Miller makes lite craft beer

http://www.brewblog.com/brew/2007/12/miller-launchin.html

Saw this and was wondering what other people think. On the one hand, it could be a gateway for people into the the realm of craft beer. On the other hand, it could pull people who were going to try a real craft beer away from it. Still, it does show the the big breweries see the whole craft beer trend as something they need to be part of.

-Andrew

I see this as very neutral. I think it might get people to expand their pallets but I think it could hurt micros by stealing away some of the people who buy the lighter styles of real beer. It could swing both ways.

+-0

SA already went for the 'crafty' light beer niche. I kinda see it where Miller Lite Wheat will still be seen as Miller Lite, just with a little different/more flavor. Kinda more like the flavored Zimas....

A lot of people probably won't even realize they're supposed to actually be different beer styles...
"oh look, miller lite comes in different flavors now"

We can only hope that it might get more people to realize there's more out there than all the varieties of fizzy yellow stuff.

Miller Launching Crap-Style Light Beers

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Here i fixed the headline from that article

I think it is a desperate atempt by the big guys to try and win back and take over the market share that they are slowly loosing.


Cheers

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now like I did AB when they started making some ales. AB failed miserably (horrible tasting!). We'll see if Miller has a clue next.

DesertBrew said:

I'll give them the benefit of the doubt for now like I did AB when they started making some ales. AB failed miserably (horrible tasting!). We'll see if Miller has a clue next.

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Same here, but I'm not holding my breath that the end product will be anything noteworthy. Unless one of my buddies has some sitting around or brings some to me I'll never even bother trying them.

fwiw, there is a follow up article

http://www.brewblog.com/brew/2007/12/can-miller-lite.html

"We are a highly developed market and a relatively sophisticated craft market so when you look at the research we are the sweet spot. We expect the product to be phenomenal."

all sounds a bit "non-diary creamer" to me. "craft style" covers a multitude of sins!

“I think you’d be wise not to write this off. Miller is said to putting decent marketing dollars behind it -- digital, billboard, and yes, maybe even TV. And low-cal better beers have proven themselves to be a viable category at this point (HPL, Sam Light, Shiner Light, Skinny Dip, et al).”

Wow. They're throwing money at it and advertising the the hell out of it. That *must* mean that the beer will taste excellent and not be the flavored urine that I expect it to be.

</sarcasm>

No marketing out west yet.

“Miller Lite is the perfect beer to introduce this innovative product because only Miller Lite provides the ideal balance of real beer taste and refreshment."

I'm going to have to call bulls**t on that statement. Craft brewers who have been making good tasting beers for years are the ones that can successfully brew lighter craft beers. I will be very surprised if these come out tasting like blonde, amber or wheat ales.

I will definitely give one of them a try. But if it's anything like Miller Chill, I will be using the remaining five bottles for target practice in the desert.

http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2008/02/miller-lite-brewers-collection-tasting.html

Some tasting notes from Philly area beer writer Lew Bryson.

Anyone seen these anywhere yet?

Here are my thoughts.

andypantz13 said:

http://lewbryson.blogspot.com/2008/02/miller-lite-brewers-collection-tasting.html

Some tasting notes from Philly area beer writer Lew Bryson.

Anyone seen these anywhere yet?

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My favorite part:

I don't like conspiracy theories. I think most of the wacky **** beer geeks come up with about the evil marketers at the macrobrewers is just that: wacky ****. But I can't help thinking that this represents one of the recurring theories about why macrobrewers try craft-type beers: they do them in a half-assed way, designed to fail, so that they can point to them and say, "See? People don't really like this stuff. They're just buying it because it's small/local/trendy."


Gotta give it to Lew.:rockin:

brewt00l said:

My favorite part:

I don't like conspiracy theories. I think most of the wacky **** beer geeks come up with about the evil marketers at the macrobrewers is just that: wacky ****. But I can't help thinking that this represents one of the recurring theories about why macrobrewers try craft-type beers: they do them in a half-assed way, designed to fail, so that they can point to them and say, "See? People don't really like this stuff. They're just buying it because it's small/local/trendy."


Gotta give it to Lew.:rockin:

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Oh yeah, Lew is the man.

I just have some sort of weird vague hope about these that some Miller fan will end up trying them, liking them, and then be at like my house for a party... see I have no Miller beer, but that there IS something with the word amber in the name, try a real amber ale, and realize that its much better. Probably won't happen, but its a hope I have for people.

I used to be an Anti-anti Beer Snob. I could enjoy a Miller Genuine Draft and then a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and not think twice.

But the more craft brew and homebrew I drink the less I think the low malt low hop Bohemia style pilsner put out by Anheuser-Busch, Miller, Pabst, Shaeffer, et al, is real beer. I actually dumped a bottle of Miller Genuine Draft down the drain like it was infected homebrew (which I've dumped my share of)

That's not being a beer snob...that just stepping up from bolgna on wonder bread with mayo beers.

Ed said it best. I just don't understand the big 3 trying to get into the craft beer market. I know they own a huge proportion of craft breweries already, but the beer is still, for the most part, the original recipes and people running it. From working in a liquor store I get to see some of the garbage that gets rolled out now and then. Ex: Tequiza, the new A-B shocktop (blue moon ripoff).. Come on!

I will talk to the miller guy when I'm at work to see what the word is on these, "brews" in Minnesota.

Greg

Looks like no one is going to get a chance to try these anytime soon....

Article from BA link:
"MillerCoors LLC is dropping plans for the Miller Lite Brewers Collection, three spin-offs of Miller Lite that tried emulate craft beers, the company disclosed today.

MillerCoors is suspending its test marketing of the three beers after they did not perform as well as hoped, according to Brew Blog, which is operated by the company.

Miller Brewing Co. said in April that because of strong sales during test marketing, the new craft versions of Miller Lite -- a blond ale, an amber beer and a wheat beer -- would be rolled out in phases, with the three beers available nationally by the end of September. But the company, which has since joined Coors Brewing Co. to create MillerCoors, in June postponed those plans in order to improve the marketing for the beers after their sales softened.

The three beers were to target mainstream drinkers and seek to exploit trends that favor light beer, a greater variety of beer styles and a willingness to pay more for higher-quality beers."
http://www.jsonline.com/watch/?watch=1&date=7/31/2008&id=44122

I don't see how you can brew a million gallons at once and call it a craft brew. The big three definately get props for consistency but so much of that is decided by computers, machinery and automation. There is no "crafting" of anything going on in the brewery, only in the marketing department.