Beers We've Lost Our Love For

24/7 Wall St.: Beers Americans No Longer Love

Budweiser has reigned as the King of Beers for almost two decades, holding the top two positions with Bud Light at no. 1 and Bud at no. 2. This week, the King was dethroned. In a move that reflects America's changing calorie-conscious tastes, Coors Light passed Bud to become the no. 2 brand in 2011 in terms of shipments. According to Beer Marketer's Insights, Coors Light is now behind Bud Light and ahead of Bud.

(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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Beers We've Lost... Budweiser has reigned as the King of Beers for almost two decades, holding the top two positions with Bud Light at no. 1 and Bud at no. 2. This week, the King was dethroned. In a move that reflects America's changing calorie-conscious tastes, Coors Light passed Bud to become the no. 2 brand in 2011 in terms of shipments. According to Beer Marketer's Insights, Coors Light is now behind Bud Light and ahead of Bud.

(AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Budweiser - Sales loss (2006-2010): -30 percent
- Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
Barrels sold (2010): 18 million

The self-proclaimed “king of beers,” Budweiser’s lager was originally sold in 1876. The company still refers to itself as The Great American Lager, despite the fact that the brand is now technically owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, a Belgian company. For years, it was the most popular beer in the country, until Bud Light took its place in 2001.

(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

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Milwaukee's Best... - Sales loss (2006-2010): -34 percent
- Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
- Barrels sold (2010): 1.3 million

Milwaukee’s Best Light was introduced in 1986 as the light version of Milwaukee’s Best. Now owned by MillerCoors, the beer has the tagline “brewed for a crisp, full taste.” Sales of the beer peaked at 2.1 million barrels in 1998 and 1999, but have declined steadily every year because of the success of larger brand name light beers like Bud Light and Miller Lite.

(AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

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The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
Miller Genuine D... - Sales loss (2006-2010): -51 percent
- Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
- Barrels sold (2010): 1.8 million

Miller Genuine Draft, often referred to as MGD, is MillerCoors’ unpasteurized beer. It was introduced by Miller Brewing in 1985. The beer is actually made from the same recipe as Miller High Life, but is treated differently post-brewing. The beer is cold-filtered, rather than pasteurized, and is considered a draft beer. Sales of the beer peaked in 1992 at 7.1 million barrels. It now sells barely a quarter of that each year.

(AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

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Old Milwaukee - Sales loss (2006-2010): -52 percent
- Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
- Barrels sold (2010): 525,000

Old Milwaukee is the flagship of the high-end products made by faltering Pabst Brewing Company — once one of the largest brewery companies in the world. In 1990, Old Milwaukee sold over 6 million barrels. This brand, along with others made by Pabst Brewing, almost certainly have been hurt by the huge marketing budgets of MillerCoors Brewing and Anheuser-Busch InBev and their ability to leverage the large sales volumes for better positions in stores.

(AP Photo/Morry Gash)

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Milwaukee's Best... - Sales loss (2006-2010): -53 percent
- Brewer: MillerCoors Brewing
- Barrels sold (2010): 925,000

Milwaukee’s Best is one of Miller’s economy brands. It is part of the line named “Milwaukee” meant to capitalize on the name of America’s former brewing capital. The product sold an impressive 7 million barrels in 1990. Its competition, which includes Pabst and Keystone, have been successfully taking market share at the bottom of the market.

(AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

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Bud Select - Sales loss (2006-2010): -60 percent
- Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
- Barrels sold (2010): 925,000

Bud Select is Anheuser Busch’s primary product in the ultra low calorie beer segment. It has only 99 calories per can. The large brewery has put a large amount of money behind the marketing of the beer, which has Jay-Z as a spokesman. The product was introduced in 2005 and has steadily lost sales.

(AP Photo/Steve Helber)

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Michelob Light - Sales loss (2006-2010): -64 percent
- Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
- Barrels sold (2010): 525,000

Michelob Light was launched in 1978 as Anheuser Busch worked to combat the huge success of Miller Lite in the mid-1970s. The plan did not work well. Miller Lite was the No.2 selling beer from the early 1980s until 1994 with sales of 14.7 million barrels that year. Michelob Light sales reached only 2 million barrels by 1994. The beer has steadily lost sales since, and is now barely selling over a half million barrels each year.

(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

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Michelob - Sales loss (2006-2010): -72 percent
- Brewer: Anheuser-Busch InBev
- Barrels sold (2010): 175,000

Michelob was first brewed in Adolphus Busch, the founder of Anheuser Busch in 1896. It was named for one of the small towns in the hops-growing region of Germany. When Anheuser Busch needed a super premium beer to compete with high-end imports like Heineken in the 1970s, it positioned Michelob to take that place.

(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, file)

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