Light beer

Lore & Background

Before the development of contemporary light beer, small beer had been brewed for centuries. In the United States, 'light beer' has at various times referred to lager beer that was lighter tasting, beer with lower alcohol content, or beer light in color. In 1941 the Coors Brewing Company sold a low-alcohol beer called Coors Light, but it remained on the market for less than a year. The origins of today's light beers trace to the mid-1960s. In December 1966 Rheingold of New York began marketing Gablinger's Beer, a reduced-calorie beer brewed using a process invented by Swiss chemist Dr. Hersch Gablinger that added the enzyme amyloglucosidase during production. In May 1967 Meister Brau Lite was introduced by Chicago brewer Meister Brau, Inc., and in September 1967 August Wagner Breweries introduced Slim-Line Mark V. Patent infringement litigation ensued, and in March 1970 the United States District Court for the District of Columbia invalidated Gablinger's patent. By 1972 Meister Brau, Inc. sold its brands, including Lite, to the Miller Brewing Co. Miller reformulated Lite, introduced new packaging, and adopted a new advertising strategy targeting heavy beer drinkers, using ex-athletes and macho imagery. Miller Lite was rolled out nationally in 1975 and became the most popular new product in the history of the American beer industry.

Reader's Guide

Light beer's significance lies in its transformation of the American beer market. Before Miller Lite, light beer sales were negligible; by 2002 they accounted for 44 percent of the United States beer market. The success of Miller Lite was driven by a marketing strategy that repositioned reduced-calorie beer from a health-conscious, female-oriented product to one appealing to heavy beer drinkers, emphasizing that it tasted great and was less filling. This approach, borrowed from Philip Morris's marketing of Marlboro cigarettes, used ex-athletes and masculine imagery to overcome resistance. Competitors quickly introduced their own light beers, including Bud Light and Coors Light. The methods of manufacture vary: some brewers add the enzyme amyloglucosidase to convert dextrins into fermentable sugar, then add carbonated water to lower alcohol; others use high amylase barley malt and longer saccharification; still others replace barley malt with high dextrose corn syrup. In countries such as Australia, Canada, and Scotland, 'light beer' primarily means lower alcohol content, often around 2.5% to 3.5% alcohol by volume, for those seeking to limit alcohol consumption for medical, social, legal, or other reasons.

Did You Know?

• The first reduced-calorie light beer, Gablinger's Beer, was test marketed in late 1966 and rolled out in the New York City area in June 1967.
• Miller Lite was reformulated and introduced nationally in 1975 after Miller bought the Lite brand from Meister Brau in 1972.
• The enzyme amyloglucosidase, used in making many light beers, is found naturally in the human digestive system but not in barley malt.
• In Australia, regular beers have approximately 5% alcohol by volume, while light beers may have around 2.5% alcohol.