Open Borders (for drinking)

Miller is going to import the michelada concept from south of the border to boost lagging sales. They're hoping that it will become a beer Americans will drink. From today's Wall Street Journal (sub req):

Miller Brewing Co., known for its conventional slate of American beers, is hoping a brew with a Mexican twist can help pull it out of a sales slump.

The Milwaukee brewer is launching Miller Chill, a 110-calorie beer flavored with lime and salt, throughout the U.S. this summer after a successful test run in Texas and several other states. Chill is Miller's answer to the michelada, a drink popular at Mexican beach resorts usually consisting of beer, lime juice and ice in a salt-rimmed glass.

Miller, since 2002 the North American arm of London-based SABMiller PLC, plans to spend more than $30 million this year on television and print advertising for Chill. TV ads in local markets included the slogan, "Se habla Chill?" ("Do you speak Chill?"). Miller is counting on Chill to help it reverse a sales decline in North America and regain market share in the face of brutal competition.

In the U.S., beer giants Miller, Anheuser-Busch Cos. and Molson Coors Brewing Co. are struggling to increase sales of their flagship domestic beers, as beer drinkers increasingly reach for imports and small-batch "craft" brews. Miller's prowess in the American beer industry has been gradually slipping since the 1980s, when Miller Lite held the lead in the light-beer wars with its famed "Tastes Great, Less Filling," ad campaign.

Last year, Miller Lite lost market share to the best-selling U.S. beer, Bud Light. Miller's other brands, such as Miller High Life and Miller Genuine Draft, have stumbled for several years. In the year ended March 31, Miller's earnings before interest, taxes and amortization slid 17%, making it the worst-performing of SABMiller's regional divisions. North American sales fell 1% to $4.9 billion.

The brewer hopes Chill, which it calls a premium light lager, will appeal to light-beer drinkers seeking more flavor. Miller is targeting 21- to 35-year-olds with the new brand, says Randy Ransom, Miller's chief marketing officer. "Consumers are looking for new and different ways to experience beer, and they're willing to pay for it," he says. "The core objective of this brand is to take share from competitive mainstream brands by giving light-beer drinkers a compelling reason to trade up."

At stores, a six-pack of Chill, sold in lime-green long-neck bottles, sells for $6.50 to $7, about a dollar more than a six-pack of Miller Lite.

While I'm sure Chill will have more flavor than Miller Lite (it's almost impossible not to), I'm a bit skeptical about trying to capture michelada in a bottle. I've enjoyed many a michelada in Mexico in the past and it is a refreshing, easy to drink concoction.

However, when you order a michelada in a restaurant, you get a salt-rimmed glass half full of fresh lime juice and a bottle of whatever beer you prefer to add to the mix (Sol is my usual choice). You can then pour as much or as little beer as you want to suit your taste.

How this is going to play out when it's mass produced and bottled remains to be seen. I'll give Chill a shot when it comes to a liquor store near me, but I doubt if will become one of my beers of summer.

Somewhat related to the subject of flavored beers, Henry e-mails on ginger beer and ale:

If you're ever in Detroit, try Vernor's ginger ale on tap. It has a spicy bite like none other. Vernor's is okay in cans and bottles but it's not as spicy or tasty--just as A&W root beer is better out of a tap. Vernor's used to be available in the Twin Cities, but I haven't seen a six-pack for years.

UPDATE: Bert e-mails with a tip:

Tell Henry, apparently a fellow emigrant Michigander (never "Michiganian"), that I consistently find Vernor's at Cub Foods. Not as good as out of the "tap", to be sure, but it's home away from home just as certainly as another Lions loss on Thanksgiving Day, or Rose Bowl loss to USC.

UPDATE II: Paul from Colorado, another Fraters regular, bellies up to bar and offers this suggestion:

One beer mixture that my better half likes a lot and I think it isn't too bad is a Black Velvet. Half champagine and half Porter. Try it sometime if you haven't.

Since I'm not a big bubbly drinker (and I don't think that special bottle I'm saving for the day when the Vikes win the 'Bowl will be opened anytime soon), I have not had the pleasure of enjoying a Black Velvet. But anything made with porter can't be half bad, so I'll have to give it a go one of these days. You serving porter at your wedding SP?