An Observation on AAL

Just craft market tapping into another venue for beer drinkers. Nothing wrong with it IMO but the big boys have been doing it for longer and will be tough to beat at their own game. I will never buy another 6 pack of gold lager cause hamms is half the price and just as good or better.

 

Honestly I just think people on this site really like beer in general, regardless of style there are going to be fans of certain products. I've seen love for Bud Light Lime on this site for Christ sake. Founders Solid Gold is a perfectly average beer I'd expect to see at a bowling alley, still don't know why it gets so much hate. Would I buy it solely for personal consumption? No, but I can see the appeal. Cynicism is rampant in this community smh.

 

Not a good value for what you are getting. It taste like Pabst or Hamms and costs twice as much. Call a spade a spade. Founders is a top 2 brewery for me but this was a big miss. They could have made another smash beer like mosaic promise and I guarantee it would be better than this and prolly sell more as well.

 

There definitely does appear to be something "in the air" regarding these AAL-ish offerings over the past year or so. There's been the buzz about Hamm's as well as a few high profile craft attempts as you mention.

Interesting question whether consumers are reacting to what's on offer vs. whether breweries are keying in on something the public is already getting interested in. My guess is that this is just another pendulum sort of thing like super bitter/not-so-bitter and high abv/session. "!!!!Flavor!!!!" has been the name of the game in craft forever so it's probably past time for not-so-much-flavor to throw its hat into the ring.

 

I haven't been able to connect the dots but I think there is more than one factor at play here. I have a feeling the proliferation of craft in chains stores has something to do with it.

 

The market for lager beer is huge in this country (and around the world). One thing people here seem to refuse to accept is that Bud, Miller Lite, et al., taste like they do because that is what people preferred to buy. The drive to lighter-tasting lager beers has been going on for decades, is world-wide, and is consumer-driven.

One aspect of business management is to attack the competition in his prime market. The macro brewers have been doing this for years with acquisitions and in-house craft-like brands. I see nothing wrong with craft brewers returning the favor. In fact, Yuengling and Schell's have been marketing AALs against the big boys for decades upon decades.

 

In my opinion, @IPAExpert69 hit the nail on the head with:

"Honestly I just think people on this site really like beer in general, regardless of style there are going to be fans of certain products."

The AAL style is not something I drink a lot of but there are some AAL beers that I enjoy drinking. A few days ago we had summer like weather (highs near 90 degrees F) and thoughts of drinking an AAL popped into my mind. Perhaps it is time to buy a 6-pack of Hamm's or Yuengling Lord Chesterfield or...

Cheers!

 

Nothing wrong with an all malt American Lager IMO.

 

I'm not quoting to disagree with your words, rather to use them as an intro into my thoughts. I'm too old and stubborn to be led by advertising and will drink whatever beer suits my mood with or without anyone's permission.

I view AALs as the white bread of the beer world and in that regard find the name brand $2.39 loaf to be essentially the same as the .99 cent store brand. For me not every sandwich need be a gourmet treat or every beer a post worthy event so I'll take the lower cost options.

In our college town Hamm's is the default because it's inoffensive, cheap, and tastes better than other brands in that slot. Sometimes I just want a sandwich and a beer.

 

Isn't value a uniquely personal variable? It's tough to just blanketly say one beer is a better value when taste and values differ so rapidly from one person to the next. I, for one, agree with your sentiment but others may not. I also believe Founders is going to sell a ton of this beer as well, beautiful can design and aggressive price point for a brewer with their reputation.

 

Lord Chesterfield is the 24 pack I bring to parties with old high school buddies when I go back to Delco

 

I think there are a lot of factors, but I throw some thoughts out there...

First, I agree wholeheartedly with @MNAle's comment above. The market for AALs is huge, there is an overall consumer preference for those flavors (despite some of the rhetoric around here), and there's no reason a "craft" brewer can't try to get a bite out of that massive pie. I also think members on this website underestimate how many beer consumers cross-over and buy both craft and macro AALs.

There's also been a craft beer trend towards lager styles for several years. I think I remember reading that 2011 was the first year the industry noticed a statistically relevant rise in sale of craft pilsners (arriving on the heels of the session IPA wave). Initially, the trend was towards non-traditional pilsners and IPLs, but that trend expanded/turned to traditionally styled pilsners too. A couple years ago there was an uptick in craft Classic American Pilsners (or Pre-Prohibition lagers) and Mexican lagers, which share many characteristics the AALs. So, with some benefit of highsight, it's not a surprise to me that craft brewers/consumers moved on to the AAL.

EDIT: I also think the overall consumer trend in all products (not just beer) towards local, independent, artisan, etc. can impact the AAL market too. I think there are AAL drinkers with little to no interest in "craft" beer, but still wouldn't mind buying a similar product they perceive as being made more locally, artisan, etc.

Founders price is competitive with premium macro beer brands, like Corona, Stella, Modelo, Heineken, Michelob, Harp, etc. Just because a beer is an AAL, doesn't automatically put it in the budget-brand category with Hamms, Pabst, Natural, Busch, etc. Call a spade a spade.

 

I like your analogy between having a white bread sandwich and having an AAL. Sometimes it just fits the bill.

(BTW you don't have to be old and stubborn to resist advertising. Advertising can create awareness and willingness to try something the first time. After that it's up to us whether we do a repeat. )

 

Exactly.

Plus just because I can't tell the difference between two things I think I don't particularly care for doesn't mean they are identical. All AALs are not created equal.

 

Included in or along with this there's also the foot in the door strategy. If someone like Founders puts out an AAL it gets easier for folks who only think they like AALs to have the thought, "Hmmm, this isn't bad, I wonder if this brewery puts out any other beers I might enjoy."

 

Rather than resist it would be more accurate to say I ignore it.

 

Here's my "issue" with craft AALs. I started drinking craft beer because I wasn't crazy about AALs. I have a feeling that a lot of craft drinkers are in the same boat. Why would I start drinking them again just because craft breweries started making them (and charging more for them)?

 

Oddly, there are no craft beer police making you drink all types of beer brewed by craft brewers!