I Tasted Macro and Craft Lagers Side by Side. My Top 3 Might Surprise You

Craft beer exists because 1970s- and 1980s-era beer lovers were bored with the selection in the United States. Faced with Budweiser, Miller, and Coors and their streamlined, watery and light products, home brewers began making bitter English and funky Belgian ales that they enjoyed while traveling. Many then opened breweries, and an industry built on variety was born. 

It perplexed many longtime fans when, in recent years, craft breweries started producing macro-like lagers, with adjuncts like rice and corn. The breweries even branded them to look like macros. Look at Braxton Brewing’s Garage Beer, Night Shift Brewing’s Nite Lite light lagers, Creature Comforts Brewing Co.’s Classic City Lager, Zero Gravity’s McLighty’s Light Lager, or Bellwoods Brewery’s Bellweiser. Aren’t those beers the antithesis of craft?

There are a few reasons why smaller breweries have embraced the trend. Society has shifted toward low-alcohol—as well as low-calorie and low-carb—options. Lagers in general have exploded in popularity within craft beer. While much of that excitement revolves around traditional Czech- and German-style lagers, it paves the way for all things crisp and crushable. That macro branding taps into a nostalgia many imbibers feel toward their dads' favorite beers like Genessee Cream Ale or Hamm’s.

Questions arise. Do craft drinkers even want these lagers? Are craft breweries bringing craft quality to light lagers? And will consumers pay craft prices for lagers instead of reaching for affordable classics? I decided to find out with a blind taste test, stacking craft-brewed lagers against macros. 

Related: I've Tried Hundreds of Beers. You Should Always Keep This Cheap West Coast IPA in Your Fridge

How I Tested Macro vs. Micro Lagers

For this blind taste test, I ordered a craft-lager selection from Half Time Beverage, which ranged in price from $3.50 to $6.50 per can. I then grabbed the same number of macros from a corner store, which ranged from $1 to $2.40 per beer. The crafts embodied the American-style lager trend and represented breweries from different U.S. regions, while the macros are the most mainstream choices you’re likely to find at any Main Street USA shop.

I had someone mix the cans up, number them, and pour samples into glasses with corresponding numbers. I wrote down tasting notes, my impressions, and my guess as to whether each was craft or macro. After all 10, I ranked them. Then, the beers were revealed to me. It’s undeniable that there’s a price jump between the macros and the crafts, but my findings prove for the most part, there’s absolutely a marked difference in quality and flavor.

Macro vs. Micro Lager Taste Test

10. Bud Light

• 4.2 percent ABV
• Light lager
• Brewed in various states

My notes start, “Ew. Broth. Creamed corn, but…carbonated.” I immediately guessed this one was a macro, and it was indeed Bud Light. Its only real “flavor profile” was DMS, or dimethyl sulfide, a sulphur compound causing notes of cooked vegetables like corn and cabbage. It happens because all malt has a DMS precursor that’s triggered when heated but is usually successfully cooked off.

9. Coors Light

• 4.2 percent ABV
• Light lager
• Brewed in various states

This was the blandest of the bunch. It did have some crispness, but its grain profile was too sweet. I called it “watery bread dough” in my notes. That might be why Coors Light is famous for being an easy drinker if you chug it at near-freezing temperatures.

8. Zero Gravity Green State Light

• 4 percent ABV
• Light lager
• Brewed in Vermont

This one hurt. I love Zero Gravity. I guessed this beer was a macro because I immediately got a skunky aroma, then found the flavor to be relatively bland. “Basically just grain, but it is dry, crisp, and thirst-quenching,” I noted. That skunk quality is more likely just the sign of an off or old can—though, if I’m giving this one the benefit of the doubt, I also have to extend that to Bud Light’s cabbage character.

7. Miller Lite

• 4.2 percent ABV
• Light lager 
• Brewed in various states

I also guessed this one was macro but not necessarily in a bad way. Miller Lite demonstrates what macro beer sets out to do: refresh with a mild buzz. I got no aroma, and the flavor was cracker-y, which wasn’t all that unpleasant considering how light, crisp, and carbonated it was.

6. Coors Banquet

• 5 percent
• Lager
• Brewed in Colorado

I did guess this one was macro, but again, I rather liked it. I got a subtly floral hop aroma and well-balanced bread-like grain flavor from Coors Banquet. It was super carbonated, which gave it a zingy, refreshing quality. It was a little thin, however, and the finish was too sweet.

5. Budweiser

• 5 percent ABV
• Lager
• Brewed in Missouri

I guessed this was a craft because it actually had some pleasant citrus in its aroma, and its sweet grain flavor was well-balanced with a hint of acidity. After years of covering and loving craft beer, I was shocked to find I placed Budweiser this high. It was a bit lacking in the “clean and crisp” department.

4. Fonta Flora Carolina Gold

• 5.2 percent ABV
• Lager
• Brewed in North Carolina

I knew this was a craft lager from its citrus and floral hop aroma. I enjoyed the grain flavor but thought it was a touch too sweet. That surprised me, considering it’s brewed with heritage rice, which should enhance its crispness and dryness. The issue might have been that I didn’t find Carolina Gold to be carbonated enough. It was still a nice drinker, and Fonta Flora’s painstaking process and use of local ingredients shines through.

3. Hop Butcher Gold Liberty-Hopped American Style Lager

• 4.7 percent ABV
• Lager
• Brewed in Illinois

This one had to be craft. Despite its American style lager classification and overall easy-drinking nature, it had a pretty full bouquet of fruity and floral hop notes and bready malt. Hop Butcher Gold almost tasted more like a blonde ale.

2. Garage Beer

• 4 percent ABV
• Light lager
• Brewed in Ohio

Established by Braxton Brewing Company, Garage Beer really took off after the Kelce brothers became significant owners. It’s a reliable banger with a citrusy, bready aroma, a sweet grain flavor balanced by a touch of acidity, good carbonation, and a dry finish.

1. Captain Lawrence Classic Lager

• 4.2 percent ABV
• Lager
• Brewed in New York

This will likely become my new go-to lawnmower beer—if I ever have a lawn. Captain Lawrence’s Classic Lager immediately struck me as a craft with its floral hop aroma, pitch-perfect balance of sweet grain, and enough hop bitterness to provide a backbone. It’s crisp and effervescent with lingering dryness, a true refresher.

Why You Should Trust Me

Courtney Iseman is a Brooklyn-based writer who has covered beer since 2018. She reports beer news, industry trends, and brewing techniques for outlets including Punch, Food & Wine, Inside Hook, CraftBeer.com, VinePair, Thrillist, The Washington Post, Craft Beer & Brewing, and Brewing Industry Guide.

She's also a Certified Cicerone Beer Server. Throughout her writing, research, Cicerone studies, and beer-curious world travels, she's delved deep into every readily available beer style, including tons of traditional European lagers, American craft lagers, and American macros.

Related: I've Tried Hundreds of Cheap Beers. These Are the Best to Sip Anytime