LIGHT IN PROFILE,
HEAVY IN PROFIT

Light beers long have ruled the landscape of restaurants and bars across the country, and although dark beers have been challenging them, it’s still the way many Americans prefer to drink.

Mixing It Up
    At Jupiter in downtown Berkeley, Calif., the staff sells a mix of their own beers and other beers. The bar’s operators feature 20 guest beers at all times, with most of them coming from the California microbrew movement.
    Tim Henry, a bartender at Jupiter, says that right now the trend among California beer drinkers tends to be the darker stuff, such as stouts or India Pale Ales. However, there still are plenty of lighter beers to choose from, and their market will never truly go away.
    Aside from the Big Three domestics, beers such as Pilsner Urquel, Paulaner, Warsteiner and Stella Artois are making inroads in the American beer market. Also, light-colored Belgium beers sell well at Jupiter. One of the other popular light beers at Jupiter is Trummer Pils, which has a balance of Sazz hops and German lager malt that creates a golden raisin flavor. It received a Silver Medal at the Great American Beer Festival in the past.
    Although dark beer is gaining market share, light beers serve a crucial purpose. Because they tend to be easier to drink, they are a good introduction for novice beer drinkers.
    Jupiter also has a Hefe-Wiezen, or German wheat beer, that they produce and proffer during the warmer months. There is a Honey Wheat Beer, too, which is a strong seasonal seller. The bar also has an Orphan Wheat, a variation of its honey wheat. It’s even lighter in color, is more bitter and doesn’t have as much body.
    Another good seller is Moonlight Brewery’s Lunatic Lager. “It’s a fun brewery that has a lot of interesting names,” Henry said. “That’s my personal favorite when I’m in the mood for a lighter beer.”

A Lighter Landscape
    The light beer scene is different at Spectators Sports Bar in Houston. There, Bud Light, Miller Lite and Coors Light rule the light beer landscape.
    Dede Westling has been a manager at Spectators Sports Bar for 15 years, and she says the light beers usually sell themselves without a lot of promotion. She says the younger crowd tends to drink Bud Light and the older crowds tend to drink Miller Lite.
    Westling adds that new products such as Heineken and Amstel Light have entered the area, but they haven’t made a lasting market impression quite yet.
    “Younger people will be tempted to try a new beer, but you get someone 40 and up and they’re going to stick with what they’re used to –– they’re not going to change,” she says.
    Westling says she does, however, sell Michelob Ultra Amber to even the less-experimental guys who are looking for low-carb beers because it has more of a bite than the regular Michelob Ultra. NCB