Miller gives up on Brewers Collection but takes another shot at drinkers of better beer,
Miller Brewing, now MillerCoors, is taking another shot at the premium beer market. Starting this week it will be selling a Peruvian lager, Cusqueña, in Rhode Island.
A MillerCoors press release described Cusqueña as "made using the finest quality Saaz hops and pure glacier water from a source at 18,000 feet in the Andes Mountains. The result is a full-flavored European-style lager with Latin American flair."
Meanwhile, the Miller Lite Brewers Collection, an attempt to mix craft and light beers, is all but dead. A spokesman in Milwaukee said the brewers collection -- a blonde ale, a wheat and amber--- had been "suspendend" in August and there are no plans to restart it.
You might remember that back in February Baltimore, along with Charlotte, Minneapolis and San Diego, were chosen as test markets for the brewers collecton. Baltimore beer drinkers as well as sippers in the other test cities said no thanks to the lite-craft marriage.
The introduction of the Peruvian lager is, the MillerCoors spokesman said, an attempt to capture the "Latinization" of the American beer market. The brewery's hope is that the Peruvian beer will follow the path of Miller Chill, which was well received in ethnic communities then gained mainstream popularity.
In other words, in Baltimore we aren't likely to see Cusqueña unless it sells well in Rhode Island.
My questions: Has anyone had this Peruvian beer?
How would you describe the Latinization of American beers?
Does it go beyond putting a lime on a lager? Are the ingredients in the Latin beers different than other beers?
Comments
Had an Argentine lager once. I bought it in the Shoppers in College Park, don't remember what it was called. It was completely unremarkable. Tasted approximately like Budweiser, complete with harsh macro-brewed aftertaste. I'm guessing it wasn't the country's best effort.
Posted by: Grant | October 8, 2008 9:16 PM
I never tasted the miller craft beers but I can tell you that their marketing was a total disaster. I'm not one for glitzed up packaging but you could hardly tell there was beer in those bottles. "Miller Beer Blonde Ale" - good call. They could have just created an old sounding name and tried to market it that way - at least people might say "oh this looks neat".
Posted by: bryanintimonium | October 9, 2008 8:45 AM
As a child of Peruvian immigrants I've had a lot of Peruvian beer. Cusqueña is not bad, as far as Peruvian beers go. One of my aunts swears by it!
It's a simple lager but I never thought it was particularly special. I can't imagine what gives it a "Latin Flair" but then again, I have had so much of it that I'm pretty used to it. We've never put a lime in it either so I have no idea what that would be like.
On a side note, I have seen my cousins order a Coke and a beer and fill a glass with both. Can you say "EWWwww!!"?
Since my family is from Callao, sort of a suburb of Lima, our preference has always been towards Pilsen - Callao. Again, nothing special but not found as often in the States.
For those interested, I've sometimes found Cusqueña at the Wine Source or Wells Liquors but very infrequently.
Posted by: Pete | October 24, 2008 2:33 PM
I think the people that truly enjoy craft beer are intelligent enough to avoid Miller's dressed-up version... Hopefully now MBC will return to producing beer based on control politics, marketing, and broad consumer taste appeal.
I have only one personal experience with the Miller Craft Brewers selection and it sums my feelings for their products wholesale...
Upon entering my favorite 'good beer' bar in Annapolis I was given a Miller Brewers Wheat beer sample and told it was the only of the three types they had left, and of the last few samples in house. Given the strangeness of the beers popularity at that particular bar I felt it must have been lucky day and time for a great free sample... NOPE, 2 sips and a second later I passed the free beer on and ordered a Flying Dog Amber having reaffirmed that a free beer isnt always likable or the physical form of luck.
Seconds later another group walked through the door and into the lounge where the cute Miller girls swarmed trying to give away the last few samples to unsuspecting customers... My group of friends and I got all got a good laugh out when the newcomers sat next to us and produced a similar to reaction to my own. It was only then we realized everyone else in the bar had pretty much refused the free drink or set it down partially full.
Not only did I not like the beer, I dont think many people did.... Better luck next time Miller.
Posted by: Dan | January 19, 2009 6:36 PM