Say what you want about millennials, but the products that come from pandering to the demographic seem to get better and better. As craft beer gains a foothold with the 20-something age group, big beer is trying to figure out how to turn those 21- to 24-year-olds into loyal business. This millennial demographic has been responsible for many products lately, and one could even say that the 'nice cream' trend that culminated in Halo Top's popularity is an affect of reaching the younger age bracket. However, MillerCoors knew that the market was missing a specific kind of beer for cheap: a good one.
Cue Two Hats. In September 2017, MillerCoors announced it would launch a beer aimed at that precious early 20s age group in 2018. Two Hats is, as MillerCoors puts it, "a line of clean-finishing light beers brewed with a hint of natural fruit flavor." The beer is about 4.2 percent alcohol-by-volume and has recently hit shelves in two flavors: lime and pineapple. Say what you want about fruit beers, but there's a reason why the Gulf Coast and Florida are basically Bud Light Lime country. The easy drinking citrusy flavors will pair well with a summer sunset somewhere. But that's not the best part about Two Hats.
Two Hats Lime and Pineapple (PRNewsfoto/MillerCoors)
You see, MillerCoors knew that good beer is already out there, but it's expensive and it's not light. So these 16-ounce cans of light beer will be offered in both 4-packs and six-packs for about five dollars. Based on regional beer taxes, the price will fluctuate between the two serving sizes. Between Miller Lite and Coors Light, it seems the new beer will be in good company.
Why flavored beer? Well, that comes from the fact that "nearly three in five U.S. alcohol beverage drinkers said they were interested in beer with fruit flavors... what's more, one in five beer drinkers drank a flavored beer in 2015, led by women aged 22 to 34." This release comes more than 20 years since a mainstream beer launched with a low price point.
As David Kroll, MillerCoors' chief marketing officer said in a release in September on the MillerCoors blog,
"We know that people who choose beer when they become of legal drinking age are two times more likely to continue drinking beer throughout their lifetime, and as an organization, we have an opportunity to regain ground with this group."
The fruit-flavored angle of the new brand points to more than just beer. Fruity flavors are found in everything from Blue Moon to Redd's Apple Ale to the new alcoholic seltzer beverages on the market. Say what you want about this new generation of beer drinkers and the new fruity light beer made for them, but it seems that we're all benefiting from the products made for them.
After all, when was the last time you bought a six-pack of 16-oz. cans for an affordable price? This seems like a good beer to float the river with this summer.
