Rice vs. Corn Syrup in Beer

I would have paid to be able to read the, um, urgently worded texts I'm sure were flying back and forth Sunday night.

 

Don't know who wrote that* but besides the fact that Bud Light isn't a "company" (nor are Miller Lite or Coors Light people: "...Miller Lite and Coors Light, who do in fact use corn syrup in their brewing processes." ), ingredients have been listed on beer labels for many decades and it has nothing to do with the current voluntary "Serving Facts" the TTB's Ruling 2013-2 now allows.

Like on this pre-Pro Budweiser label:


* Appears to be a copy/paste of a PEOPLE magazine article.

 

Okay... Look for it. I believe Ken is releasing a statement today.

It goes over that we do use dextrose that is made from 100% non-GMO ingredients.

 

In a perfectly attenuated beer, you would be correct, but I have a hard time believing that either is that cleanly fermented. At that point, I would still choose the rice over the the corn. miller lite tastes like rotten corn to me, and Bud Light just tastes like a light beer. I will never argue with lite's claim that they have more flavor. They 100% do, but it's just not something I'm really interested in ever tasting. At least rice is pretty much nondescript, and I do think it adds something of a smoothness to the beer that corn syrup does not. Just my opinion on all of the above.

 

That doesn't strike me as a backtrack in any way. It's genius. It seems to reinforce why they think corn in beer is bad, but coming off as "sorry, not sorry".

 

I also think the best thing Miller could do is to play along and respond in a similar way playing up the medieval kingdom theme and marketing, but pushing their own message in the "corn wars." It doesn't matter who is right, it matters that it would generate interest and the battle would keep macro lagers interesting and relevant for consumers in a time when people are losing interest in macro lagers....

 

Yeah that's doubling down, not backtracking. Why don't they talk about all the AB-Inbev products brewed with corn?

 

Bourbon County Stout being aged in barrels that formerly contained distilled corn juice!

 

Where are we supposed to be looking for Grossman's statement?
(Oh, don't tell me I've got to open another phony Face book account ).

Well, "bad" for Budweiser and Bud Light anyway:

 

I think MillerCoors is in a tough spot, because they really don't want to emphasize that they use corn, especially corn "syrup" (which sounds too much like the high-fructose corn syrup bogeyman), both because of the general aversion to malt adjuncts among beer drinkers and because corn in particular has been vilified by some health and environmental activists.

AB InBev has done a marvelous job of mainstreaming rice as a beer ingredient in the public consciousness. I bet if you asked a lot of ordinary beer consumers this week what are the ingredients in beer, they'd tell you rice, hops, and barley, and hopefully not corn syrup (and probably wouldn't even mention water and yeast). That is, many people won't even think of rice as an adjunct but rather as a fundamental ingredient in beer.

AB InBev does use corn syrup in some of its lower-end brands, for which its typical consumers likely are less health-conscious (or pseudo-health-conscious), less image-conscious (don't mind being seen drinking "the wrong beer"), and more price-sensitive. I.e., they don't care much what's in it as long as it's cheap and will get them buzzed, so sales of those brands won't suffer much from the public's newfound corn-syrup-aversion.

 

Because you found a "light" beer to be better than a NA beer. I'd be very surprised if the reverse was the case.

 

I see MillerCoors revised their ingredients information on Monday to specifically note that the corn syrup was "Not High-Fructose Corn Syrup."

https://www.millercoors.com/sites/millercoors/files/MC_Nutritional_Information-02052019.pdf

Some poor associate was probably updating that spreadsheet during the Super Bowl Sunday night.

 

Now all they need to do is to switch over to brewing all-malt to avoid the corn syrup controversy all together, and instead face a consumer uproar when their beer suddenly tastes too heavy and filling. #damnedifyoudodamnedifyoudont #carbspocalypse

 

I'm no fan of Bud or Bud light but good on them for not using corn syrup. The main problem with corn syrup isn't the product itself which is bad enough but the vast majority of corn syrup is made using methods than leave traces of toxic chemicals simply because it's cheaper to make it that way.

Corn Syrup should have no place in beer or food there are so many better alternatives. Date sugar palm sugar maple sugar coconut sugar agave the list goes on and on this is why we need a ingredient label for beer.

I will never knowingly buy a beer that uses corn syrup.

 

The corn syrup doesn't end up in your beer, it becomes food for the yeast. Corn syrup poop ends up in your beer. Have a problem with that?

 

To produce those alternatives in comparable levels to corn you would likely use just as much chemicals and/or far more land area would need to be farmed, which isn't good for environment either.

And the suggestion of maple sugar is particularly comical to anyone that knows the logistics and costs of making maple syrup.

There are certainly ways corn production could be done better to have less environmental impact, but don't throw the baby out with bathwater.

 

Bud Light, Coors Light, MIller Lite... its like Dodge, Ford, Chevy. People re loyal to their brands. And if they are loyal Coors drinkers and hear its made with corn syrup then they'll just assume beer tastes better with corn syrup.