Let me begin by saying something nice about macro lagers. You should sit. Coors, Budweiser, and Miller Genuine Draft are incredibly consistent. The taste, color, and smell never change from can to can. Every time you open a nearly freezing can of one of the Big Three macro brews you get exactly the same experience. Congratulations to the brewmasters. Consistency is difficult, and they have mastered it.
Thankfully, America is a land of extremes. Thousands of American craft brewers make the best beers in the world, in a dizzying array of varieties. However, the standard lagers of the international brewing giants SABMiller, AB InBev, and Molson Coors dominate the market in the US and around the world. How do we account for this situation? Marketing plays some role without doubt. Who would drink Coors Light were it not the “Coldest tasting beer in the world?” Who would drink Budweiser if it did not come from the urethra of a Clydesdale? Who would drink Miller Light if it were more filling, not less? Probably no one.
America’s obsession with macro lagers is not due solely to marketing marketing, complacency plays some role as well. Most beer drinkers have grown accustomed to the American Pilsener style. It tastes familiar, gets them drunk, and doesn’t cost too much. Most Americans are also too lazy and too unadventurous to try something new.
Unless you are a frat boy looking to get drunk as cheaply as possible, put down the Miller. The true path to the High Life does not involve aluminum-clad fizzy water. Start experimenting with some craft brews. Go to a local brew pub, Bev Mo, Total Wine, or even the supermarket and pick out a beer that you haven’t tried before. Be adventurous. Craft brewers are artists and craftsmen. They make incredible beers from the classic to the radical. You will find a beer, possibly dozens, that you like. On the other hand, macro breweries have worked for decades to design their products to offend as few people as possible. Would you rather drink a beer that you are used to or a beer that you love?
I am not telling you to drink craft brews because of any devotion to Gaea-centered, organic hippiness. I am not telling you to drink craft beers because I want you to support small, fair-trade, sustainable eco-breweries. I am telling you to drink craft beer because it tastes better.
-Ryan
