{"id":1515,"date":"2013-01-10T20:11:36","date_gmt":"2013-01-10T20:11:36","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-01-10T20:11:36","modified_gmt":"2013-01-10T20:11:36","slug":"changing-beer-tastes-and-non-tastes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/franklycurious.com\/wp\/2013\/01\/10\/changing-beer-tastes-and-non-tastes\/","title":{"rendered":"Changing Beer Tastes (And Non-Tastes)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michelob\"MSN Money<\/i> sends us to an article telling us about 5 Beers Americans Aren’t Drinking<\/a>. That’s the kind of title that is hard to resist—at least if you are a beer drinker, or even more, a beer snob. Which I am.<\/p>\n

According to the article, sales of “traditional, full-calorie beers” are declining. A lot. In 5 years, Budweiser has sold 7 million barrels less per year in the United States. How much is that? Anheuser-Busch (the brewer of Budweiser) produced 125 million barrels in 2007<\/a>—that is all brands for all the world.<\/p>\n

Why would these beers be dropping in sales? The article doesn’t actually say. But I think I know. People who want to drink a real beer have decided to, you know, drink a real beer. Budweiser is about as expensive as good beer. So there really is no reason to drink a watery, high calorie beer when you could drink a beer you can sink your teeth into. Maybe Pete’s Wicked Ale<\/i> or Arrogant Bastard<\/i>. Or if you are on the other side of the divide, you could drink Bud Light or whatever.<\/p>\n

You can see this in the top five beers Americans no longer drink:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Michelob<\/li>\n
  2. Michelob Light<\/li>\n
  3. Budweiser Select<\/li>\n
  4. Milwaukee’s Best<\/li>\n
  5. Old Milwaukee<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    I know, two of those are light beers, which kind of goes again the narative of the article. I assume it is because there are just too many light beer brands on the market. Of the remaining beers, one isn’t bad: Michelob. I actually used to buy Michelob Dark. But I haven’t drunk even it since I was in graduate school.<\/p>\n

    Anyway, I think this shows that the beer market has divided itself between people who want to drink beer and people who are just too embarrassed to order a wine cooler. But I’m feeling generous tonight. Mr. President, if you’re reading this, it’s okay to ask for what you really want. That Bud Light<\/a> isn’t fooling anyone.<\/p>\n

    Afterword<\/b><\/p>\n

    I’m not to fond of cops, but at that beer summit, the only one who had a decent beer was Crowley, who had a Blue Moon.<\/p>\n

    Also: Lowenbrau is a decent beer and they had a great ad campaign long before I knew that:<\/p>\n