I really enjoy Beer Advocate. But most of the time reading about Craft This and Micro That has me looking up beers I've never heard of, many of which I'd never try even if I found them. This has made me appreciate many of the more macro brews I consume at home. The downside is that it has also made me dissatisfied when out drinking beers with friends that always drink BMC AALs. See that? I'm catching onto the jargon! And yes, I know BMC and AALs are redundant. My point here is that it's OK to appreciate beers of many styles coming from breweries of various sizes. I for one enjoy quite a few beers I consider macro-brews. No, I'm not a fan of AALs. But there are many domestic and imported beers I enjoy that come from huge breweries. Carlsberg, Elephant, Okocim O.K. Beer, and Newcastle are some of my favories that all happen to be brewed by the Carlsberg Group. I quite enjoy Stella Artois, Kona Big Wave, Modelo Especial and Negra, which are brewed by ABInbev. I occasionally enjoy Blue Moon and Grolsch from Molson Coors. Yes, I continue trying whatever new craft and micro brews I find when I'm out at breweries and/or taprooms. But I'm not ashamed to stick with those tried and true macro brews when I'm at home. As long as I have a few craft beers for something different without having to go out. Does anyone else out there appreciate macro beers from somewhere other than the nearest craft brewer?
Sorta but... Yes the BudMillerCoors beers are American Adjunct Lagers (AALs) but there are some tasty AAL beers out there that just so happen to not be brewed by AB InBev or Molson Coors breweries. One beer I would recommend you give a try is Yuengling Lord Chesterfield. And in a recent NBW thread @jonphisher discussed Von Trapp Light Lager which reads like a tasty beer. Another I would suggest is Reading Premium brewed by Sly Fox but I doubt that beer makes its way to Wisconsin. Cheers!
In the 70s I was able to find lesser known US products for home consumption. Pabst (Andeker), Ortlieb (McSorleys), Huber (Augsburger light, dark, bock), Falstaff (Ballantine Ale). Yuengling (Porter, Chesterfield Ale). Those options are either unavailable or less tasty (to me) these days. Contract brewing (or similar) has been common (and is now!) Boston Beer contract brewed all its products for years (at Iron City, Blitz Weinhard, etc., etc.) Brooklyn Beer started with contracting at Matt/Saranac. They now have their own brewery for some of their products, but have invested in Matt/Saranac, and are now partial owners. Draft Brooklyn Lager is still a treat for me. My taste buds and preference for moderate alcohol in 12 oz packages seem to lead me toward bigger craft brewers. Favorites Montauk Driftwood Pale Ale (Tilray) and Harpoon IPA are at least irregularly available here, and are marginally less expensive than local craft. Less available are Great Lakes lagers, which I enjoy. They probably get to WI these days. Carlsberg can brew good beer. Their lager for the US (and other brands) are now brewed in North America (Calrlsberg Canada, to relocate to Tilray US). The British version is different, and probably worse. In the 70s I liked the CarlingUS-brewed Tuborg (under license). It was an adjunct beer, at times claimed to be based on Tuborg green label, and priced to compete with Bud, etc. \ Modelo and Corona sold in the US are Constellation products, but are likely very similar to the AB Inbev beer in the Mexican market. I found Mexican Bohemia Pilsner/Clara (Heineken) to be an upgrade from Modelo. Bohemia is a standout AAL-style beer,. It's not distributed in the US as widely as Modelo/Corona.
Hamm's. I mean at less $10 for a 6 pack of 16 oz beers that's hard to beat. And its a nice tasting AAL. I wish I had found Hamm's back in my college days but we didn't have it much down South.
Traditionally the members of BA hate the macros Bud, Miller, Coors. It's not even worth posting about them. If it makes you feel better, I'm drinking one now.
Hate is much too strong a word. It suggests an emotional connection that most of us don't have with bmc swill. Disdain is probably more accurate. That being said... I tell bmc macro drinkers the same thing I tell white zinfandel drinkers. Drink what you like. If a cold bottle/can of bmc (or white zin) floats your boat, then go for it. Who's to say you get any less enjoyment out of your can of Bud then I get with my glass of BBA imperial pastry stout? (or your glass of Beringer white zinfandel and my glass of Silver Oak cab). You're certainly paying a lot less, so maybe you're the smart one and I'm the idiot. That being said, if you ask for my honest opinion, then I'm going to tell you the truth. Bud to me tastes like bland, insipid, watered down, listless swill. I'll drink room temperature tap water over a glass of Bud and rejoice in my choice of the superior beverage. Life's too short to drink white zin... or bmc macro swill. Cheers!
I agree life is too short not to drink good beer whenever you can. On recent airplane trips my only options were Stella and Mich Ultra - both of which I sent back and settled for mediocre wine
@liteon163 didn't really mention a straight-up AAL like Bud, Miller, Coors. Several of his picks are AAL-adjacent. He gives a nod to Modelo clara, which tastes to me like a throwback AAL ('70s era when bitterness levels were 20, about twice what they are now). I don't know what Liteon163 would think about drinking a very large Bud you illustrated (NY Yankees cross promoted, no less!) For me it would be much less desirable than many of the beers he mentioned.
I had a feeling that you'd chime in on this thread. And I also have a feeling that have this paragraph on auto-type.
Correct, I prefer AAL-adjacent beer, as you put it. I’d say it more like Euro Pale Lager, though. If I’m not drinking some import I found on a list somewhere here on BA, that is. I enjoy trying new stuff, but I also like my old favorites for their comfort factor. If I feel I wasted money on something new, I’ll stick with the tried and true for a week or two before venturing out again. So it’s all about balance. If forced to pick a BMC beer, I’ll go with Point Special. If I must choose B, M, or C… B it is because I’ve had too much M and C in my lifetime. In reality though, there’s a reason why I’m “that Carlsberg guy.”
You should contact Carlsberg and offer your services to be their US spokesperson. Can you ride a bike?
I think it's pretty obvious from the pics that I post that I enjoy different styles of beer. I drink what I like whenever I want. If I cared about what people think about the beer I'm drinking, whatever it may be, then I probably wouldn't drink at all. What sorta makes me laugh is knowing that some folks get their panties all bunched up about beer.
We just started getting Yuengling here. I've seen Traditional, Light, and Flight, but no Lord Chesterfield so far. I'll grab a single if I see one. For science.
Yeah, it’s brewed in Milwaukee now. They’re offering Flight, Light Lager, Traditional Lager, Golden Pilsner, and Black & Tan.
I used to be the same way, but that was because I’m from Milwaukee. AB and the St. Louis Cardinals were the “enemy.” Now that ABInbev makes some beers that I didn’t initially know were theirs, like Stella Artois and Kona Big Wave, I don’t mind so much anymore. My biggest issue with American macrobrews is their use of corn. I prefer no adjuncts, partly for no fructose and partly for taste. I don’t mind the occasional Yuengling or Rolling Rock, but that’s about it. I’d try a fresh Budweiser just to see what it’s like, since most of my experience with rice beer is off the Japanese style.
