The Beer Thread

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opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Khane_sl said:
Don't get me wrong. Busch Lite is a staple and my go to cheap beer. I'm just saying those aren't exactly objectively "good" beers, and even if a brewery you think sucks is making them, as long as they follow the recipe it should be fine and comparable in taste to your buds, millers and coors.
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Sure they are, there are quantifiable guidelines that go into making a light American lager. If a beer meets all those guidelines it accomplishes the goal of the style, I don't see how you can say,FOR THE STYLE, they are not good beers. They are literally the examples other brewers are supposed to draw inspiration from if they are trying to brew that style of beer. Here are the BJCP guidelines for light American lager. And as we keep trying to tell you, not any old brewery can just step in and make a Miller Lite or Coors Lite clone. It really is a difficult style to pull off.

Aroma:Little to no malt aroma, although it can be grainy, sweet
or corn-like if present. Hop aroma may range from none to a light,
spicy or floral hop presence. Low levels of yeast character (green
apples, DMS, or fruitiness) are optional but acceptable. No
diacetyl.

Appearance:Very pale straw to pale yellow color. White, frothy
head seldom persists. Very clear.

Flavor:Crisp and dry flavor with some low levels of grainy or
corn-like sweetness. Hop flavor ranges from none to low levels.
Hop bitterness at low level. Balance may vary from slightly malty
to slightly bitter, but is relatively close to even. High levels of
carbonation may provide a slight acidity or dry "sting." No
diacetyl. No fruitiness.

Mouthfeel:Very light body from use of a high percentage of
adjuncts such as rice or corn. Very highly carbonated with slight
carbonic bite on the tongue. May seem watery.
Overall Impression: Very refreshing and thirst quenching.

Comments:A lower gravity and lower calorie beer than standard
international lagers. Strong flavors are a fault. Designed to appeal
to the broadest range of the general public as possible.

Ingredients:Two- or six-row barley with high percentage (up to
40%) of rice or corn as adjuncts.
Vital Statistics: OG: 1.028 - 1.040
IBUs: 8 - 12 FG: 0.998 - 1.008
SRM: 2 - 3 ABV: 2.8 - 4.2%

Commercial Examples:Bitburger Light, Sam Adams Light,
Heineken Premium Light, Miller Lite, Bud Light, Coors Light,
Baltika #1 Light, Old Milwaukee Light, Amstel Light
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Now, if a beer fits all the criteria spelled out above, objectively it is a good beer, it does exactly what it is trying to do. Now subjectively you might not like or appreciate the style but at the very least I would hope you could appreciate the effort and the precision that goes into making one of those beers.

Also Busch Lite is just the Bud Lite that was rejected for not being good enough to call Bud Lite.
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Yeah, that is kind of the dumb part of this whole debate. One thing you can't deny, there is a market for that kind of product, even if you take away the demand driven by monopoly and marketing.

But even if you respect the skill it takes to make a beer taste like water, still plenty of reasons to hate those companies. I rate InBev right behind FIFA and ahead of North Korea on the evil scale.
 
Khane

Khane

Got something right about marriage
20,608
14,347
I'm not debating you, I think we're saying the same thing opiate. We're in violent agreement. I'm saying yes, it's true to the style, and the style isn't very good.
 
A

azeth

6,216
8
The price point drives a portion, perhaps a majority portion, of its consumers to repeatedly buy the product.

Very few people are buying Big 3 "beer" to enjoy a tasty brew.
 
McCheese

McCheese

SW: Sean, CW: Crone, GW: Wizardhawk
6,922
4,325
I was drinking Miller Lites last night at the bar, and it was in some weird throwback bottles. Where's my vortex at?! I couldn't get proper beer flow through the bottle's neck.
 
Soygen

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
<Nazi Janitors>
28,521
45,031
I like Miller Lite. Less than 100 calories, gets me drunk and it's cheap.
 
Fifey

Fifey

Trakanon Raider
2,898
962
Olympia wins the cheap beer contest in the PNW, like 5.99 for a six pack of pints and tastes way better than bud light.
 
Fiftyfour

Fiftyfour

Golden Knight of the Realm
76
1
McCheese_sl said:
I was drinking Miller Lites last night at the bar, and it was in some weird throwback bottles. Where's my vortex at?! I couldn't get proper beer flow through the bottle's neck.
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Miller Lite has done away with the vortex bottle. Apparently in their test markets the "throwback" label increased sales enough that they switched over completely, and made a point to tell their distributors to remove all old labels/vortex bottles from establishments ASAP. At least that was what my distributor told me when the "throwback" labels arrived.
 
Araxen

Araxen

Golden Baronet of the Realm
10,545
7,971
Yeah, it boosted their sales a lot.

Miller Lite's Original-Label Sales Boost - Businessweek

In 2014, Miller Lite has already sold 32 million more cans than it had by this time in 2013-not enough to bring the beer's overall sales out of the red, but the year isn't over. In some markets, sales of the white can are up as much as 18 percent. White-label bottles are hitting stores now, and MillerCoors is working with a small Wisconsin company to create vintage-inspired wooden beer-tap handles to replace its blue ones, which, Reis says, "are made overseas out of who knows what."
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Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,718
7,536
Russian River's sours are excellent. I started digging them more after trying the Russian River flight.
 
Khane

Khane

Got something right about marriage
20,608
14,347
Sours are my favorite style. Too bad most domestic breweries suck at them and they are prohibitively expensive.
 
Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
14,718
7,536
The price is definitely an issue. When I'm looking at a beer menu and I see a $12 350mL sour next to a $6 16oz saison the choice is pretty simple.
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Yeah, that is the hardest part about getting into sours. I can deal with the price (I think of them more along the lines of buying a bottle of wine instead of comparing them to other beers) but when combined with the possibility that they might suck makes it hard to pull the trigger on them.

My favorite local watering-hole put a sour on tap for the first time and I was excited that they were branching out more, until I had it and it tasted more like a brown ale that had a hint of infection in it. Barely any souring and the souring it did have wasn't pleasant.

One of the things I've noticed in my dabbling with the style (which admittedly is limited) is the good ones are from breweries that take the time to age them properly. Most places try to turn them out quickly because time in tanks/barrels is money and the more short-sighted breweries tend to churn them through as quickly as possible.
 
opiate82

opiate82

Bronze Squire
3,078
5
Continuing my adventures into sours withUinta's 21st Birthday Suit. Super citrus tart and sourness on this one. I like this a lot right now but would be curious to try it again with an additional 1-3 years of age on it (looks like my beer was bottled in early March of 2014). Would have liked to see a bit higher carbonation and head retention to release some of lemon aromas a bit more, but that is my only knock on this one.

rrr_img_88124.jpg
 
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