Tell us why you hate AAL beers

The lack of taste. They do the job if you are looking to just get a buzz, but I like to be able to also enjoy my beer.

But when I get AAL, I tend to be loyal to local (Miller, Pabst which is brewed by MillerCoors and soon City Brewing in LaCrosse, Coors which owns Miller, etc)

 

This.
There is never a time when I "need" a beer, whether it's a restaurant, bar, party, après mow, or whatever. I drink beer because I enjoy it. If I'm blowing calories on beer, it'll be on something I like. A nice hoppy pale ale or IPA usually fills the bill as a food beer or a refresher on a hot day, and an "adjuncted" imperial stout makes a fine sipper. If I go to a place that doesn't offer one of the 119 styles I like (believe me, it happens), I'll drink Diet Mountain Dew or water. That said, if it's a Mexican restaurant, I prefer Dos Equis. "Stay thirsty, my friends!"

What? No Hop'n Gator?

 

I hate the ABVs of most macro AALs. If I'm drinking an AAL, chances are I'll want to drink 3 or 4, maybe more, but at 4.5% ABV or more, it feels a bit limiting. At 3% to say 3.5% like the great session beers of the U.K., I'd be able to drink a little more.

To be clear: I'm not saying a 4% beer is too strong. What I mean is I prefer a beer made for drinking to be as low in ABV as possible.

Lone Star Light is my go-to BBQ/summer/beach/pool party beer of choice b/c its ABV is much lower than average. The beer itself is not great, but it's 10X better than Michelob Ultra IMO.

Otherwise, I'm cool with AALs, macro or micro brewed.

 

I love them. There are situations where I want something lower calorie and understated and I’ll go for a Budweiser, MGD, or Narragansett. Like picking an outfit or a meal, it depends on the mood I’m in. I think people get a sense of superiority saying they all taste the same but in a blind taste test of similar beers, be it IPAs, lagers, milk stouts, whatever, drinkers wouldn’t be able to distinguish brands as accurately as they think they do.

 

You've touched on a major problem with where the style has drifted in the past few decades- lack of zip, which results in that flabby, sweet malt character. Mostly it's because IBUs have dropped (even in relation to the style), although careful attention to the water pH could make up for that but too often doesn't, imo.

I've found that PBR still gets it right. 'Gansett to a lesser extent, but seems to be feeling more diluted the last time I had some.

 

Interesting collection leaning toward the east coast. I tasted a majority of those beers in the 70s (we would try anything), and most were very forgettable. Although this an AAL hate thread, I have fond memories of a few in the photo: Schmidts of PA (low priced standout), Schaefer, National Boh, Pabst Blue Ribbon, and Andeker (a really fine beer then). Since none of them is likely to taste the same as they did 50 years ago, don't take the comment as a recommendation.

 

I don't think it's just you. Ultra tastes mostly like seltzer water to me, and I hate it so much that I haven't had one in years, so in my mind seltzer water is all I remember. It wouldn't surprise me if there's something weird and artificial in there too.

Ultra is the prime example of something that sucks so bad I'd rather drink water. Most AALs I have no trouble with, even the light versions, but not that swill.

 

1 imperial stout vs 3 AALs… not to sound rude, but it sure sounds like the issue is volume (liquid and gas) over time and not malt.

 

I can't really say that I hate AAL's, I just don't prefer them. Once I delved into craft, I realized that beer can have a wide variety of flavors. I prefer strong dark beers, often BBA or RBA, with or without add-junks. I also like sweetish fruited sours, and some NEIPAs. With those preferences in mind, when I go back and have an AAL, they seem flavorless like water, in comparison. I've had a few craft AALs that were much better than BMC.

 

Those two beers were damn good. I am unsure if they were aal or not. They were made by Brew Detroit.

 

Additional comment. Among current beers, I positively liked Bohemia Pilsner (Clara) on vacation in Mexico a couple of years ago. Bravo to Heineken (MX) for putting out a good beer. The fact that it's expensive in the US, along with limited distribution, means that I haven't had it since.

 

Agree on the beer. The price per 6 x 12 oz in my world is $10 - $11.99.

 

Not even close to what it used to taste like back in the 70's & early 80's.
Stroh's used to be my go-to beer way back before I knew better and options were slim.
I recently bought a 30pk and was disgusted. Not nearly as smooth as it once was and it lost the bready notes.
Michelob is still a fantastic lager, albeit non adjunct.

 

I don't hate them, I just roll my eyes when someone tries to argue that they're good beers. I'll drink Yuengling all day long, but I don't have any illusions about what I'm drinking.