hence, our headline, which was how some college buddies and I referred to Coors Light, because “it’s f***ing close to water“.

After the initial rush to market of these lighter beers (typically around 4% alcohol by volume (ABV); most mass-market beer is around 5 to 5.5%), the beer aisle stabilized, more or less, until the craft-brew/micro-brew wave of the late 90’s hit. Most of these were heavier fare, and didn’t really have a lot of impact on the light beer market, which accounts for about half of beer sold in the US. However, in 2002, Michelob Ultra raised (lowered?) the caloric bar, to be followed by the newest low-calorie variants – MGD 64 and Select 55 in the last year.

Is the smaller caloric footprint worth getting in the canoe?

For some folks, the answer is a fairly unequivocal “yes.” MGD64 has sold about twice as well as the product it replaced, and Select 55 did well enough in the early test markets that its availability was recently expanded. And, as noted previously, anything that sells about $50 billion annually must have some kind of market demand and appeal.

That said, even folks who reach for the ultra-light offerings point out the trade-off inherent in crafting it — the smaller the amount of the ingredients that flavor the brew, the less flavor it’s going to have. For some, the lighter taste is a plus; for others, not so much. The trend to add various flavor notes to lighter beer — Bud Light Lime, the various flavors of the Michelob Ultra stable, and so forth — may be enough to offset the lack of beer-flavored beerness these offerings seem to suffer.

For anyone who drinks beer for the buzz, having to drink twice as many kind of defeats the purpose of the whole reduced calories per serving thing. I guess, if there’s a bright side, you’ll be somewhat more adequately hydrated (or at least rack up more mileage to and from the bathroom). Neither of which are exactly a ringing endorsement or compelling argument, really.

I should have known something horrible was in store when Mike said, “Dude, there’s totally an article about beer you should check out.”  The last time he recommended anything beer-related to me, it was to fob off some Romulan Ale (not to be confused with the Romulan Ale Energy Drink) he’d brought back from a trip to Vegas. Let’s just say that there is a very compelling reason that many things in Vegas should stay in Vegas.

Related posts:

1. Nerfing beer belly blame
2. I put on my robe and bottle cap
3. How Much is That (Hot) Doggie in the Window?