What's with these Michelob Craft Brew commercials?

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CallMeZoot

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I'm not sure if I've ever even tried any Michelob -- I've always lumped it in with the BMC crowd (are they owned by B, M, or C?) and never really given them a chance.

They've been putting out these commercials for a line of "craft" beers which are supposedly based on century-old family recipes. The commercials kind of remind me of the Sam Adams commercials where Jim Koch tells us about his roots.

Is it possible that Michelob put something decent out, or is it just marketing schtick? It seems to me that if you're going to go through the trouble of calling something a porter or hefeweizen or marzen, you're probably going to put some effort into getting it right... I'm not aware of any "Coors Porter," after all.

Anybody know anything about these?

chris.
 
Evidently even budpisser is attempting to enter the craft market...

See, there's been an interesting thing happenning it the last few years, beer consumption has increased while consumption of BMC's has actually declined, as more craft brews are available, and people are trying them and liking them over the swill that has been shoved down consumer's throats by the big dogs...

SO the big guys are attempting their own versions of craft beers....and from what I hear, they suck....
 
CallMeZoot said:
I've always lumped it in with the BMC crowd (are they owned by B, M, or C?) and never really given them a chance.

Bud owns Michelob...
 
I actually enjoy the Mich Hefewizen and the Pale Ale, my wife LOVES the marzen
 
I personally haven't bothered to even try any of these yet. I guess I'm too much of a EAC to even give them a chance.

The way I see it, there is almost a 0% chance that a Pale Ale made by Michelob is going to be close to my own PA or a PA that I buy on a semi-regular basis like GLBC Burning River.
 
They're scared. I know the director of Bud Markeing for AB and was razzing him at a family function last fall about micro breweries cleaning Budweisers clock.

Told him that "beer is the new wine" and people want to be (or at least act) educated about beer. Told him as long as Budweiser continued to dumb down their commercials to people using dorky guys, slap stick and big boobs, the Sam Adams of the world were going to continue to eat into their market share.

I'm not saying I was responsible, but if you notice Bud adds today are much different. Bud is now the "Great American Lager", not "The King of Beers".

Their commercials are about the brewing process and how Bud is a more difficult beer to make..blah...blah...blah...

AB in general realizes they had better cater to a more educated beer drinking public, or their taps are going to be slowly replaced from east to west.
 
BierMuncher said:
They're scared. I know the director of Bud Markeing for AB and was razzing him at a family function last fall about micro breweries cleaning Budweisers clock.

Told him that "beer is the new wine" and people want to be (or at least act) educated about beer. Told him as long as Budweiser continued to dumb down their commercials to people using dorky guys, slap stick and big boobs, the Sam Adams of the world were going to continue to eat into their market share.

I'm not saying I was responsible, but if you notice Bud adds today are much different. Bud is now the "Great American Lager", not "The King of Beers".

Their commercials are about the brewing process and how Bud is a more difficult beer to make..blah...blah...blah...

AB in general realizes they had better cater to a more educated beer drinking public, or their taps are going to be slowly replaced from east to west.

BM, you should send him an invoice for your consulting time!
 
You'd think that if making a watered down American Pilsner was so difficult to make that a simple, good tasting craft ale would be easy, right? ;)
 
Revvy said:
Evidently even budpisser is attempting to enter the craft market...
These beers have been around for 10+ years
ohiobrewtus said:
The way I see it, there is almost a 0% chance that a Pale Ale made by Michelob is going to be close to my own PA or a PA that I buy on a semi-regular basis like GLBC Burning River.
No, and they don't want it to be. For all their faults, the people at A-B aren't stupid...they know they're never going to get the hardcore craft beer EAC like the folks posting here. That ship sailed. They want to ease their existing customers into something a little different, give them options, maybe keep from losing them.

The Pale Ale is a good example. It's not an APA; it's a bastardized English Pale Ale, and made with noble hops at that. I know, weird. So it's different from the usual BMC offering, but still familiar for the usual BMCer.

I used to drink a fair amount of the Pale Ale...had a friend who distributed A-B, so that was all he had in the house, and the Pale Ale was far and away the best of the bunch. Was it great? No. Was it awful? No. I've had worse from some micros. Easy-drinking, clean, a little hint of malt, a little hint of hop nose. Pale Ale with training wheels.

If it turns a couple people on to craft brews (and I know at least one who took that route), so much the better. And not a little ironic...
 
:off:

***Conspiracy Theory Alert***

No brewery in the world has more assets at their disposal than AB. If they were inclined I am sure they could brew most any beer really good. Fact is BMC is a relatively inexpensive beer to make. I would assume a Porter or most any other style is more expensive.

Now on to the conspiracy...

What if they are Brewing the "Craft" beers good enough to fly below the radar but not good enough to dissuade the average Bud drinker. More over what if they are going for a reaction that makes Bud drinkers think "I have tried Marzen (or whatever) and prefer Bud".

I don't know, I'm just sayin' :)



(Man I can make some run on sentences )
 
Ive had a lot of the Michelob beers. 2 things are for sure - 1 at least they use some decent grains and hops and 2 - they are a lot cheaper than microbrews or imports.
I've also had the JW Dundees Sampler, about the same.

Still, they are filtered and kind of "watered down" tasting for most anybody who has gotten into MBs or HB.

But I'll admit it, it was Michelob Amberbock and their seasonal sampler that got me into "better beer" in the first place.


Edit: sorry, just noticed this was about the -commercials-
 
Haven't seen any of the commercials, but I remember '96-97 when the vulture capitalists and the mega-brews were swarming craft brewing. Buying up breweries, trashing the recipes, "consolidating" and going for the bottomline. I remember the commercials, little old craftsmen in lederhosen talking about their wonderful beers and how each and every bottle was hand-filled by buxom bimbos.

I think the drive right now is simply the realization that by making a beers with a little bit of flavor/color, they can charge their regulars a lot more without scaring them too badly.
 
You know lot of the filtered down BMC crap we see is a result of state legislation.

In Iowa they limit the ABV content on beers to less than 4%. This really limits the amount of good quality beers that can be sold under normal prices & liquor licenses.

How can you make a descent Bock, Belgian Strong Ale, IPA, or a Porter w/ less than 4% ABV?

I think the law is old and antiqued, a Volstead Era law. People are trying to change that here, but I bet the BMC lobbyests would fight it tooth and nail.

This would open up the competition to craftbrewers state-wide if it was repealed.
 
BierMuncher said:
Told him as long as Budweiser continued to dumb down their commercials to people using dorky guys, slap stick and big boobs,

Yeah, drop the dorky guys and slap stick in their commericals. I agree 100%.
 
Check out their "craft" brews on beeradvocate. They have been getting abysmal reviews. Actually a shame, imagine if all the BMC's could start to make good beer.........
 
Originally Posted by BierMuncher
Told him as long as Budweiser continued to dumb down their commercials to people using dorky guys, slap stick and big boobs,

EdWort said:
Yeah, drop the dorky guys and slap stick in their commericals. I agree 100%.

HA!

Well done.

chris.
 
It's all marketing..pouring anew meaning into the word 'craft'...with that said, Michelob Porter is ALMOST drinkable...
 
I've tried the Michelob sampler, and I like it! I think they got a good thing going here. A lot of the people buying them will be regular BMC drinkers, and it is a good way for them to take a step into the water, without goign over their heads. Plus they are less expensive than real craft beer.

I like the Marzen, and it has got me wanting to try more of that style, but it's hard to find. I like a lot of different kinds of beers, and aren't afraid to try one that's a bit lighter, or has a bit less hop bitter to it.

I give them guys kudos for doing this. They get to play a bit, instead of making the same bland thing year after year, and it exposes more BMC drinkers to different beer styles that they might otherwise never try.
 
Chris_Dog said:
:off:

***Conspiracy Theory Alert***

Now on to the conspiracy...

What if they are Brewing the "Craft" beers good enough to fly below the radar but not good enough to dissuade the average Bud drinker. More over what if they are going for a reaction that makes Bud drinkers think "I have tried Marzen (or whatever) and prefer Bud".

What theory, Sam Adams is doing this as we speak with their Cranberry Lambic. The two possible outcomes of drinking this beer as your first 'Lambic':

1. You hate it, think that is what a Lambic is, and go back to Boston Lager.
2. You like it, you eventually try a real Lambic and think, "What are all these strange flavors and sourness?" and then go back to the Cranberry 'Lambic' you're used to.

Either way, Sam Adams has got you. They make all the beer styles of the world wonderfully and they're easy to find, why go anywhere else?:rolleyes: :eek:
 
sause said:
But are you aware of a Belgian Wit made by Coors called Blue Moon? Also how about an Irish Red made by Coors called Killian's? :)

Blue Moon is made by Coors? Killians is made by Coors? I had no idea.

I'm not a huge fan of either of those beers, but I consider Blue Moon pretty respectable nonetheless, and Killians is at least a notch above typical BMC stuff.

Learn something new every day...


chris.
 
CallMeZoot said:
Blue Moon is made by Coors? Killians is made by Coors? I had no idea.

I'm not a huge fan of either of those beers, but I consider Blue Moon pretty respectable nonetheless, and Killians is at least a notch above typical BMC stuff.

Learn something new every day...

chris.
Check out the relationships among many of the most common brews. You will find only a few owners for many of the national brands. Even imports come from only a couple companies.
So support your local micro and brewpub. These are the true little guys and where much of the innovation in commercial beer comes from.

Craig
 
I used to enjoy blue moon....but then a friend told me to think of dish washing liquid while drinking it. Go ahead try it, you may notice a slight similarity.
 
I think the big guys (BMC) are too large to even be considered a "craft brew". Now, let's see how many people believe marketing...;)

At a tour of Dogfish head a few weeks back they said in order to be considered a 'Craft Brewery' the total years production can't exceed 1,000,000 BBL. Above that is considered a Macrobrewery which I think all the BMCs fall into.
 
They're scared. I know the director of Bud Markeing for AB and was razzing him at a family function last fall about micro breweries cleaning Budweisers clock.

If they're so scared why in the hell did they release Bud Light Lime in the can??????? I mean, I've been known to quaff a bud light or 10 out in the yard or on a camping trip - but an 18-pack of bud light lime??? (maybe stupid is a better word than scared)
 
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