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Drink all the Budweiser "Lagers" you can this weekend: On Monday, the American beer market will change forever with the official rollout of Budweiser "American Ale." Drinking macro-brews will never be the same!Or so they'd like us to believe. Sure American Ale isn't meant to replace Anheuser-Busch's flagship lager, but its definitely an attempt at rebranding -- a not so subtle marketing trick that has left many a New Coke in its wake.
That dark red American Ale label reminds me of another much hyped macro beer rollout. Most may not remember, or even care, but 2008 marks the 10th anniversary of the failure of Miller "Red."
It's official name was simply Miller beer, and the logic was simple: Miller Lite had served as a worthy competitor to Bud Light, maybe a Miller beer could chip away some of the market from Bud. It was a bold move -- almost literally putting their name on the line. But, rest in peace, after a massive 1996 launch, by 1998 it was gone. Now, a short 10 years later, I struggle to even find a picture of this revolutionary product online.
Will a similar fate befall Budweiser American Ale? Only time will tell. But I definitely see some striking similarities that go way beyond the red labels...
[Photo Credit: beerinator.com]
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9-26-2008 @9:46PM Dr. Electro said... Just leave me alone with a bottle of Chimay with it's red label and I'll be ale happy for life. Nothing I have ever found even comes in a distant second. There's nothing else but substitutes.
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9-27-2008 @8:40AM fitzthecat said... Yeah, but any company that can come up with this commercial isn't totally screwed.
http://makethelogobigger.blogspot.com/2007/01/miller-high-life-reclaimed.html
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9-27-2008 @9:53AM Hungover Gourmet said... Miller Red? Wow, I don't even remember this marketing ploy. Always found Miller High Life to be the least offensive of the major brews so I was glad when they decided to embrace their roots and return to the Champagne of Beers motto. Guess they haven't learned their lesson, though, as the recent attempt at Miller Lite Craft Brews was a bit of a disaster. And having tasted them all, rightly so.
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9-27-2008 @10:49AM WK said... Having tried an American Ale from Bud, I will drink it at bars and restaurants if there's nothing else than the usual Bud/Miller/Coors swill. It's no micro, but it's decent.
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9-27-2008 @12:33PM Mike Pomranz said... WK reminds me of an interesting point I didn't mention, which is that Miller "Red" wasn't a bad beer. It actually received a generally good reception from drinkers but it still failed to find any traction in the long run. Sometimes even taste and marketing aren't enough to make a product work. And sometimes companies aren't as committed to a new product as they'd like us to believe at the outset.
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9-27-2008 @5:07PM Red Icculus said... Bud American Ale is an attempt to show that they are still 'merican even though they got bought out by Unibev. Weak golf clap at best.
How about Miller's more recent failure at trying to compete with Michelob for the above-premium branding with their amber, wheat, and blond offerings that didn't make it out of the test markets?
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10-02-2008 @11:04AM SeanMike said... I just bought some American Ale to try it out.
I was a fan of the Miller Red. We drank it all the time in college. Guess we didn't drink enough of it. :-)
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10-04-2008 @12:36AM Chris said... In my freshman year in college (1996), this is all we drank. Last weekend, I visited the Miller Brewery and I asked about "Miller Red" and the lady there said that there never was such a beer.
I was sure she was wrong...but, after all, SHE worked at Miller, and I was merely a consumer. I started to think maybe I was just drinking High Life packaged in a plain Miller Red can/case. Alas, I was right, and seeing that picture brings back some great memories. Long live Miller Red!!
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11-02-2008 @7:43PM Jason said... I remember well Miller Red. It was a surprisingly good beer. Was then disheartened when Miller pulled the rug out from under it. It came out with a big marketing splash with even full page advertisements in major newspapers trumpeting "Red's" taste. It guess it didn't take off as quickly as Miller had hoped.
I'm not a historian of Miller Brewing but recall in the late 1990's Miller was really struggling. I think the company was then controlled by Phillip Morris which knows well how to market cigarettes but not so much beer. Under more astute and patient management I still think Miller Red can find it's place in the market.
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11-02-2008 @7:47PM Mike Pomranz said... Hey Chris, I too had a boyhood crush on Miller Red. I'm not sure if I would enjoy it as much as I did back then, but I would definitely love to taste it once more to get those memories flooding back. Maybe we can get an online petition going.
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