We Asked 12 Brewers: What’s Your Guilty-Pleasure Beer?

Beer has always been one of the more humble beverage options. It’s generally affordable, served in larger quantities than wine or spirits, and typically not too fussy in flavor or appearance. Some might even consider beer a guilty pleasure in and of itself.

However, the beer industry has changed a lot over the past 30 years. Like any category that’s undergone a craft renaissance, today’s beer market boasts more brands and niche substyles than ever before. While that boom has its benefits, it’s also fostered a degree of pretension where some dismiss Miller Lite as the liquid equivalent of cold pizza for breakfast or singing Journey’s greatest on a road trip. In short, many brews have descended to “guilty pleasure” status — but that hasn’t stopped industry pros from enjoying them.

The same person brewing award-winning hazy IPAs and barrel-aged stouts during the day might unwind with a Miller Lite or a Bud Light Lime at night, whether or not they care to admit it. To find out which beers industry insiders reach for behind closed doors, we tapped 12 brewers from across the country. Here are their picks.

The best guilty-pleasure beers, according to brewers:

Pure Project’s Tropical Mist
Miller Lite
Bud Light Lime
Grain Belt Premium
Dos Equis with a dollop of frozen Margarita
“Kegerator Clean Out”
Coors Banquet
Harland Brewing Japanese Lager
A post-run beer at 10 a.m.
Twisted Tea Rocket Pop
Stiegl Grapefruit Radler

“My guilty-pleasure beer is Pure Project’s Tropical Mist, a citrus blonde brewed with real oranges. Brewers are not supposed to like fruited blonde ales, but Pure has done a great job using real fruit in such a refreshing beer. I could crush these all night and be proud of it.” —Derek Gallanosa, head brewer and director of beer operations, GOAL. Brewing, San Diego

“Anyone who knows me, knows that I never shy away from a Miller Lite. The brand, born in Chicago under Peter Hand Brewery as Meister Bräu, has been a staple of the city and its culture. Being a Chicagoan myself, I have many blurry memories accompanied by what I like to call ‘the brewer’s latte.’ It’s not uncommon for me to wrap up a brew day at Milieu with a cold one from the lab sample fridge.” —Rob Bessett, co-owner and head brewer, Milieu Fermentation, Aurora, Colo.

“Without hesitation, Bud Light Lime. It almost drinks more like a soda than a beer — lime character and little else. It’s deeply and undeniably refreshing, and the lime helps buffer against the temperature sensitivity most macros have (it’s still tasty over 50 degrees). I’ll also give it bonus points for being seemingly impossible to get drunk on.” —Noah Bissell, co-founder, Bissell Brothers, Portland, Maine

“Grain Belt Premium, a.k.a. ‘The Friendly Beer.’ I don’t get out to the Midwest as often as I’d like, but whenever I see this beer, I’m a moth to a flame. I’m not ashamed to drink it; quite the opposite. I’m ashamed that more people can’t enjoy it and its rich history — so much so that when my brother lived in Iowa, we’d swap the craft beer I had brewed for a few ‘Friendly Beers.’” —Ian Smith, lead brewer, Kings County Brewers Collective, Brooklyn

“There is a cafe in Santa Fe, N.M., that sells a drink called ‘Lavalamp.’ It’s a glass of Dos Equis Mexican Lager with a dollop of frozen Margarita in it. It’s perfectly limey, crisp, and just the right amount of cool you need for the desert heat.” —Missy Begay, co-founder and creative director, Bow & Arrow Brewing Co., Albuquerque, N.M.

“Miller Lite. When I’m not at the brewery drinking my own beer, I’m probably drinking one. It’s always ‘Miller Time’ somewhere.” —Troy Johnson, head brewer, Cerberus Brewing Company, Colorado Springs, Colo.

“My guilty pleasure is the ‘Kegerator Clean Out,’ which consists of beers that people give me along with old Sapwood cans piled up in my modified chest freezer at home. Eventually, it won’t close, so I start pulling out old beer: a cherry saison that a homebrewer left, that Triple IPA that fell to the bottom six months ago, a low-filled imperial stout I was supposed to evaluate, etc. Generally, it’s one or two sips of each and the rest goes down the drain. Hopefully, I find one worth putting aside to enjoy, but I always have fun trying a bunch of beers and seeing how they hold up.” —Mike Tonsmeire, co-founder, Sapwood Cellars Brewery, Columbia, Md.

“My guilty pleasure beer would be Coors Banquet. It’s reliable and a crusher. For me, it’s a beer for all occasions.” —Shawn Cannon, head brewer, Free Will Brewing Co., Bucks County, Pa.

“My guilty pleasure beer is Harland’s Japanese Lager. I find myself having it regularly when I go to their taprooms and when out for dinner all over Southern California. I’m always grabbing cans at Costco, Target, Trader Joe’s, and several grocery stores near home. It’s always crisp and clean, consistent as it gets, and keeps me coming back for more. I’m guilty as charged because it is definitely the beer I have drunk the most of the past few years and just so happens to be local.” —Kyle Harrop, owner and founder, Horus Aged Ales, Oceanside, Calif.

“A guilty-pleasure beer for me isn’t so much the beer itself, but the time and place. I love trail-running, and I often go out on weekend mornings for a longer (for me) nine-to-10-miler in the Wissahickon Valley. My favorite beer of the week is usually after that run. I don’t usually have another one until dinner time, but sitting on the porch drinking a beer at 10 a.m., drenched in sweat, mud, and dirt is just so satisfying. And let’s be honest here… I don’t feel guilty at all.” —Andrew Foss, head brewer, Human Robot Brewery, Philadelphia

“It’s not technically a beer, but I’m gonna go with Twisted Tea Rocket Pop. It’s nostalgic and not ‘popsicle sweet’ (although close). It brings me to moments of being 5 years old watching fireworks. It’s brisk enough to where I can crush more than I would like to admit, especially on hot summer days” —Cameron Owen, founder, Hidden Space Brewing, Greenville, S.C.

“My guilty-pleasure beer is Stiegl Grapefruit Radler. It’s so refreshing, and it takes me back to the days of drinking soda in my childhood. I was working in beer sales in Chicago (where I’m from) when it first hit the market, and one of my accounts invented what they call a ‘Death Radler,’ where they drop a shot of Malört into it. It somehow makes both the Malört and the Radler better.” —Bryon Pyka, co-owner and head brewer, Terranaut Beer, Bend, Ore.

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