Goodbye, Michelob Original Lager.

My first time having Michelob Light tonight, it's pretty good! I'm assuming this one is also on the chopping block.

 

Ah. Michelob Light - as I wrote about 5 years ago (and it wasn't the first time):

The way I remember it (based, in part, on an nationally distributed article in Time or Newsweek or some similar publication*), Michelob Light was sort of rushed to the market in 1978 to help AB compete with the amazing growth of Miller Lite - what was labeled at the time Anheuser-Busch Natural Light was already out and being sold at "premium" prices or above but, supposedly, wasn't getting great feedback as far as taste went.

Since AB was already high-gravity brewing* Michelob (those were AB boom years - growing their barrelage by 4m and gaining a point or two in market share every year- and they needed to expand capacity), they decided to add a bit more water to create Michelob Light. As a result, it did not fit the conventional stats of the other light beers of the era which were usually under or around 100 calories / 30% fewer that the same brewer's regular beer.

Instead, the first Michelob Light was 134 calories, 20% less that regular Michelob. (By comparison, that's only about a dozen fewer calories than today's Miller High Life or Coors Banquet). So, in the beginning anyway, Michelob Light was probably "better" simply because its wasn't as "light" as the other lights coming out at the time.

(Currently AB lists Michelob Light at 122 calories, so they've tweaked it over the decades but it's still pretty high for a "Light beer". It also didn't go all-malt when the Original did back a decade or so ago - in fact, AB currently lists the adjunct as "corn". Go figure.).

* The primary reason I remember the article (possibly even getting some of the facts correct ), is it was the first time I'd ever heard of "high gravity brewing".

It does seem, given the success of Michelob Ultra (AB's biggest, growing brand) that Mich Light is sorta redundant. OTOH, MU is only 95 calories, so it is "Light Beer" for the calorie counters. But, without knowing sales figures, who knows what is in store. (AB's proven that they don't really know either.)

 

122 is high for a light beer, but that's only a dozen more than Bud Light which is the most popular light beer.

Apparently Bud Ice is around the same calorie count, but for 5.5% ABV. Maybe there's room for growth with Bud Ice among calorie conscious boozehounds?

 

Bud Ice is a holdover from the Ice Beer wars (Philip Van Munching’s “Beer Blast” probably mentions this beer market era in more detail), and is mostly marketed to the sub-segment (formerly Economy brands) which also used to more prominently showcase malt liquor.

Right now, if you’re a mass market lager drinker and want true bang for your buck without looking like a “poor man”, Bud Light Platinum has it: 6% ABV and 137 calories.

 

My dad exclusively drank michelob light I remember my sister buying mich ultra by mistake he damn near disowned her

 

For me it's going to be the carbs in addition to the calories and BL Platinum has 4.4g while Bud is 11g, MHL is 12g and Coors is 12g (figures from a quick search). If you are just having one maybe not a big deal but two+ that will quickly add up and can be an issue for a low carb diet.

 

Picked up some today and the date is 23138. Thats May 18th 2023. Probably the best by date and not the bottling date. Oh well.

 

So it is really strange. The major Chicago/Illinois liquor store store that I mentioned earlier in the thread is showing "not available" for all of the locations but one. And that one location somehow is showing 24 - 12 packs in stock. If it wasn't about a three hour drive for me, I would go and load up on a half dozen or so 12 packs.

 

To be clear, the carb contribution to the calories is included in the stated calorie count. So only a factor for a low carb diet. I was wondering what the advantages are for low carb diet. Maybe some benefits for some discussed in https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9621749/.
The carbs in beer are more complex carbs that aren't easily digested by yeast. Likewise, they are more slowly metabolized by beer drinkers than simple sugars (sucrose, maltose, . . ). As such the carbs in beer will result in reduced spikes in blood sugar, compared to table sugar. Actually, alcohol tends to decrease blood sugar in diabetic drinkers (and may affect medications). So it can be recommended to increase carbs with alcohol.
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/selfcare-instructions/diabetes-and-alcohol

 

Any updates? I see it in stock on some websites which seems like it would be unlikely if it were completely eliminated from production 2 years ago

 

Agree...carbs more important than calories actually for me...