Low ABV craft beer styles vs. AAL/Mexican Lager

That doesn't happen even in my dreams.

 

From my perspective there us a time and place for any beer style. I do not purchase AAL beers often but I do buy them occasionally and I enjoy drinking them on those occasions.

While I am on the topic the beer style of AAL does not 100% correlate with non-craft. I recently drank an AAL beer brewed by Sierra Nevada (Sierraveza) and I enjoyed drinking that beer.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-691.573622/#post-6027384

Cheers!

 

The awareness that there is a cost of ingredients prevents me.

 

It would depend on the mood I am in at the moment.

I was at a party yesterday and I brought my homebrewed beers. I drank homebrewed Dubbel, Classic American Pilsner, Centennial IPA and later in the evening I drank a can of Miller Lite.

Things are not either/or for me.

Cheers!

Edit: I did not bring the Miller Lite - this beer was provided by the party host.

 

My wife would become a craft beer drinker.

 

This is a very interesting question. It seems that more and more craft brewers are brewing AALs or something similar (i.e. Founder's Solid Gold, Full Sail Summa' Time Lime Lager, Anchor's Los Gigantes, etc.). Why? Because people are buying it. But isn't that selling out? I'm not sure that any of the breweries listed ever spoke out against AALs, at least on the record, but the general mindset that I've encountered over the years is that craft beer was not about making AALs and similar beers. I find it disturbing to be honest, that Full Sail is now making a Corona Extra knock-off with the lime already mixed in - that seems like an A-B move. What's next? And why are people buying it?

Finally, I haven't done the homework, but I'm pretty sure that these "craft" AALs and so forth will score much better on beer rating sites than their predecessors. That's just sad.

 

Hey, I like lighter lagers and there's a bunch thats worth buying. There's no problem liking Budweiser and its competition , and sometimes they are perfect and the lower Abv can be a plus. Perfect for the beach and pool, they have to be ice cold to be good, but under these kind of circumstances it's a nice match. There's a reason why smaller craft breweries are brewing these beers, go into any bar and see what's on the bar, even in craft bars there's still a ton of Corona and Miller Lite in sight. I'm sure they're well aware of the beer sales charts and the sheer volume that represents both in beer and money.

 

I still had my homebrewed Classic American Pilsner in my cooler "at the end of the night" and yet I drank that Miller Lite.

Does that answer your question?

Cheers!

 

I'd continue to drink the craft beers. Even when a craft brewer brews an equivalent of an AAL/MAL it tends to have much more flavor. That's the name of the same for me.

 

This is a great question from OP. I am absolutely not opposed to AALs, but the price point and/or just a simple craving for them is usually why I buy them. Often times they’re a little too sweet for me, but a 30-pack of Hamm’s for $11? I’m sold. Especially to just have around the house.

That said, if I could get a 30-pack of a well-made Pilsner or Kölsch with good ingredients for $11? Ain’t no fuckin question about it, I would choose that.

It’s like asking: for $500 would you rather buy a 1995 Honda Civic (it’s reliable, easy to fix, gets the job done) or an Audi for the same price? Many people are gonna choose an Audi, but I wouldn’t blame anybody if they chose the former.

 

I think we would purchase and drink what we like regardless of the price. I mean, we already do.

 

Flawed survey. Since you talk about craft vs. AAL I presume the AAL is BMC/macro. If so, then the missing survey options are "I don't drink AAL", and to be thorough "I don't drink craft". You'd probably find that a majority on this site don't drink AAL/BMC/Macro.

 

Why? Lots of non-macro* US breweries still market American adjunct lagers - starting with Pabst and their large (but shrinking) portfolio of once large-selling regional brands but also from the most of the surviving pre-craft breweries like Yuengling, Minhas (Huber and others), City (various contract brews), Schell (and Grain Belt), Straub, Cold Spring, Genesee, Matt (Utica Club), Stevens Point, The Lion, Spoetzl, Iron City and near countless and constantly revived brands like Narragansett, Duquesne, Piels, Champagne Velvet, Lemp, Fitgers, Walters, Gerst.... Add to that the current trend of craft/ex-craft breweries like Founders, Sierra Nevada and others adding adjunct lagers to their portfolios.

*At this point, the only "macro" brewers - using the Brewers Association definition of "Large brewer" being 6m bbl/yr and up - left in the US are AB and MC, along with the US-based w/Mexican-breweries Constellation. I guess with Heineken (over 8m bbls) owning Lagunitas, they qualify as an "American macro brewer", even thought only a small percentage of their beers are brewed here.

 

JD Power survey of cars placed Audi next to the bottom,just above BMW. Honda came near the top. Reputations do not always match reality.
Same with beer,call a beer "craft" and people rate it higher than a macro brewed one which might be equally enjoyable and with similar taste.

 

I'm an equal opportunity beer drinker. I like having "industrial" beer (Hamms ,Miller High Life) as easy drinking "pace" brews.I always have Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Torpedo to drink a couple. I'll also buy anything new that I see that strikes my fancy. I like the price of Hamms and Miller, and I can always get 12 packs of Sierra Nevada for $12.99. My son is still in the business and brings by many new and often esoteric beers. The Hamms and Miller are very good for what they are and are great values. If Founders or Sierra Nevada offered similar beers at equal prices, I would still buy both "industrial" and craft.