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Hops are supposed to be added three times. Shut up, Miller Lite.

Posted on June 26th, 2009

miller_lite_triple_hops_brewed

As a followup to a recent post about hops I wanted to address the way this key ingredient in beer is sometimes portrayed by the major breweries in America. Recently Miller Lite has begun boasting about how they add hops to their beer not once, but three separate times during brewing.

They make it sound  impressive, but the thing is you’re suppose to add hops three times during brewing, that’s just how you make beer. Just check John Palmer’s book about brewing, How to Brew; you’ll see that he instructs you to add hops three times during brewing. This is  the reason that hops are divided into three different types: bittering hops, flavor hops and aroma (or finishing) hops, which Palmer also describes on that page.

The reason Miller and othe brewers can get away with such nonsense is that they count on the average beer drinker not actually knowing very much about beer. We here at Beeriety are aiming to change that, stay tuned to learn more about beer and beer culture.

Posted in Beer Ad Myths, General

  • +1. I always laugh my ass of when this commercial comes on. This one and the budweiser one where they talk about how they don't skimp on ingredients so they can make a superior beer, lolz, yeah right!

  • I suppose at least they know what hops are and are trying to do something properly, even if they do suffer from a bit beer fail.

  • Stephen Brownell

    Haha, ya bud doesn't skimp on ingredients. That's why they use up to 40% rice and other crap to get their sugars. Sigh, oh mega-marketed beers. You suck like whoa.

  • Alex G.

    Agreed that Miller Lite is playing on the ignorance of the mass consumer, however this is an age-old advertising trick.

    To borrow an example from the tv show Mad Men: Brand A says “Brand B cigarettes give you lung cancer. Brand A uses premium toasted tobacco!” When in reality, all the cigarettes toast the tobacco.

    Besides, anyone who's had a Miller Lite will quickly see that there's nothing special about any of their processes or ingredients anyway… so what's the harm.

    Great blog, I will continue to read.

  • javusa

    I just came across these postings and boy do I needed them!!!

    I was just about to explode from the frustration out that “triple hops brewed” ad. The nerve of these people!

    I can just see them in my mind; the marketing department at Miller trying to come up with something to boost sales. The fact that they came up with this shows that not only their beer is the folgers of the beer world (along with that liquid paper shit called Budweiser) but their whole mentality as a company is like that.

    The could not come up with something clever and decided to go cheap and keep preying on the stupidity of the average Joe beer drinker in this country.

    What bothers me about it the most is that they knew full well the got nothing new and decided to play the old American marketing game of: “play with ignorance” (something so well played by the goverment ever since the beginning)

    A few other companies come to mind on this: Snaple: “Made from the best stuff on earth” (yeah right!; I don't see organic or premium and/or exotic ingredients on any of their products)
    Frito Lay: “we make the earth best snacks” (or something like that) same as above!
    and many, many more that I can't think of now. It seems that it is the America way to brag about something w/out proof. Just out the hat, because we can! (as a country)

    To finish this point, I end with our american past time, baseball! whoever wins in October is called “the world champions” well…..I am sorry to say, this provides the BEST example of what I am talking about. Here is this so called world champions baseball team and it turns out they never play against ANY oversees team whatsoever!

    Anyway, thanks for letting me vent some of the “steam” I had inside me about this whole Miller thing. I can now go back to being proud of never have had a Miller, Bud, or any of the other liquid paper beers (and of course, keeping the record going… for ever!)

  • javusa

    I just came across these postings and boy do I needed them!!!

    I was just about to explode from the frustration out that “triple hops brewed” ad. The nerve of these people!

    I can just see them in my mind; the marketing department at Miller trying to come up with something to boost sales. The fact that they came up with this shows that not only their beer is the folgers of the beer world (along with that liquid paper shit called Budweiser) but their whole mentality as a company is like that.

    They could not come up with something clever and decided to go cheap and keep preying on the stupidity of the average Joe beer drinker in this country.

    What bothers me about it the most is that they knew full well the got nothing new and decided to play the old American marketing game of: “play with ignorance” (something so well played by the goverment ever since the beginning)

    A few other companies come to mind on this: Snaple: “Made from the best stuff on earth” (yeah right!; I don't see organic or premium and/or exotic ingredients on any of their products)
    Frito Lay: “we make the earth best snacks” (or something like that) same as above!
    and many, many more that I can't think of now. It seems that it is the America way to brag about something w/out proof. Just out the hat, because we can! (as a country)

    To finish this point, I end with our american past time, baseball! whoever wins in October is called “the world champions” well…..I am sorry to say, this provides the BEST example of what I am talking about. Here is this so called world champions baseball team and it turns out they never play against ANY oversees team whatsoever!

    Anyway, thanks for letting me vent some of the “steam” I had inside me about this whole Miller thing. I can now go back to being proud of never have had a Miller, Bud, or any of the other liquid paper beers (and of course, keeping the record going… for ever!)

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