Friday, September 23, 2011

Are fewer people drinking "American" beer?

MSNBC reported the following major brands of "American" beer have seen their sales plummet in the last few years:

1. Michelob: down a whoppin’ SEVENTY-TWO PERCENT from 2006 to 2010
2. Michelob Light: down 64% for the same period
3. Bud Select: down 60%, same period
4. Milwaukee’s Best: down 53%, same period
5. Old Milwaukee: down 52%, same period
6. Miller Genuine Draft: down 51%, same period
7. Milwaukee’s Best Light: down 34%, same period
8. BUDWEISER(!): down 30% for the same period

MSNBC article. A columnist on the website Seattle PI wrote "What does this list really say? That Americans are rejecting mass-produced crap beers in record numbers." Just one problelm? The list says nothing about the sales numbers for Michelob Ultra, Miller Lite, and yes, Bud Lite. I don't think its any secret more people are leaving the regular beers listed above for the less calorie versions. Poor reporting by MSNBC and an poor interpretation by the columnist. However, he did make some good points about American brewing:

"I think American small business is the very beating heart of our society. In 1980, there were about a half-dozen American craft breweries. That number is now almost 1,500. And this is that small-business paradigm that, I firmly believe, is the eventual antidote to all questions of economic down-turns. Free enterprise doesn’t work unless everybody can dream and have a reasonable hope their dreams can come true. It was categorically impossible for any American brewery to compete, on anything like a level playing field, with AB and Miller/Coors. So our country’s aspiring craft brewers simply didn’t try. They embraced their own wildly creative interpretations of virtually every other style of lager or ale produced anywhere else on the planet. They ceded the ground of wimpy, fizzy yellow Pilsner to the mega-brewers and concentrated on…everything else.

It was, after 80+ years of AB’s ruthless suppression of every brewer who threatened to grown beyond local appeal, the one strategy for which AB and Miller/Coors had no answer. AB/InBev has tried, God Knows, whelping a bizzarre and increasingly-desperate roster of faux-craft beers
,...." Column



15 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Fewer", not "Less".

JPS grad? ;-)

The Grammar Police

can't get right said...

BUDWEISER is a gay beer.

Anonymous said...

This is just another reason Mississippi needs to change our laws on beer. We need more choice on what we can buy. We ought to be able to go downtown and have a freshly brewed craft beer right across the street from the King Edward. We need to have the sales tax. We need the jobs. Even Kenny Stokes can't screw that up. OK, but I had you convinced up to that point.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand how The Beast's sales are down in this economy. Are fewer people going to college? Or is everybody just going for a lower carb, smokeable option for their relaxation needs?

Anonymous said...

Un tequila más por favor.

Anonymous said...

Weihenstephaner - Hefe Weissbier ,

Brewed in Bavaria since the year 1040 .

Try some !

Fast Eddie said...

Europe obviously has the best beer. Guiness, Samuel Smith's, Arkell's, 1858, Perminator, and Das Esche are but a few good examples. The good thing about most of these is that they are locally brewed beer's in their respective countries. We have some outstanding ones here as well. Abita, blackened voodoo, Cherokee, Samuel Adams, Mississippi Mud, and many others. If people only settle for the cheap AB beer, Coor's, and others huge name brands, your missing out. A beer is like a store. If you want cheap made merchandise or semi cheap made merchandise, you go to WalMart. If you want quality, you pay a little more at a high end store. Beer is the same way. If you want cheap then by what the tv is selling, but if you want quality, spend a couple of bucks more and buy locally brewed beer. It's well worth it. KF, you know what I'm talkin about as I have introduced you to some of these. My personal favorite is Abita Turbo Dog. Don't let the name fool you. Budweiser can't touch it. Samuel Adams black label is pretty damn good too. Drink up your pints lads and enjoy something new!

Anonymous said...

I recall the first can of beer I had back in the 60s was a Budweiser. That was the nastiest tasting stuff I ever had.

But the second one was pretty good.

Shadowfax said...

I have no interest in the 'designer beers' coveted by the Fondren crowd and some others. Can't imagine how they seem to enjoy drinking a wide variety of beers instead of sticking to the one whut brought 'em to the dance. Reminds me of the college crowd's (including me) insistance on having Coors before it was legal here to have it. People who switch up beers and smokes are the same people who swap up house keys. I think a survey has revealed this truth. Maybe KFish can locate it.

I'm also tired of nobody stocking Busch Lite in a case, other than Wally World. Gold top Busch is nasty, as is Bud with its headache-producing hops overload.

Miller Light is water. Where the hell is Falstaff when we need a normal, American beer?

Anonymous said...

Me?, I'm tired of 'friends' who smoke the same brand they drink. The O.P. brand. (other people's).

Anonymous said...

All these alternative beers are great, but when I'm ready to pound 20-30 in a day, I want my bud lights.

Anonymous said...

...but when I'm ready to pound 20-30 in a day, I want my bud lights.

Your liver would like to chat with you.

Anonymous said...

Due to our beer laws, the only beer I can drink (gluten free) is Red Bridge made by the Budweiser people. In other states I have a choice of several excellent gluten free beers, all with too much alcohol for Mississippi.

Anonymous said...

Since the Northside Sun crowd is known to be fond of designer beers, I'm surprised more have not posted to this discussion, although about twelve of them have.

Anonymous said...

What do American macro-brews (Bud, Miller, Coors, etc.) have in common with sex in a canoe?

They are both f*cking close to water.


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