# Where does (did?) the conservative identification with light beer come from? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 17, 2023, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189 "2023-05-17T21:07:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/61 "2023-05-18T17:03:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > doing it for the buzz, rather than for the flavor, it’s not a bad idea to consume fewer calories in the process. But that just pushes the question one step further back which is that concern with calories also seems like a anti-conservative value. Like, you would expect conservatives to anti-identify with things like light sour cream or fat free salad dressing as like, something for the womenfolk and not real men but somehow when it comes to light beer, all of a sudden they’re watching their figure? ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/62 "2023-05-18T17:26:11Z")
I’m still questioning the entire premise. Why do you all think there is any affiliation between conservatives and light beer? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/63 "2023-05-18T17:29:08Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > Why do you all think there is any affiliation between conservatives and light beer? A fair question; i wonder if the truth is that there _is_ a correlation between light beer consumption and lower-to-middle class suburban and rural American men (which, as described above, was fostered by long-running ad campaigns by the major breweries), and it so happens that those men also tend to be conservative. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/64 "2023-05-18T17:33:27Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > I’m still questioning the entire premise. Why do you all think there is any affiliation between conservatives and light beer? The entire conservative meltdown over Bud Light/Coors Light not being “their brands” any more? Why else would conservatives care so much if it wasn’t what they were drinking? ---
**Author:** ![tofor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tofor/32/13727_2.png) [@tofor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tofor)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/65 "2023-05-18T17:48:30Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > The entire conservative meltdown over Bud Light/Coors Light not being “their brands” any more? Why else would conservatives care so much if it wasn’t what they were drinking? A. I have seen almost exclusively reaction to the so-called meltdown (“Conservatives are ENRAGED by this beer…”) not any meltdown directly. When I see exclusively reaction to the reaction I find it usually means the original reaction probably consisted of a few people on Twitter making absurd statements. So I question that there was any meltdown to speak of. B. Even if the meltdown actually happened, if I drink Budweiser and a Bud-Light advertising campaign offends me, it’s rational for me to be upset even if I never touched Bud-Light in my life C. You seriously think reactionary right-wing America needs to have actually been consuming a product to be angry about the political proclivities of the maker? ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/66 "2023-05-18T18:40:47Z")
I can’t help but think that the whole shooting of beer was very much a threatened identity sort of thing- they’re not only protesting the Bud Light ad campaign, they’re protesting trans awareness AND making some sort of half-cocked gun point as well. And probably some sort of less coherent point about being country because they have the space out in the sticks to actually shoot up full beer cans (something most shooting ranges wouldn’t allow). It feels to me like there was an element of these folks being personally threatened- if they didn’t pitch a fit and kept drinking Bud Light, that’s like somehow making them gay and condoning trans people. At any rate, if it was _just_ offensive, and conservatives called for a boycott, that would be one thing. They’re supposedly boycotting a lot of stuff- Hershey’s chocolate, Ulta cosmetics, [and a whole list of companies](https://www.netaxpayers.org/archives/4956). But I’d be willing to bet that the majority of those are more or less academic boycotts- they’re boycotting on principle, and the boycotts are hot air and for show. Meanwhile, the Bud Light one hit home, and they’re taking it seriously because they feel threatened. [Bud Light sales are down something like 24% compared to a year ago.](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bud-light-dylan-mulvaney-stock-downgrade-anheuser-busch-sales/) That’s not the sort of thing that happens due to theoretical offense and outrage; that’s actual offense and threatened identity. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/67 "2023-05-18T19:04:11Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Which is oddly anticapitalistic but go figure. Well, remember, in a proper fascist state, capitalism is supposed to support the state, not the other way 'round. They can make their profits and everything, just so long as they do what they’re told while they’re at it. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/68 "2023-05-18T19:07:55Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > A. I have seen almost exclusively reaction to the so-called meltdown (“Conservatives are ENRAGED by this beer…”) not any meltdown directly. When I see exclusively reaction to the reaction I find it usually means the original reaction probably consisted of a few people on Twitter making absurd statements. So I question that there was any meltdown to speak of. Well, there was a massive drop in Bud Light sales just after all this started: > **[Bud Light sales continue to plunge with 24% drop in latest week since Dylan...](https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/bud-light-sales-plunge-24-in-latest-week-since-dylan-mulvaney-disaster/)** > > The company “is running out of time to fix the problem as the summer selling season unofficially started last weekend and memorial day is in two weeks,” Williams said. So, they’re not the only ones drinking it, but it’s clear that butt-hurt conservatives and butt-hurt conservative supporters make up a pretty big segment of their market. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/69 "2023-05-18T19:17:58Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The original version was lightly hopped, but hoppier beer better survived the 6 month shipping time. As I’m sure you know, hubs brews beer. I have watched him make any number of IPA’s, it can be done using a big pot and a sealable bucket. (Of course he has outgrown that long ago and now has a room full of pots and buckets.) The thing I have never understood is why the beer had to be transported to begin with. Why did they not transport (or grow) their own barley and hops and make their own beer in India? Out here in the wild west, Coors light is the favorite of wannabe cowboys. Bud light is favored by race car fans. Plus, its cheap and cheap beer is always highly popular with the lower income folks who live in very rural areas. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/70 "2023-05-18T19:24:33Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > The thing I have never understood is why the beer had to be transported to begin with. Why did they not transport (or grow) their own barley and hops and make their own beer in India? The “grow” half of that is apparently that the climate in India doesn’t lend itself well to growing hops, and barley apparently doesn’t fare much better there, either. > **[Beer & Agriculture - Gaps to Bridge - ET HospitalityWorld](https://hospitality.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/speaking-heads/beer-agriculture-gaps-to-bridge/91774706)** > > Breweries rely heavily on farmers for their constant supply of high-quality grains and hops; without this they cannot guarantee the production of premium quality beer. Similarly, livelihoods of thousands of farmers around the world depend on the... ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/71 "2023-05-18T19:26:51Z")
Barley is a possibility, but hops tend to grow best in a latitude range well north of most of India. As for transporting hops directly, they don’t tend to react well to long stretches of high humidity or temperature. This would have been problematic for the ~half-year transit time when IPAs were initially produced (sailing around the horn of Africa). It may have been possible later in the 19th century when steamships and the Suez Canal brought that down to a couple weeks. ---
**Author:** ![JaneDoe42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janedoe42/32/14104_2.png) [@JaneDoe42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JaneDoe42)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/72 "2023-05-18T19:31:11Z")
Thank you, that makes sense. However, dried grains are much easier to ship than full casks of beer. > [@Great\_Antibob](#): > > As for transporting hops directly, they don’t tend to react well to long stretches of high humidity or temperature. OK, so that explains that and explains why the hubs carefully vacuum seals his hops…no vacuum sealers back then. Good info, thanks! My BFF does a highway clean up twice a year and will be doing another next week. She was very entertained to learn that the 30 pack of Bud light she paid over 30 bucks for 6 months ago was selling for 21 bucks this week. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/73 "2023-05-18T19:32:23Z")
> [@JaneDoe42](#): > > OK, so that explains that and explains why the hubs carefully vacuum seals his hops…no vacuum sealers back then. Yup. They tend to mold otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/74 "2023-05-18T19:52:51Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > So, they’re not the only ones drinking it, but it’s clear that butt-hurt conservatives and butt-hurt conservative supporters make up a pretty big segment of their market. Plus people who’d rather not give their butt-hurt conservative neighbor an excuse to hassle you from the next table… Certainly gives a vibe that AB got their market studies horribly wrong. Then again, 24%??? That’s wack. I suppose as with other “outrages” a lot of them will renormalize in due time once the blood cools. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/75 "2023-05-18T20:02:08Z")
> [@Jasmine](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > My SWAG is that the beer swillers on the right think that only hipsters and wusses drink craft beers or imports. I’m sure that Bud, Coors and all the others who make tasteless pisswater have, at least subtly, reinforced that notion. > > Sounds logical except for the “light” part. Shouldn’t it be the “wusses” who drink watery beer with a low alcohol content, and the conservative “a man’s man” mentality drinking 8% beer? Most mass-market beers are in the 4% to 5% ABV range. Above 5% you start getting into “ice” beers and above that you’re right back into the fancy expensive craft beers. I don’t know if there is much of a political bent to it, beyond a SDMB stereotype of conservatives as “dumb” and “classless” and “thinking anything expensive or of high quality as ‘faggy’ and ‘pretentious’”. But in college, we largely chose our beer by a) cost and b) ability to drink in mass quantity. So light beers were a common choice because they were cheap and you could chug a pitcher or shotgun a can of it without getting as bloated (Natty Light being a…well “favorite” doesn’t seem right). But we were just as likely to buy cases of Schlitz, Black Label, generic cans that say “Beer” on the side or whatever was on special. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/76 "2023-05-18T20:09:47Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The “grow” half of that is apparently that the climate in India doesn’t lend itself well to growing hops, and barley apparently doesn’t fare much better there, either. Plus, the East India Company had a tight clamp on pretty much all trade. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2023, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/77 "2023-05-18T22:31:15Z")
> [@tofor](#): > > A. I have seen almost exclusively reaction to the so-called meltdown (“Conservatives are ENRAGED by this beer…”) not any meltdown directly. When I see exclusively reaction to the reaction I find it usually means the original reaction probably consisted of a few people on Twitter making absurd statements. So I question that there was any meltdown to speak of. I mean, this was an article on Fox News 7 hours ago: > **[Sen. Ted Cruz calls for probe into Bud Light over Dylan Mulvaney ad campaign...](https://www.foxnews.com/media/sen-ted-cruz-calls-probe-bud-light-dylan-mulvaney-ad-campaign-marketing-children)** > > Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, details why he is calling on the Beer Institute to investigate Bud Light's transgender ad campaign for violating marketing rules. ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/78 "2023-05-19T02:01:23Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > > The word “diet” in foods and beverages has long had an association with being targeted towards women, and a lot of men seem to shy away from those products, for that reason. It’s part of why the soft-drink industry has, for more recent introductions, used the words “Zero” or “Zero Calorie” in their branding. > > Yeah, I seem to remember it being explained to me that that is why we briefly had those “ten” drinks, because “diet” was considered femme, or something. It’s got less to do with men or seeming feminine and more to do with trying to attract Gen Z/Millennials who aren’t into the idea of “dieting” the way their parents/grandparents were. The focus is on the lack of sugar (as opposed to the negative idea of going on a diet) which is spun as a positive health impact and is something that demographic generally looks for (even if soda isn’t particularly healthy to begin with). ---
**Author:** ![Blindmellowjelly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindmellowjelly/32/13920_2.png) [@Blindmellowjelly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blindmellowjelly)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/79 "2023-05-19T04:01:31Z")
If this helps any, I am about the most conservative, radical liberal, and my tastes have been pretty conjuctive. I used to like Union Red Ale, now I go for ubiquitous high proof lager, generally Ice process. My brand is Natty Daddy, as embarassing as it sounds. Union. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2023, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189/80 "2023-05-19T04:02:48Z")
> [@Blindmellowjelly](#): > > the most conservative, radical liberal I am honestly not sure what you mean by this description of yourself; it seems to be a contradiction in terms. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-does-did-the-conservative-identification-with-light-beer-come-from/984189.md?page=5)