Sports and Beer

Sports and Beer go hand in hand. Tailgating, Super Bowl parties, Hu Dey beer; it's interwoven in the sports culture. But beer as a sports drink is just offensive. I'm pretty tolerant of Bud Light, Miller Light etc. I don't mind drinking them from time to time. On the other hand, Michelob Ultra has always annoyed me. That pains me a little, as some of the first beers outside of Bud and Miller that both DH and myself tried were from a Michelob sampler pack. That sampler featured a number of things we both thought terrible at the time, but it also opened up the idea that there is a larger beer world out there. In a sense, it was a gateway beer to real craft brews.

I think the root of my annoyance with Ultra lies mostly in their commercials. Like the one above, they mostly feature people biking, running, swimming or participating in other sports. It's a niche they've specifically targeted by hiring Lance Armstrong as their spokesman and sponsoring athletic events. They even operate from a different web site than the other Michelob products. I don't mind companies trying to make a good light beer. And I certainly don't mind people drinking them, or trying to get fit. This marketing approach just seems a little insulting. I would rather encourage people to drink one good craft brew a week rather than 10 beers they drink just for the sake of drinking. If you like Bud, Miller, Michelob or whatever, fine. Drink it. You don't need guys on bikes telling you it's OK, though.

It's certainly not the first combo of beer and athletics. In fact, hashers have been doing what those commercials show for years.

Side Note: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hash_House_Harriers for what hashers are. In short they describe themselves as "a drinking club with a running problem." Their constitution from original group is admirable (again from Wikipedia, assumed correct):

• To promote physical fitness among our members
• To get rid of weekend hangovers
• To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it in beer
• To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel

Here's where I see the difference. The hashers are people that like a good drink and they like sports. There is no misrepresentation there. Ultra pushes itself as a cross between Gatorade and beer. These ladies even recognize that it's a red flag:



Of course, their getting rid of beer option to cure obesity is just absurd. After all, the New York Times tells us that drinking encourages exercise.

Finally, I may have it all wrong. I'm willing to buy some and give it a shot. It seems to have worked out for the Untamed Beer guy (just don't expect me to run 5 miles, then drink it):