May 13th, 2009
In the interest of fair and balanced reporting…
Here at 2beerguys.com, we like to think we’re pretty straightforward with our views on beer. We review the beers for what they are, not always judging them best on their adherence to their particular style, but more often if we like to drink it or not. Having said that, I was compelled last night to pick up a six-pack of MGD 64. Why would I do that you ask? Aren’t you an insane hophead who loves having his palate ripped off by an overload of abrasive and over the top hops you might say? Aren’t you also madly in love with rich, luscious, carefully crafted stouts? Yes, I am.
But I’m also not naive enough to think that millions of Americans are simply just cattle being herded to beers from the big guys. You don’t achieve the sales volumes they have without having a diverse customer base and that includes, I’m certain, more than a few very successful CEO’s of some Fortune 500 companies. So what does that tell me? It tells me that very smart people, who are used to getting what they want, are drinking these beers.
We here at 2beerguys are not immune to it either. Although we were never Bud drinkers, we were, before being turned onto craft beer, cheap beer drinkers. We liked what was on sale, be it Pilsner Urquell or Red Stripe or St. Pauli Girl. And I certainly enjoyed more than a few pitchers of Icehouse in college.
But back to the point here. So I picked up this six-pack of MGD 64, I think it was $4.99. I couldn’t tell you the last time I picked up a six-pack for $4.99. Save me the comments about why it’s so cheap. I know them all. But that’s the point. I went into this armed with knowledge and fully aware of what I should expect. And I got exactly what I expected. At 64 calories, it packs almost as much nutritional value as a piece of steak that gets stuck between your teeth. It has 2.4 grams of carbs, which I’m pretty sure I burned in the process of twisting off the cap. But that’s the point here. It’s supposed to be incredibly light, and it was. It was supposed to be almost devoid of flavor, and it was. But it was also refreshing. So, will I be picking up more of it once this six-pack is gone? Not likely, as I didn’t enjoy the beer nearly as much as I enjoyed the way in which it didn’t feel like I was drinking a beer. But now at least I’ve had it, and I can say with confidence that they have achieved precisely what it was they were after. They’ve created a beer with almost no caloric impact, that has almost no taste, and is refreshing to boot.