The beer snobbery around here can be a little over-the-top, but damn.
I generally LIKE traditional, mass-produced American lagers, both “budget-friendly” brands (Pabst Blue Ribbon, which I have been drinking regularly in Salt Lake City since the late 1980’s, long before it became “Ironically Hip”, and other similar brands like Rainier, Hamm’s or Stroh’s) as well as more expensive mainstream offerings like Budweiser (NOT Bud Light) or Coors Banquet (NOT Coors Light) but I guess light beer is clearly where the money is at these days.
As for Modelo, that is a shocker, as if I had to guess a top selling Mexican import I would have for sure picked Tecate or Corona.
But after reading that, I am more happy than ever to be here in beautiful Krakow, where the local Polish piwo is excellent, crisp and clean finishing, with a kick like a Mormon Mule (no 3.2% Blues around here) and when I want to do something a little different for a change, a 1/2 liter bottle of imported German Spaten, Czech Staropramen or Slovak Zlaty Bazant is 75 cents at the local version of 7-11, and even less than that at a supermarket.
#1 US owned and made beer is Yuengling Lager which is also fairly cheap and pretty tasty. Also the oldest US beer. #2 by a small margin is Sam Adams. Not bad at all though no bargain. Almost every bar as Bud on tap and a Ice Cold Bud is drinkable enough though far from my first choice.
Light beer is very popular currently and the options are far less, so they get a lot of sales.
It’s important to remember that while these are the most popular individually, they still only make up 1/3rd of the market combined. If you combined all craft beer, it would be number one on the list:
Modelo is strange because it’s halfway decent, though I like Negra Modelo better. It’s in most stores, but I don’t perceive it as nearly as well-known as Corona or Tecate, too.
Yuengling has a very small market, they are popular with epicenters around PA and FL, but it’s impossible to find on the west coast.
Yuengling is a super regional. No further west then Indiana and all up and down the East Coast. Someday they’ll open another brewery and expand a little further into the west. West Coast probably won’t happen anytime soon. 2 Breweries is all they have and use. The Breweries are in Pottsville, PA & Tampa. The Lager is excellent, especially for its price and I enjoy their Porter very much. Both are priced reasonably. The Lager is on tap in about half the bars in New Jersey now.
I suspect that the fact that that the top 4 are all light beers speaks, in part, to the consumption habits of the drinkers. They’re likely drunk by people who are planning to have multiple beers that night, and don’t want so many calories. Many of them are drinking to get buzzed, and as long as the beer isn’t objectionably foul-tasting, they may not care about the taste (or lack thereof).
In addition, though I don’t have the numbers in front of me, I can assure you that Bud Light, Miller Lite, and Coors Light, between the three of them, account for the majority of beer advertising and promotional spending in the U.S.
Negra Modelo is one of the best “easy drinking” dark beers around, it has flavor, but finishes lightly, and you don’t feel like you have eaten a 3 course meal after you finish one.
Anchor Steam is similar in that regard to me, as are beers like the lesser known Czech offerings like Budweiser Budvar Dark (not available in the U.S.?) or Kozel Cerny.
Many years ago, Michelob made a dark beer that was easy to drink, and although it probably wouldn’t have been embraced by microbrew purists, it finished like a standard lager, light and clean, but it tasted more substantial than traditional brews.
Enjoy it, but it is light on taste. Best I can say for it, it is much better than Corona Light, Miller Light and especially Coors Light. Clearly more Americans prefer drinking Bud Light to others, but taste varies greatly and to me and most of the vocal beer drinkers on this board, Bud Light isn’t even worth drinking. I would rather just drink ice water.
I found a light beer I can enjoy, Yuengling Light wasn’t bad. But I would rather drink Yuengling or almost any Red, Brown or Cream Ale and most Porters and some Stouts.
What’s that dark Texas beer – c’mon – I know I know this … Shiner Bock, that’s it! I think that fills that easy-drinking, clean finish, but a bit heftier than traditional American light lagers void. I know it’s called a “bock,” but, at least to me, it just tastes like a bit of a darker, slightly grainier/maltier version of an American lager. Yuengling also has a decent dark beer with similar characteristics (though I can’t get Yuengling in Chicago – have to go to Indiana.) Looking it up, it’s the Yuengling Black & Tan that I’m thinking of.
Or you can just get a Negra Modelo, which is ubiquitous here.
For anyone looking for a light beer that has a reasonable amount of flavor in it, try Deschutes Da Shootz. I was browsing the beer aisle before attending a party to pick up some brews and was in the mood for something summery and easy drinking, like a pilsner or American wheat. This offering by Deschutes caught my eye, with its colorful flowery packaging and its promise of being a refreshing pilsner at 4.0% ABV. Perfect, I thought! When I got to the party and opened a can, I decided to google its calorie content, because at 4.0% for the style, it’s probably pretty low. Sure enough, under 100 calories (at 99)! Nowhere on their packaging or cans do they advertise that this is a “light beer” – I assume perhaps not to be lopped into “light beer” stereotypes – but, damn, this is the tastiest light beer I’ve ever had.
Some beers are really tasty, if you’re use to drinking Bud Light, I fully understand your point of view though.
There are dozens of styles of beers and 1000s of different beers now. A Cream or Milk Stout is practically a desert drink. To me Porters like Yuengling, George Washington, Founders and Saranac are extremely tasty. Also, the hobby of finding beers you really enjoy is fun and gives you something else to discuss with friends and strangers.
Besides, it is a lot of fun to have complete beer snobs like **silenus **tell you why your choices are wrong and it makes him happy to have the chance.
ETA: I like a Shiner Bock from time to time. I usually only buy it when I can get a 12 pack on sale though. It doesn’t taste much like a black & tan though.
And while I was picking out my beers for that party, I discovered that not only do they sell spiked seltzer water, they even sell spiked still water. I accidentally bought one in a mix-your-own 6-pack, expecting it to be a bubbly water. Nothing on the market yet (as far as I know) as pure as flavorless spiked ice water, but they’re getting pretty close, so maybe your suggestion may one day come true.
It doesn’t, and neither does Yuengling’s Black and Tan, but it’s nice when you want a slightly “darker” tasting (and colored) version of an American lager.
I’m a beer [del]snob[/del] aficionado, but my daily drinkers here are Old Style and whatever Polish lager happens to be on sale at the local Eastern European grocery (Okocim, Żywiec, Tyskie, Łomża, generally in that order of preference). Occasionally, I’ll sub a PBR for the Old Style just to mix things up.
I actually drink beer because it limits how much I can drink. I can only drink a beer so fast, and can only have so many before I just get full. So, I guess I probably wouldn’t drink alcoholic ice water.
Word. It’s not actually bad tasting, it’s just that the taste is so weak. It’s a limp watery mess. Miller Lite is just as bad, but I read once where some beer aficionado visited a Miller brewery in, I believe Ft Worth Tx, and sampled some pre-diluted Miller Lite. He said they said they had a very specific recipe for it, then cut it with water. He reported the pre-diluted beer was quite flavorful.
