Miller Lite, the old standby

Brewer: MillerCoors
Alcohol Content: 4.2%

Official Description from Brewer:
"Our flagship brand, Miller Lite, is the great tasting, less filling beer that defined the American light beer category in 1975.  Today, Miller Lite is the ultimate light beer, known for its inherent quality of great taste."

Wilk's Take:
Ah Miller Lite, the victim of many a Notre Dame tailgate, White Sox game, and various barbecues and parties around the Midwest, the beer that competes with Bud Light for the love and affection of the masses.  This is the beer that reminds me of what I always envisioned beer drinking to be.  It brings me back to the days of smelling a beer from the opening of a pull tabbed Lowenbrau or Stroh's that my uncles would let me sip from.  This is a quintessential beer for me.  This is the American light-style lager that my friends would drink while debating football, politics, or women.  To me, this is the beer I think about when someone asks me if I want to grab a beer.

Crisp.  That's the first word I think about when I take a sip of an ice cold Miller Lite.  There is a certain crispness to it right before the bitterness hits your tongue.  It's like the sensation of an under sweetened lemonade.  The carbonation, a little heavy if you drink too quickly, tickles the throat as you take that first swallow.  And the finish, well, for an average beer it's an average finish.  You can't escape the fact that you just had a sip of beer and your breath will stink of it for several minutes.

Having said all the beautiful things about Miller Lite above, let's call it what it really is, water with alcohol content.  I mean, I'll drink the stuff without hesitation but it really is the average Joe's beer.  Couple it with Bud Light or Coors Light and you really won't know the difference.  Sure, the die-hards will tell you out there that they know, but taste tests (at least the one I witnessed in a great documentary entitled "Beer Wars") beg to differ with you.

All American light style beers pour the same and look the same in the glass.  The only variation is what hue of yellow emanates.  Miller Lite, poured lovingly into a pint glass, still looks like urine.  That's probably why a vast majority of people order Miller Lite in bottle or can form and rarely, if ever take it from the tap.  No one wants to be reminded that what they are drinking vaguely resembles the sample they had to give for their drug test.

Suggestion: Drink it, don't drink it, it's entirely up to you.  Beer drinkers know what to expect when it comes to drinking a Miller Lite.  If you prefer much bigger brother Bud Light, avoid Miller or buy it when it's on sale and the company you keep enjoys it.

Value: Still sells for around $12 for a 24 pack of bottles when on sale.  Most beer specials at your local bar include Miller Lite for $3.50 a 22 oz glass or even $2 a bottle.  Good for a cheap night of drinking and when you have to buy beer in massive quantities.

Michelle factor: Michelle has been known to take down a Miller Lite on occasion.  Of course, a Miller Lite means one and done.  As a non-beer drinker, Michelle would agree that Miller Lite is one of the reasons why she doesn't like beer.