Not My Circus

 

The recent pratfall by Anheuser-Busch as a result of their marketing campaign - if selling a lot less beer is considered marketing - is interesting as an intellectual exercise. Other than that, it really doesn't have much to do with me.

Give me a cold Corona long neck (with a slice of lime) or a squat Modelo Especial and I'm happy. The Bochito Mexican lager at the local pub is subtly different with every new brewing. Bud Light? Way down the list.

I thought, contemplating this blog, two things:

-This is not my circus, and these are not my monkeys. Aside from a libertarian streak a mile wide, I'm not involved in boycotting something I don't buy, and

-I should at least try a Bud Light, to see if it's even worth fighting over.

So, it's 75 degrees outside, and I'm watching the Indy 500. Race cars are wrecking, it's a beautiful day in Indianapolis and AJ Foyt is in the house. And I'm having a Bud Light. Just to see.

Hmmm. The first taste (out of the can - no cheating, here) is fine, even refreshing. There is an authentic beer flavor, the absence of a bite, and a lingering sort of heft that reminds a consumer that this is, well, beer. I can see someone tossing down one of these at a barbecue, a ball game or pulling a six pack from an icy mountain stream after a long day in the saddle. My guess is that it is also fairly uniform - I can pick up another someday and get pretty much the same result. Decent mega-beer, reasonable price, available everywhere.

So, here's a toast. The Miller Lite commercial is from a time when people drank beer because it tasted great...or was less filling. The beer people would sell you as much as you'd buy, and didn't feel compelled to call you names while you were loading up. You could go drink it wherever the mood struck, and be whomever you were while you were doing it. Nobody much cared.

I'm going to finish my beer, and maybe watch a little cricket. How's that for diversity?