Secrets of the popularity of light beer

Despite the global changes that have taken place in the American and international brewing markets over the past two and a half decades, one fact remains relevant: light light beer is far ahead of other sales. Seven of the top ten, six of the seven best and all three of the best-selling beers in the US are light lighter. In 2015, with the sales of Bud Light beer alone, more than $ 2 billion was generated, almost three times more than the sales of Budweiser, the best-selling non-light beer in America. Beer Coors Light has reached a figure of one billion dollars from sales. And on the third place there was beer Miller Lite, sales of which for a year have made 884 million dollars. For comparison: Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, one of the best-selling and famous kraft beers, took only nineteenth place in the sales ranking - its figure was 79 and a half million dollars.

Important questions

But what is light light beer? How is it different from other varieties? And if light light beer is so popular, why is it not being done all over the place? The answer to these questions can be both more complicated and easier than you think.

What is light light beer?

For starters, one concept should be understood: light light beer is the most ordinary beer that is brewed exactly like all other varieties. Light light beers are just as "ordinary" beer as everyone else. Not all varieties will suit you to taste, but that does not mean that some sort is not "ordinary". This is to the fact that many people for some reason believe that light light beer is not as good as any other. From a technical point of view, the only factor, considering which, refers a particular beer to this category, is a low calorie content, which leads to a low alcohol content. In these beers, the words "light light" refer, rather, to the relatively low content of alcohol and calories, rather than to the color of the beer.

Analogues

However, it is worthwhile to clarify: low content as to what? And here is the characteristic of light light beer, which is the most unique: light light beer is most often an analogue of an already existing variety in the "repertoire" of the brewery. For example, in the brewery product line, there should not necessarily be a regular stout to be able to boil an imperial stout in a wide range, but the most famous light beers are usually the "lighter" variants of already existing, more calorie beers.

How did this beer come about?

This phenomenon can also help explain why in most cases light light beer is considered as something worse. Light light beer appeared in the mid-seventies. Then in most cases, light beer was a water-diluted grade of ordinary beer - taste and aroma were sacrificed to reduce calories. The brand of beer Samuel Adams made a big noise in the industry in 2001, when a lighter version of the famous Samuel Adams Boston Lager, called Sam Adams Light, entered the market. This step was considered in those days as unacceptable for the craft brewers. Brand creator Jim Koch, who always aimed to popularize light light beer, explained his position: "In the nineties, we thought, what would be the light light beer for our brand? This beer should have been filled with taste and aroma, and not pale, tasteless fizzy drink. When it came to creating such a beer, we had to work both on the recipe and on the actual cooking process itself. " This period of research lasted two years, during which 23 variants of beer were created.

Basic moments

The history of the beer Sam Adams Light emphasizes two points in the issues of light light beer cooking. Firstly, while light light beer has fewer calories than usual, it should not correspond to any specific flavor profile. Secondly, although cooking light light beer does not differ in principle from the same process in the case of other types of beer, on closer inspection it is still much more complicated.

Special technology: differences in the production process

During the brewing process, a special technology is used, called digestion of mashed malt. It is a way to carry out multi-stage mashing of malt without adding additional water and without providing additional heat to the mash tank. This process requires a little more time and attention, it is the stage of suppression of the enzyme. Knowing this, you can put the malt in the kiln at high temperature and kill the malt enzymes, thereby making the beer less caloric. Simply put, the destruction of enzymes will reduce the amount of fermenting sugar and thereby reduce the content of alcohol and calories. However, the fact that it needs to be explained by non-professional language proves that the creation of light light beers goes beyond the bounds of basic knowledge about home brewing. But if you look from the point of view of the brewing process, creating a beer to reduce the number of calories in it is not more difficult, it's just an entirely different way.

The complexity of the process

However, the brewer Travis Moore, who works at the factory that produces the world famous Budweiser, believes that some moments of light light beer production can be a bit more complicated, especially when it comes to quality control. Light light beers are difficult to make so that they have a consistent and recurring flavor. All varieties of light light beer produced at the plant undergo strict quality control procedures so that the company can supply high-quality beer to the market.

Why are so few companies producing such beer?

A high level of quality control can be the answer to the last question: given that only in the US there are more than five thousand breweries, why not produce more light light varieties that are sold best? Travis Moore voiced several reasons why light light beer in America still remains a phenomenon that belongs exclusively to the largest beer producers. First, a larger scale also means a high level of quality control of the ingredients. For example, most of the malt used by the company is manufactured in institutions belonging to the same company. And at the same time, the world-famous experience in the production of malt barley of the highest quality in the world is used. Time and money are also an important factor. The initial cost of equipment can be prohibitively high for small companies, and it takes years of study and practice to master this process.