Yep. Bud had a fairly big presence in the UK even before the InBev buyout. A market research report I have access to at work shows it had 3.3% of the market by brand in 2010. Behind Carling, Fosters, Carlsberg, Stella Artois, John Smith’s, Guinness and Kronenbourg – yes, the Brits drink a lot of crappy beer, too. Fuller’s has 0.8% of the market in overall sales by brewer, for reference.
Every single time I hear the word Michelob I think of either Stever Martin or Pizza Parlors from the '80s. I also remember seeing adverts from them about three years ago with a bunch of “new” recipes - dopplebock, weizen, that sort of thing - anybody try them?
I remember having my brother buy a friend and I a 6 pack of Michelob Dark when we were 16. I think the commercial sold me: “Dark beer: not just for thick-necked guys named Gunther”. That was 21 years ago. I haven’t touched the brand since.
Back in the day I was a big Schlitz Dark fan. A “Dark Evening” with my friends entailed a doob or two, a pitcher of Schlitz Dark each, a pizza, and several hours in the footsball parlor. As often as not fresh mushrooms were thrown in the mix for good measure (and belly laughs).
I see those dark days as the incubation of my quest for beer with flavor
Michelob Dark tasted the same as regular Michelob. We used to joke that it was the same, with dark food coloring added.
It’s their own special brand of brewer’s caramel. Interesting stuff, far, far thicker than Sinamar and just barely less thick than say LME. A 2L bottle of it is extraordinarily heavy.