Hi, I'm BrightSpot, and I LOVE supermarket beers!

[Brulosopher]

I started brewing my own beer within 1 year of when I (legally) started drinking beer. Thanks to my location in the Pacific Northwest at the time (2001), getting started was easy. Right off the bat, one thing I noticed was the almost ubiquitous negativity regarding the more popular beers including BMC, Corona, Heineken, Beck's, etc. I recall feeling the urge to join the "hate anything you can buy in a supermarket" club, then realized I'd be lying to myself if I did. The truth of the matter is I truly enjoy myriad styles of brew! There are times an ice cold Miller Light hits the spot! In fact, Beck's is one of my favorite beers of all time! Yep, you heard that right, I love "skunk" beer!!!! I've currently got 2 home brews in my kegerator right now- an Irish Red Ale and a dark IPA. In my fridge, I've got Bud Light, Beck's, Heineken, and Bass. And I am not ashamed!! Ahh... that was liberating.

As much as I enjoy brewing my own beer, the only drawback is the occasional snobbery I encounter regarding the beers most of us drank before we ever considered brewing our own. Anybody with me on this?? Anyone else willing to admit they still drink the "cheap stuff" and enjoy it? Amen? A-****ing-men!!!

***The impetus for this post was the frustration I experienced when I started looking for a good Beck's clone and found comments laughingly referring to it as a terrible beer. C'mon...

 

[Keith_Mahoney]

I can't say I agree. I need something with flavor. I think my taste buds are damaged. I put lots of jalapenos and hot sauce on nearly everything I eat.
When I am looking for a very light beer I hit up a Sam Adams (which I think is very good) but I'd rather not drink BMC which tastes to me to be carbonated water.

 

[I_B_Mongo]

Good for you. To each their own. I personally don't care for becks, bud light, etc., but an ice cold PBR really hits the spot after mowing the lawn. Yes, I know its become a bit of a hipster beer, but I've liked it since my buddy and I were swiping it out of his dads fridge 15 years ago.

I personally have never really cared what others think about me. Least of all what they think about my beer choices.

Drink what you like.

 

[Brulosopher]

I can't say I agree. I need something with flavor. I think my taste buds are damaged. I put lots of jalapenos and hot sauce on nearly everything I eat.
When I am looking for a very light beer I hit up a Sam Adams (which I think is very good) but I'd rather not drink BMC which tastes to me to be carbonated water.

Funny- my favorite time to drink BMC (and others like it) is when I'm in the process of damaging my taste buds by eating jalepenos, etc. :cross: And I, too, think Sam Adams is pretty good stuff, especially their Noble Pils!

I personally have never really cared what others think about me. Least of all what they think about my beer choices.

Agreed, it's really more what I think about them. And there are certainly times a PBR does the trick... you catch my drift.

 

[Zamial]

I am sorry but every time I see or hear Becks...I think of the quote from the movie "Beer Fest" were the German is listing off the 3 greatest German beers in all the verld and forgets the last one, then his buddy says,"UND BECKS!"

 

[DakotaRules]

I love grainbelt. I buy 8-10 cases when I go back home to MN. For the most part I drink better beer than BMC but I do drink it at parties that buy cheap for the crowds and that's all the host is providing.

 

[jiggs_casey]

I keep bud light or miller lite around as my 'everyday beers'. Sometimes, they're my 'allday beers'...

With as much beer as I drink, trying to keep a solid pipeline is some work. That being said, my trips to the liquor store for something with a little more 'flavor' can get expensive! Currently, I've been spending it on Lagunitas Imperial Stout, so good...

 

[Airborneguy]

The 'light' beers are horrible to me, but I'll drink any regular BMC beer pretty much. I love Genesee Cream Ale!

 

[jiggs_casey]

The 'light' beers are horrible to me, but I'll drink any regular BMC beer pretty much. I love Genesee Cream Ale!

Great stuff!

 

[xxguitarist]

Bud light etc are useful for when you want to drink 20 of something & still be standing.

...Hey, I just graduated college, don't judge too much. Rare occurrence.

 

[shutupjojo]

None of the supermarket beers wouldn't be around if they tasted like sh!t to everyone. They definitely have a place. I am a hardcore homebrewer for 25 years now and still like a cold bud when I'm gasping in the heat after mowing or laying hardwood fing flooring in the summer. Becks sucks period but is good sometimes at the right moment. All beer is good sometimes. Who gives a sh!t anyway.

 

[Qhrumphf]

Homebrewing has actually given me some respect for BMC beers, if no reason other than the difficulty of brewing a beer that will please (almost) everyone. That said, part of pleasing almost everyone means a complete lack of character. That's what I'm not partial to. However, when it's hot out, the wallet's light, or I'm at a BBQ or something, damn right I'll throw down some cheap macro swill. I'd go so far as to say I'm quite fond of PBR.

 

[JohnTheBrewist]

The 'light' beers are horrible to me, but I'll drink any regular BMC beer pretty much. I love Genesee Cream Ale!

I'm pretty much in the camp with Airborneguy. I just can't drink "Lite" beers (or Corona). But I love Spaten and Paulaner which are classic Munich lagers that many hopsnobs would balk at.

 

[Misfit]

I love iron city. I can't get enough of it ever

 

[tchuklobrau]

Labatt Blue is in my fridge on a daily basis, I cant afford to drink sam and the others on a regular basis. refuse to drink bud though(unless im out and its free). I snob no beer.

 

[weagle05]

I'll drink them if someone else is buying.

The thread title made me think of store branded beers. Sometimes in London I pick up some at Marks & Spencer that we call "green bulls."

 

[madbaldman]

I love supermarket beers! The supermarkets I shop in carry offerings from Terrapin, Victory, SN, Harpoon, Stone, Bells, and many more. No need to compromise at the grocery.

 

[Beezy]

If you like it, you like it. My supermarket has some pretty nice beers thank god. Not really into the standard lager type thing and that's just being honest. I drank a lot of it in my day for sure but mostly to get hammered. I try not to stick my nose up at those that like that stuff. Sometimes I still do but at least I don't go on about it.

 

[SethMasterFlex]

I'm going to take a different approach on this one. There's probably some people chomping at the bit waiting for "that guy" to come around, but I will say what I believe has to be said.

I am a homebrewer. I became a homebrewer because I had an affinity for drinking craft beer. Yes, I make my own beer, but I still enjoy and care dearly about the craft beer scene. AB-InBev and Miller-Coors are corporate bullies. They have lobbyists that pump money into Washington to keep archaic beer laws intact in order to suppress the craft beer market so that they can keep lining their pockets with more and more money. All the while, they're doing it by tricking the public into drinking an inferior product by ways advertising that have nothing to do with anything. Did you ever wonder why your six pack of craft beer costs so much? It's because they're forced to pay a middle man to distribute their beer because the "corporate preserving" law says so. If I can give AB-InBev/Miller-Coors anything, I give them a +1 for being damned good salesmen and women who know how to manipulate the market and make beer a commodity.

I frequently try and educate everyone I know about the amazing things craft beer has to offer, about how many different styles and tastes there are, about how real beer can build dreams and bring world peace. Ok...maybe I'm getting a little carried away there, but you get the point . When I was in college, I drank PBR, Icehouse, Coors, Miller, Bud, Milwaukee's Best, Keystone, you name it. I have a job now. I can afford a six pack of something that's actually made from grain and not rice syrup solids. Plus, I can make a damned tasty sessionable beer that's low alcohol and kicks the living crap out of a corporate light beer any day.

Now, that being said, these are my viewpoints and you can drink whatever you want. I respect light, adjunct-heavy beer as a style, but not if it's done in a way to put down the little guy. I try and support the craft scene whenever I can because they're the reason real beer still exists today. They're the reason I have a passion for drinking good quality beer. They're the reason I'm a homebrewer.

 

[Vance71975]

I started brewing my own beer within 1 year of when I (legally) started drinking beer. Thanks to my location in the Pacific Northwest at the time (2001), getting started was easy. Right off the bat, one thing I noticed was the almost ubiquitous negativity regarding the more popular beers including BMC, Corona, Heineken, Beck's, etc. I recall feeling the urge to join the "hate anything you can buy in a supermarket" club, then realized I'd be lying to myself if I did. The truth of the matter is I truly enjoy myriad styles of brew! There are times an ice cold Miller Light hits the spot! In fact, Beck's is one of my favorite beers of all time! Yep, you heard that right, I love "skunk" beer!!!! I've currently got 2 home brews in my kegerator right now- an Irish Red Ale and a dark IPA. In my fridge, I've got Bud Light, Beck's, Heineken, and Bass. And I am not ashamed!! Ahh... that was liberating.

As much as I enjoy brewing my own beer, the only drawback is the occasional snobbery I encounter regarding the beers most of us drank before we ever considered brewing our own. Anybody with me on this?? Anyone else willing to admit they still drink the "cheap stuff" and enjoy it? Amen? A-****ing-men!!!

***The impetus for this post was the frustration I experienced when I started looking for a good Beck's clone and found comments laughingly referring to it as a terrible beer. C'mon...

Well for me growing up in Small Town Ohio, I drank Ice house, Coors Light, and Red Dog. I wouldn't say i am a snob now, but it wasn't until i moved to Seattle for 5 months that i realized there were beers that tasted far better than the BMC stuff. When i moved back to Ohio i tried Coors light again and realized rather quickly that i cannot stand the taste of it. And most places around here only carry BMC beer and GUINNESS,which if you ask me is the BMC of stouts.Luckily we do have one store in town now that carry's craft beer, and that is all i buy, not because i am stuck up or anything but because it is what tastes good to me.

 

[norsk]

Never really liked beer all that much until I began to travel and come across some great beers. Still don't drink much but I enjoy making it a lot. Which works out well since SWMBO loves it as do my friends. I live close to the Firestone Brewery and get to sample there often.

Actually enjoy making it more than I enjoy drinking it...but a nice Belgian or IIPA at the end of the day is a good thing.

 

[Brulosopher]

becks sucks period but is good sometimes at the right moment.

nooooooo!!! ;-)

 

[Brulosopher]

I'm going to take a different approach on this one. There's probably some people chomping at the bit waiting for "that guy" to come around, but I will say what I believe has to be said.

I am a homebrewer. I became a homebrewer because I had an affinity for drinking craft beer. Yes, I make my own beer, but I still enjoy and care dearly about the craft beer scene. AB-InBev and Miller-Coors are corporate bullies. They have lobbyists that pump money into Washington to keep archaic beer laws intact in order to suppress the craft beer market so that they can keep lining their pockets with more and more money. All the while, they're doing it by tricking the public into drinking an inferior product by ways advertising that have nothing to do with anything. Did you ever wonder why your six pack of craft beer costs so much? It's because they're forced to pay a middle man to distribute their beer because the "corporate preserving" law says so. If I can give AB-InBev/Miller-Coors anything, I give them a +1 for being damned good salesmen and women who know how to manipulate the market and make beer a commodity.

I frequently try and educate everyone I know about the amazing things craft beer has to offer, about how many different styles and tastes there are, about how real beer can build dreams and bring world peace. Ok...maybe I'm getting a little carried away there, but you get the point . When I was in college, I drank PBR, Icehouse, Coors, Miller, Bud, Milwaukee's Best, Keystone, you name it. I have a job now. I can afford a six pack of something that's actually made from grain and not rice syrup solids. Plus, I can make a damned tasty sessionable beer that's low alcohol and kicks the living crap out of a corporate light beer any day.

Now, that being said, these are my viewpoints and you can drink whatever you want. I respect light, adjunct-heavy beer as a style, but not if it's done in a way to put down the little guy. I try and support the craft scene whenever I can because they're the reason real beer still exists today. They're the reason I have a passion for drinking good quality beer. They're the reason I'm a homebrewer.

I saw that documentary too, and I'll admit some repression takes place every time a BMC hits my lips...

 

[MrManifesto]

the grocery store i work at has the best selection of beer in the city and i live in NYC

 

[filterban]

There is a simple equation for me when it comes to all beer:

Beer + * > *

In other words, almost anything with a beer is better than without. This includes my least favorite beer: Bud Light.

It's still better than nothing, though. If all you have to choose from is Bud Light, then you drink it with a smile and thank the person that provided it for you -- because it's better than having no beer at all.

And if you love Bud Light, more power to you -- I don't care, and neither should anyone else.

 

[brewit2it]

I'm with ya Brightspot. I like becks, even with it's weird metalic hop bitterness and thin body. It shouldn't be skunk though, that will ruin any beer for me (but I'll still drink it). Sam Adams is better than anything I've ever brewed, although in Cali it seems to be less consistent on tap, but bottled and fresh it kicks arse. Of the BMC's I think Bud (not Bud light) is pretty clearly my favorite and and actually a great beer in a rather bland style. I've never gotten the PBR kick though. Tastes link 40% corn sugar to me, but I respect anyone who likes it since it tastes good to them, and that's what counts. Miller Light barely even seems like beer to me, but it can be a darn refreshing carbonated beverage.

 

[joeldp144]

I tend to start with my quality beers and at beer 4 and sometimes beyond, I start reaching for the "filler" beers. Sometimes those are Sam Adams, and sometimes it is Mich Ultra. I always keep something mild and basic around for my whiny friends who think Cream Ale is too "hoppy" and Belgian Wit has too much "bite".

I do not discriminate. Especially if the beer is free.

 

[ArcaneXor]

Many of the supermarkets and convenience stores around here have a decent selection of some of the more popular craft beers, like Sierra Nevada and Dogfish Head. The local "alternative" grocery store has an awesome selection of Belgians and many domestic beers.

 

[robtotten]

I agree with just about all of this. I go through too much beer (especially when friends are over, 3 of us will go through a Corny in a night easily) to always keep a pipeline, and I can't afford to drink Ommegang (which I'm sipping on right now!) all the time. I have an 18 pack of Coors Light in the keezer right now as a backup. It is what it is... Not craft beer, but watery beer which goes down easily in hot weather.

I keep bud light or miller lite around as my 'everyday beers'. Sometimes, they're my 'allday beers'...

With as much beer as I drink, trying to keep a solid pipeline is some work. That being said, my trips to the liquor store for something with a little more 'flavor' can get expensive! Currently, I've been spending it on Lagunitas Imperial Stout, so good...

 

[camus]

My supermarket beers are Odell, Sierra Nevada, and Boulevard. I don't consider myself a beer snob at all, I will usually drink whatever is available. On that note I probably wouldn't select a bar or restaurant if they only served BMC.