As I sat in the bar the other day, counting the beer commercials whilst watching the Super Bowl, one thing became very apparent: Budweiser, or more specifically Anheuser-Busch InBev is a monster of a beer company.
Setting aside the quality of the beer for a moment, let’s take a look at the numbers. According to this article, A-B has a marketshare of 50.9 of the American beer market.
Think about that for a moment. For everyone ordering a Miller, Corona, Rogue Ale, Guinness, Heineken, Sam Adams, Fat Tire, Red Hook, or Pabst, someone else is ordering a Budweiser or other Bud related beer. One out of every two beers in the United States is made by Anheuser-Busch.
The second biggest brewer, Miller Brewing Company, only pulls in roughly 19 percent of the market, while Coors is a distant third with 10 percent (give or take…numbers pulled from here and here).
I find these numbers astounding. Eight out of every ten beers sold in the U.S is made by one of three companies.
And if that was not enough to blow your mind, consider this fact: The type of beer that they sell the most of are of the same variety.
Budweiser: Standard American Lager
Bud Light: Lite American Lager
Miller Lite: Lite American Lager
Miller High Life: Standard American Lager
Coors Light: Lite American Lager
Coors Original: Standard American Lager
Are you sensing a pattern here?
For more context, the Beer Judge Certification Program recognizes 22 types of other beers. There are dozens of other recipes out there beyond those 22. And yet the majority of Americans drink lager. And with the popularity of the Lite American Lagers, we like them watered down.
I’m trying to think of a word that sums my feeling of all this. ‘Travesty’ is a tad over-dramatic. ‘Pathetic’ is a little closer to what I feel, but even that sounds a bit strong. ‘Aghast’ maybe?
