Turn on the Light (Lagers) | First Key Consulting

American craft beer ascended as a flavorful rebuttal to mainstream lagers that prioritized ever-decreasing calorie counts over taste. Stouts and amber ales both looked and tasted different, proof that looking beyond the light (lager) could be successful. So began craft brewing’s decades-long flavor trip, and customers climbed aboard for bitter IPAs, barrel-aged stouts, and sour ales with serious pucker.

Intensities overshadowed a not-so-tiny truth: American beer drinkers increasingly loved light lagers. By 2018, America’s best-selling beers were Bud Light, Coors Light, and Miller Lite, the first time light lagers held the top three sales slots. Last year’s culture-wars clash toppled Bud Light from the sales summit, but it’s still a top-three brand today, along with Modelo and Michelob Ultra.

Craft breweries are finally seeing the light. Just like the restaurant that adds a burger and fries to their menu, craft breweries are releasing crowd-pleasing light lagers. They crisply deliver value and refreshment in a not-too-boozy format. After all, one can’t drink double IPAs all day.

Light lagers “are a huge part of the market,” says David Deline, the president of Colorado’s German-inspired Prost Brewing. “As an industry, we’ve somewhat overlooked it. The consumer is telling us, ‘Hey guys, this is what we want.’ ”

For First Key, I looked at how breweries are embracing and approaching light lagers.