Why are lagers much more popular than ales?

[Epimetheus]

Trader Joe's got me thinking about this when they contracted for someplace to bring out a beer with their name. It was a lager. The largest selling commercial brands are lagers. Most beers imported to the USA are lagers.

So, why are lagers preferred over ales? Are they more profitable? Are they bland and appeal to a wider audience?

 

[Braufessor]

I would say it is a couple things -

One, they are "clean" - Most lagers (even good, quality german lagers) do not have any overwhelming flavors - roast, bitterness, yeast esters, etc. A great many styles of beer are a bit of an "acquired" taste. Many of us probably started on our journey with beer by drinking something "crazy" like Sam Adams or Rolling Rock or a wheat beer....... IPA's and Stouts, etc. take some getting used to - and most people do not like them the first time they taste them. I don't think I really cared for them at first.

Two, is simply marketing and "tradition." People drink what they are used to and what is advertised to them

 

[unionrdr]

I agree,pretty much. In my day (& those around my age) all we could find was the usual suspects known today in the BMC world. Plus Blatz,Falstaff,POC,Stroh's,Black Label,Schlitz,Pabst,Balentine maybe...all those great old brands we saw advertized so much that are now part of classic TV collections. They live now,only in my memories...

 

[Schemy]

If you look at the overall grand scheme of things, Ales are relatively new to the US. Lagers have been around forever, its what we traditionally knew. I know my father in law won't drink anything beside a lagered beer, cause when he started drinking beer back in the 60's that is what was available, and that is what he knows. Lagers do provide a cleaner more accessable tasting beer for those starting out drinking beer. We as Ale lovers are in the minority.

 

[TopherM]

Ales are NOT new to the US. Your answer is all in the history books.

There were thousands of breweries making ales in America pre-prohibition. During prohibition, something like 98% of breweries in America went out of business. Only the largest breweries had the resources to weather the 14 years of beer being illegal.

Then, once prohibition was repealed, only the big breweries were prepared to reopen and start producing on a mass scale, because they made pilsners/lagers that have very low ingredient cost and are very condusive to a large scale industrial process. World War II strengthened the large breweries by increasing demand for mass production and nationally consistent product, and all of the big breweries gained a competitive stronghold that they still have today, although it's steadily losing market share to the craft beer industry.

If it weren't for prohibition, there probably would have been big US craft breweries starting in the late 1940s, and lagers might not be the dominant US beer style.

 

[unionrdr]

While that's historically true,people born a couple decades after prihibition & WWII wouldn't have been aware of that. I wasn't aware of ales beyond old historical references to what beer used to be in colonial times & such. All we had in the late 50's on up was pilsner/lager from classic breweries now extinct for the most part.

 

[PanzerBanana]

I consider lagers a fad that just won't die down. Historically, they were something special. You needed the proper temps and storage for them. Then we get refrigeration, lagers all the time! Add some marketing and scantily clad women and there you go.

Of course this topic here, is a matter of relativity. You're thinking of "lager" as most know it thanks to BMC marketing. Yes, there are other light lagers in the world, and were before bud ever came around.

I don't like "lagers" because I don't care for the character the yeast imparts. Yet, I'm sitting here drinking a smoked dopplebock because the dark malts and smoke over power the yeast.

Now you take the average "beer drinker" and swap their lager for a lager with any color, and they're likely not going to like it.

They know the word "lager" but the masses don't understand it or the beer they think they know so much about. And marketers go for what people have been told they like, they're not going to scare them away with....ale?

 

[phenry]

Lager is what big muscle men who get all the bikini babes drink, ale is what barbarians and medieval peasants drink out of wooden mugs.

My history may be a little off, but from what I can remember my account is fairly accurate.

 

[sptaylor70]

Historically, nearly everywhere that lager appeared, people shifted to it en masse. The only places where lager didn't bury ale were

• England. The Brits do love their ales.
• Cologne. The city fathers outlawed the importation of lager, but being smart cookies, knew that lager would eventually conquer if something were not done. So they got the brewers together, and the brewers then modified the existing Koelsch style to be more pilsener-like, specifically to keep pilsener out.
• Duesseldorf, where the residents like their altbier.
• The upper midwest, where cream ale got a sufficient toehold, before the advent of lager, such that it could hang on.

The chief reason that most beer historians give for lager's vastly greater popularity, with respect to ale, is lager's cleaner finish. Although the fruity and spicy flavors of ale are appealing, most people drank beer for all occasions, and found the fruitiness and spiciness a hindrance to simple thirst-quenching-ness.

 

[Bulls Beers]

Ales are NOT new to the US. Your answer is all in the history books.

There were thousands of breweries making ales in America pre-prohibition. During prohibition, something like 98% of breweries in America went out of business. Only the largest breweries had the resources to weather the 14 years of beer being illegal.

Then, once prohibition was repealed, only the big breweries were prepared to reopen and start producing on a mass scale, because they made pilsners/lagers that have very low ingredient cost and are very condusive to a large scale industrial process. World War II strengthened the large breweries by increasing demand for mass production and nationally consistent product, and all of the big breweries gained a competitive stronghold that they still have today, although it's steadily losing market share to the craft beer industry.

If it weren't for prohibition, there probably would have been big US craft breweries starting in the late 1940s, and lagers might not be the dominant US beer style.

Of course they would've made lagers. Most of the big breweries were of German Dissent. It's what they knew. It's not that cost cost grain was lower, it was because of grain rations during WW2. They started using other things like rice that unfortunately lightened the flavor and taste of the beer.

Lager beer is the most popular beer in the world, because it's the best..IMO

 

[Braufessor]

I don't like "lagers" because I don't care for the character the yeast imparts. Yet, I'm sitting here drinking a smoked dopplebock because the dark malts and smoke over power the yeast.

If you brew lagers with "yeast character"...... you are doing it wrong. Lagers brewed right, are clean......... Ales are the beers that have "yeast character."

 

[Hawkeye11]

Ales are NOT new to the US. Your answer is all in the history books.

There were thousands of breweries making ales in America pre-prohibition. During prohibition, something like 98% of breweries in America went out of business. Only the largest breweries had the resources to weather the 14 years of beer being illegal.

Then, once prohibition was repealed, only the big breweries were prepared to reopen and start producing on a mass scale, because they made pilsners/lagers that have very low ingredient cost and are very condusive to a large scale industrial process. World War II strengthened the large breweries by increasing demand for mass production and nationally consistent product, and all of the big breweries gained a competitive stronghold that they still have today, although it's steadily losing market share to the craft beer industry.

If it weren't for prohibition, there probably would have been big US craft breweries starting in the late 1940s, and lagers might not be the dominant US beer style.

Very true. However the number of people alive and drinking beer today who were drinking beer pre-prohibition is very low. Of the current beer drinking population of the US, 95% started with Lagers. Ales are coming on strong, but habits are hard to break. Today I would rather drink water than the mass produced lagers, but I too started with lagers in college.

 

[progmac]

it's an interesting question

for most people, most of the time, the fact is they want an easy-drinking beer without strong character*. for most people, drinking isn't about the beer per se. i very rarely meet a homebrewer who gets this.

if lager weren't preferred by most people most of the time, why would we have ever bothered finding a strain of yeast in south america and doubling production time? ales are cheaper and easier to produce.

* lagers can have strong character. the craft/homebrew scene for the most part don't know jack about lagers. it's the one segment of the industry that hasn't been beaten to death.

although, in the "beating to death" of ales, we have produced beers that have never before been consumed by anyone, anywhere. we are very much inventing our own beers here in america. if you don't believe me, ask any craft beer connoisseur whether they prefer a traditional english IPA or a citrus-type IPA. 4/5 prefer citrus-type or other modern ipas that are totally new on the scene. so the preference game extends far beyond ale/lager.

 

[Cyclman]

First, I am a huge lager fan. Learned to love them in Europe, and unfortunately, those beers don't transport well, so buying German or Euro beers here, especially lagers, don't represent the beers I had in Europe. Until recently, I haven't had great American lagers at all.

I think you have to sub-divide mass produced low flavor lagers, using rice and cheap adjuncts to minimize flavor / maximize alcohol cheaply, from craft lagers, they are completely different animals. I am drinking a Dunkel Doppelbock right now, and you would be an idiot to call it flavorless. Bocks, Maibocks, Marzens, Rauchbier, Swarzbier, Vienna Lager, a hoppy Pilsner. These are IMO some of the best beers in the world.

Lagers are more difficult to make, at least from the perspective of decoctions, bigger starters, slower temperature controlled fermentation, and temperature controlled ageing.

I had been brewing Ales, then had O'Dells Imperial Pilsner, blew me away. Prost Brewing in Denver is the hot new brewery, great beer. Started to collect the equipment to brew lagers myself, with fantastic results. And some may differ, but triple decoctions are awesome fun. I will admit, waiting months for a beer is hard, but it is important to build a pipeline.

I am not anti-Ales. Love good, malty DIPAs, brewing a Bourbon Barrel Quad Saturday, and I literally dream of Trappist style beers. I love fruity ale yeasts. I have six hop vines not to put 2 oz. into a lager but to make awesome ales. The US Craft Beer industry and homebrewers have done a fantastic job of making fantastic ales. In the end, I think lagers, made in a crafty way, will be the next thing. At least, I hope so.

So, let the mocking begin.

 

[gr8shandini]

Wow. A lot of bias and misinformation in this thread. Just as hops replaced gruit nearly overnight, lagers have outpaced ales just about everywhere but the British isles since shortly after their introduction (and that's changing now. I spend a week in Dublin two years ago and the locals ordered Bud and Guinness at about the same rate). Budweiser was a hit since its introduction in 1876, well before prohibition. And the adjuncts that were used were seen as a refinement, not an adulteration. The idea that lagers were foisted upon the American people in the name of saving a buck is just ridiculous.

. . . lagers can have strong character. the craft/homebrew scene for the most part don't know jack about lagers. it's the one segment of the industry that hasn't been beaten to death.

Amen to that. I'm a huge fan of British ales, but most of what we have available here just bores the hell out of me. Way too sweet porters or comically over hopped IPAs can't hold a candle to a well balanced German Pilsner (or better yet, an American one. Victory Prima Pils is excellent). And if anyone here hasn't tried a schwartzbier, you're really missing out.

 

[PanzerBanana]

If you brew lagers with "yeast character"...... you are doing it wrong. Lagers brewed right, are clean......... Ales are the beers that have "yeast character."

No each yeast has it's own essence it brings to a brew, excluding ingredients, temps and techniques. They do more than just convert sugar.

I don't brew lagers, because in general I don't like lagers, and find all the fuss of catering to them not worth my time when ale yeasts are more than happy with the accommodations given.

The lagers I do drink, which is only when ale is not a choice, are amber and darker as the roasted malts assert flavors and carry the beer in areas where the lager's character, or lack there of if we're going to split hairs, is weak. I prefer the boldness and bite ales bring to a beer. Even in a nice mellow well rounded brown, ale yeast still lets you know it's there.

Historically, anything different gained popularity. Light ales once technology and techniques allowed for them out paced the standards of their times, as tastes shifted toward something different.

I however am quite happy sticking with my ale and shall leave the masses to their lager.

 

[JKaranka]

Just to say, most of the beer consumed in Britain is lager. When lager was mass marketed in the 50s (first as a beer for women, then a beer for everybody), it gained and retained its foothold. Ale, although it never went away and many breweries survived, has been on a slow comeback for at least the last ten years, being the only growing part of the beer market here. (Wine for the masses seems to have arrived in the 70s/80s, and again taken some of the beer market)

 

[pjj2ba]

Lagers (light and std) do a pretty darn good job of quenching a person's thirst, particularly when it is hot out.

Plus it is a lot easier to pound back a bunch of BMC compared to a bunch of pale ales. They really are less filling (perhaps not great tasting though)

I am a lager fan and brewer (and also like IPAs). I keep a BMC style on tap most of the time and then also a sharply bittered pilsner of some sort as well. Even though both are lagers with roughly the same ABV, I can really drink up my Std. Amer. lager. I find that I take more time with the more bitter beer as the flavor (bitterness in particular) lasts longer after a sip. when I want to just enjoy A beer, I'll grab the pilsner, when I'm thirsty, I'll go for several of the Std. lagers.

This thread reminds me of one of our local brewpubs. Very British style beer. The brewer is a nice guy, and he says, that way back when, the beers were not as well carbonated, so that is he feels, traditional and proper and what he prefers. He would like to serve the beers flatter than they are but realizes that the public might not go for that. My thought is, yes the beers were flatter back then because they didn't have a good way to capture/package the beer with good carbonation. Once that technology developed though, crisp, well carbonated beers took off because people liked them better. Yes lower carbonation is traditional, but that doesn't mean it is better. Heck by that analogy, we should still all be driving model T's. (That being said, some older things are better because the quality is higher and not cheaply mass produced with foreign labor - that is cheaply in terms of the low grade raw materials and quantities used)

 

[Mozart]

Why are lagers more popular than ales? It's simple. Most people simply like the taste of them better.

We homebrewers are a distinct, self-selected group.

And, while many of us love lagers (I among them), we tend to like wide varieties of beer and have different tastes in beer than many people. It's part of the reason many of us got into homebrewing to begin with, isn't it?

We like what we like. Other people like what they like. We're in the minority, other's are in the majority. So what?

My favorite flavor of ice cream happens to be vanilla -- the most popular ice cream flavor in the world from what I've read.

Asking the question "Why are lagers so much more popular than ales?" on a homebrewing forum is like getting a group of chocolate lovers together and asking, "Why do so many people like vanilla?" Sure, to the chocolate lovers, it's a head-scratcher, because to them, chocolate is clearly superior, and anyone who prefers vanilla simply has an uneducated palette.

Of course, the members of the "We love vanilla club" could say the same thing with regard to chocolate.

Cheers!

 

[motobrewer]

[*]The upper midwest, where cream ale got a sufficient toehold, before the advent of lager, such that it could hang on.

The upper Midwest?? Like... St. Louis and Milwaukee??

 

[JKaranka]

I like my beer rather on the flat side than overcarbed. I find it difficult to drink much lager because I feel bloated quite quickly. That said, I did not drink any beer (that is, lager) until I moved to the UK and I discovered ales. I just didn't like the dry, sharp, slightly bitter lager, but loved the smooth, caramelly, gentle bitters... even if they might have had more IBUs to pack they simply had much nicer malty flavours to my taste. After that I learnt to drink lager like water, though!

 

[Darwin18]

My opinion is that it has a lot to do with climate. Here in North Carolina, and much of the South, the humidity and heat is pretty oppressive and runs from May to September (sometimes April to October). Does the average person want to drink an ale when it is hot and humid, or do they prefer a lager? Myself, I definitely prefer a "clean" well brewed lager. I brewed a premium American lager last weekend, and I'll brew a Pilsner either this weekend or next, because I really don't see myself drinking much ale during the summer. In the fall though I'm planning on putting out IPAs, APAs, and more seasonally appropriate (for me) ales.

 

[isleofman]

If you want a good insight into this question (at least through American eyes) read: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0156033593/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[motobrewer]

BP may or may not have some good information:

http://barclayperkins.blogspot.com/

good read regardless

 

[sptaylor70]

Originally Posted by sptaylor70
[*]The upper midwest, where cream ale got a sufficient toehold, before the advent of lager, such that it could hang on.

The upper Midwest?? Like... St. Louis and Milwaukee??

I don't know of anyone who would call St. Louis a part of the upper midwest. Gennessee Cream Ale came from Rochester, NY. Little Kings Cream Ale was a product of Hudelpohl-Schoenling, out of Cincinnati. Utica Club Cream Ale was from Utica, NY. I would call all of those upper midwest, but others might say the Northern Appalachians, or the upper Ohio River Valley, but that's a small detail (unless one lives there, in which case one is probably permanently wedded to one term or another and would find fault with any other). Cream Ale withstood the onslaught of lager beer until Prohibition, and was the only ale style to persist in the U.S.A.

 

[motobrewer]

St Louis may be on the border between "Central Midwest" and "Upper Midwest", but I don't think you can make the argument that anywhere in New York is anywhere near any part of the "midwest"

 

[Devin]

I have no idea why Lagers are so popular. I don't like them, for the most part. There are some beers that are made with Lager yeasts that don't fit the traditional Lager idea that aren't bad. Lagers take more work and seem to produce a result that is just, well.....boring. I know that all of the lager-lovers will jump all over me for that, saying "you haven't had a good pilsener", heck I think even someone earlier in this thread said something to that effect already. I have never had a pilsener that has made me say "wow". They usually make me say "meh".

As far as quenching thirst.....if it is hot outside and I want to quench my thirst - I go for the water. I guess that is pretty close to most mass-produced American Lagers, though.

What's the same about a Bud Light and sex in a canoe?

They are both f##*ing pretty close to water.

 

[BlackGoat]

Ales vs. Lagers is like arguing over blondes vs. brunettes. I prefer brunettes Its all a matter of taste obviously, personally I still haven't had a lager that I'd rave about and that includes drinking my way happily through Munich. Perhaps a trip to Prague later this year will change my mind. But then I also don't like the overly hopped hop tea IPAs/APAs that 90% of the craft brew world and homebrewers seem to spend so much time worrying about. They all taste the same to me, yawn. To each his own, obviously this is part of the fun of homebrewing.

 

[Gerhard]

Ballantine's Ales Rocked in there heyday...and that was the 50's & 60's....One could say they were America's first craft beer.

 

[FightinIrish]

I have no idea why Lagers are so popular. I don't like them, for the most part. There are some beers that are made with Lager yeasts that don't fit the traditional Lager idea that aren't bad. Lagers take more work and seem to produce a result that is just, well.....boring. I know that all of the lager-lovers will jump all over me for that, saying "you haven't had a good pilsener", heck I think even someone earlier in this thread said something to that effect already. I have never had a pilsener that has made me say "wow". They usually make me say "meh".

As far as quenching thirst.....if it is hot outside and I want to quench my thirst - I go for the water. I guess that is pretty close to most mass-produced American Lagers, though.

What's the same about a Bud Light and sex in a canoe?

They are both f##*ing pretty close to water.

I have no idea why basketball is so popular. I don't like it. It's boring. Everyone should have the same opinion as me.

 

[Devin]

Then I guess I should be like all of the uber-pilsener lubbers and say something like, if you don't like basketball, then you haven't played "real" basketball.

 

[phenry]

I decide whether I like ales or lagers more by the following method:

1. How does it taste?
2. Good? Okay, can I have some?
3. Is this beer I now have an ale or lager?
4. Use the previous answer to decide whether I like ales or lagers more.

 

[Yooper]

Then I guess I should be like all of the uber-pilsener lubbers and say something like, if you don't like basketball, then you haven't played "real" basketball.

That's a good analogy!

But, really if you haven't had a real pilsner.....................

I used to live in Germany, and it's true that a "real" pilsner does NOT resemble the American version of a pilsner. They can be quite bitter and hoppy, and nothing like the American Pilsner (is that Miller High Life?).

I really love all beer styles (except sours and a few Belgians). I love them for what they are though. I don't compare ice tea to lemonade or coke. Sure, they are "soft drinks" but they aren't anything alike.

The same is true of beer styles. They can be very very different, and while my preferred style tends to be American IPA, I appreciate and enjoy most of the styles available, from light lagers to dark lagers to IPAs.

Some lagers are very definitely heavy and flavorful- think dopplebock- while others are crisp and light, like light American lager. Considering them the "same" because they both are lagers is like considering ice tea the same as Dr. Pepper. Nothing alike, except they are cold.

 

[Dovage]

I think this thread derailed. It was a question about why big commercial breweries choose to brew lagers over ales. Even Jim Koch (Sam Adams) who started as a home brewer, chose to produce a lager. Why? Say what you want about Sam Adams, but it is way more flavorful and hoppy than a Bud,Coors, or Miller Lite, yet it sells pretty damn well. There most be a cost, or big production reason. Are lagers easier to brew with consistant flavors?

 

[Chadwick]

To put this into perspective, I have this story to tell. The Mrs. and I bought a storage building from a local builder and his crew was out a few days later setting it in position, leveling it and so forth. There was a crew of about 5 of them. They started talking about which beer is the best beer. The usual suspects where on the table for debate. Coors, Miller, Budweiser, Natural light, etc.. They asked me what I liked best. I told them that I didn't like any of those beers and that I mostly just drink what I make myself. This, of course, leads us to me bringing out 5 different examples of my best beers and a stack of Dixie cups. The overwhelming consensus between them was that my beer is ok, but I should go buy a six-pack of bud to be reminded of what "good" beer is.

That my friends, is a perfect example of the state of things. Six of us tasted fine beer, I was the only one that appreciated it. The rest prefer cheap swill.

 

[progmac]

To put this into perspective, I have this story to tell. The Mrs. and I bought a storage building from a local builder and his crew was out a few days later setting it in position, leveling it and so forth. There was a crew of about 5 of them. They started talking about which beer is the best beer. The usual suspects where on the table for debate. Coors, Miller, Budweiser, Natural light, etc.. They asked me what I liked best. I told them that I didn't like any of those beers and that I mostly just drink what I make myself. This, of course, leads us to me bringing out 5 different examples of my best beers and a stack of Dixie cups. The overwhelming consensus between them was that my beer is ok, but I should go buy a six-pack of bud to be reminded of what "good" beer is.

That my friends, is a perfect example of the state of things. Six of us tasted fine beer, I was the only one that appreciated it. The rest prefer cheap swill.

you sort of have to ease people into it. when craft beer was new on the scene, most every brewery made a simple amber hybrid type beer. this eased people into craft beer. sierra nevada was the most flavorful beer by a factor of about ten for a long long time.

budweiser is a damn fine beer in its own right, it just very scarcely resembles typical craft beer. as yooper says, it's comparing ice tea to coke.

a good place to start people is with wheat beers, ambers, and basic pales. nothing strongly bitter.

 

[Yooper]

There most be a cost, or big production reason. Are lagers easier to brew with consistant flavors?

No, lagers are much harder to get consistent. The big breweries have microbiologists and master brewers on staff- it's not cheap. The reason breweries make lagers is because they sell alot of them.

For the same reason McDonald's sells burgers that many gourmet food lovers won't touch- they make what sells. Big businesses make decisions on what consumers seem to want. While many people decry McDonald's cheeseburgers as ghastly, the vast majority eat them. We can be snobbish and say we don't like macro lagers- and that's fine. But the rest of the world doesn't agree with us all the time.

 

[Dovage]

No, lagers are much harder to get consistent. The big breweries have microbiologists and master brewers on staff- it's not cheap. The reason breweries make lagers is because they sell alot of them.

For the same reason McDonald's sells burgers that many gourmet food lovers won't touch- they make what sells. Big businesses make decisions on what consumers seem to want. While many people decry McDonald's cheeseburgers as ghastly, the vast majority eat them. We can be snobbish and say we don't like macro lagers- and that's fine. But the rest of the world doesn't agree with us all the time.

That makes perfect sense, and seems to be the answer for why anything is done on a large scale. The Almighty Dollar. I was hoping there was a more brewing related explanation, but I should have known better.
Thanks, Yooper!

 

[+HopSpunge+]

First, I am a huge lager fan. Learned to love them in Europe, and unfortunately, those beers don't transport well, so buying German or Euro beers here, especially lagers, don't represent the beers I had in Europe. Until recently, I haven't had great American lagers at all.

I think you have to sub-divide mass produced low flavor lagers, using rice and cheap adjuncts to minimize flavor / maximize alcohol cheaply, from craft lagers, they are completely different animals. I am drinking a Dunkel Doppelbock right now, and you would be an idiot to call it flavorless. Bocks, Maibocks, Marzens, Rauchbier, Swarzbier, Vienna Lager, a hoppy Pilsner. These are IMO some of the best beers in the world.

Lagers are more difficult to make, at least from the perspective of decoctions, bigger starters, slower temperature controlled fermentation, and temperature controlled ageing.

I had been brewing Ales, then had O'Dells Imperial Pilsner, blew me away. Prost Brewing in Denver is the hot new brewery, great beer. Started to collect the equipment to brew lagers myself, with fantastic results. And some may differ, but triple decoctions are awesome fun. I will admit, waiting months for a beer is hard, but it is important to build a pipeline.

I am not anti-Ales. Love good, malty DIPAs, brewing a Bourbon Barrel Quad Saturday, and I literally dream of Trappist style beers. I love fruity ale yeasts. I have six hop vines not to put 2 oz. into a lager but to make awesome ales. The US Craft Beer industry and homebrewers have done a fantastic job of making fantastic ales. In the end, I think lagers, made in a crafty way, will be the next thing. At least, I hope so.

So, let the mocking begin.

I agree with this the most. I would also like to add (if not already said). That Lagers take alot longer to make. I have asked a few micro and nano brewers why they don't make more lagers. And they always say because of the slow turnaround.

 

[danielofthedale]

I think the reason that the basic, simple Lager/Pisner is the most popular is a simple to explain. They are the closest to tasting like water and have a little alcohol in them. This lets people be able to pound a number of them to quench their thirst after a long day at the mill or plant or in he field and not get drunk but have a decent buzz. There is not a thing wrong with that either.

Now they just are not my up of tea, or more aptly my pint of beer. On a hot day deep down in the heart of the South I want a Hefe or Wit or Saison or IPA. I am in the minority on that but I have always marched a little out of center so it's nothing new. Haha