Milwaukee's Best

Milwaukee's Best is an American beer brand associated with Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and the Miller brewing business. The brand traces its origins to 1895, when it was established as Gettelman's Milwaukee's Best Beer by the A. Gettelman Brewing Company. Miller Brewing Company acquired A. Gettelman Brewing Company in 1961 and shortened the name to Milwaukee's Best. The change placed the beer within Miller's broader portfolio while retaining its Milwaukee identity. The core product is an American-style pale lager. The standard beer has been described as containing 4.8% alcohol by volume, although its naming and strength have changed over time. The portfolio expanded through the introduction of Milwaukee's Best Light in 1986 and Milwaukee's Best Ice in 1992. Light became the brand's best-selling offering and was positioned as a lower-calorie, easier-drinking alternative within the value segment. Ice was positioned around a stronger alcohol profile and fuller impact. Consumers and advertising have also used informal nicknames, including “the Beast” for the broader brand and “the Yeti” for Milwaukee's Best Ice. Milwaukee's Best has primarily competed in the American value and economy beer segment. Its marketing has emphasized affordability, recognizable Milwaukee provenance, and a straightforward beer-drinking identity rather than craft positioning or premium differentiation. The brand has also used humor and exaggerated masculinity in advertising. In 2006, MillerCoors advertisements for Milwaukee's Best Light showed men portrayed as insufficiently masculine being flattened by a giant beer can, paired with a slogan contrasting masculine behavior with the expected taste of light beer. Milwaukee's Best Light additionally became the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker in 2009, continuing a relationship that began in 2006. The brand underwent several product and naming adjustments in the 2010s. In fall 2016, the standard product's alcohol content increased from 4.3% to 4.8%, and the name changed from Milwaukee's Best Premium to Milwaukee's Best Lager. The name later reverted to Milwaukee's Best Premium. Milwaukee's Best Ice was temporarily increased from 5.9% alcohol by volume to 6.9% in fall 2016, before returning to 5.9% in August 2017. These changes reflected attempts to distinguish the products within a crowded value-beer market, but they also made the portfolio less stable in naming and specification. The original Milwaukee's Best beer was discontinued in August 2021 as Molson Coors reduced its low-end beer offerings. The company did not include Milwaukee's Best Light or Milwaukee's Best Ice in that discontinuation announcement, leaving the brand name represented by those variants. As a result, Milwaukee's Best is best understood as a surviving family of value-oriented beer products rather than solely the original lager. Its history illustrates the evolution of a regional brewery label into a national mass-market brand, followed by portfolio rationalization in a mature and declining mainstream beer category.

Milwaukee's Best began in 1895 as Gettelman's Milwaukee's Best Beer, a product of the A. Gettelman Brewing Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The name linked the beer directly to the city and to the brewery's local identity. In 1961, Miller Brewing Company acquired A. Gettelman Brewing Company. Following the acquisition, Miller shortened the product name to Milwaukee's Best, bringing the brand into its own brewing and distribution system while preserving its geographic association. The brand developed as a mainstream American lager rather than as a specialty or craft beer. Its portfolio later broadened with Milwaukee's Best Light in 1986 and Milwaukee's Best Ice in 1992. The light variant became the leading product in the family, while the ice variant offered a stronger profile within the economy-beer segment. Both extensions allowed the brand to address changing consumer preferences without abandoning its value-oriented identity. During the 2000s, the brand received recognition in several beer competitions. Milwaukee's Best won silver medals at the Great American Beer Festival in 2003 and 2004 and a bronze medal there in 2005 in American lager categories. Milwaukee's Best Light received a silver medal at the 2006 Great American Beer Festival and a bronze medal at the 2009 United States Beer Championships. Milwaukee's Best Ice received bronze medals at the 2003 Great American Beer Festival and the 2006 World Beer Cup. These awards provided formal competition recognition even though the brand's commercial identity remained centered on affordability and broad distribution. Marketing became a visible part of the brand's identity during this period. In 2006, MillerCoors launched humorous Milwaukee's Best Light advertisements built around exaggerated gender stereotypes and a giant beer can. The campaign used the line that men should act like men and light beer should taste like beer. Milwaukee's Best Light also maintained a sponsorship relationship with the World Series of Poker, becoming its official beer sponsor in 2009 after the relationship had reportedly started in 2006. The product specifications changed in the mid-2010s. In fall 2016, the standard beer's alcohol content rose from 4.3% to 4.8%, and the product name changed from Milwaukee's Best Premium to Milwaukee's Best Lager. The name was later changed back to Milwaukee's Best Premium. During the same period, Milwaukee's Best Ice increased from 5.9% to 6.9% alcohol by volume, but the strength was reduced to 5.9% in August 2017. Advertising that focused on the higher alcohol content drew criticism. The broader American mainstream beer market subsequently experienced portfolio pressure, particularly among lower-priced brands. In August 2021, Molson Coors announced the discontinuation of the original Milwaukee's Best beer as part of a reduction in low-end offerings. The announcement excluded Milwaukee's Best Light and Milwaukee's Best Ice. Accordingly, the original lager no longer represents the entire current brand presence, while the Light and Ice variants preserve the name in the company's beer portfolio. Milwaukee's Best's history therefore spans local brewery origins, post-acquisition national distribution, line extension, value-segment marketing, specification changes, and later product rationalization.

• 2021

  Original Milwaukee's Best discontinued

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  Molson Coors discontinued the original beer while retaining Milwaukee's Best Light and Milwaukee's Best Ice in the announcement.

• 2017

  Milwaukee's Best Ice returns to 5.9% ABV

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  The Ice variant's alcohol content was reduced from 6.9% back to 5.9%.

• 2016

  Standard and Ice variants change alcohol levels and names

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  The standard product rose to 4.8% alcohol by volume and changed names, while Milwaukee's Best Ice temporarily rose to 6.9% alcohol by volume.

• 2009

  Milwaukee's Best Light becomes official poker-series beer sponsor

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  Milwaukee's Best Light was identified as the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker.

• 2006

  World Series of Poker relationship begins

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  Milwaukee's Best Light began a sponsorship relationship with the World Series of Poker, according to the brand's reference history.

• 1992

  Milwaukee's Best Ice introduced

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  The brand expanded into ice beer with Milwaukee's Best Ice.

• 1986

  Milwaukee's Best Light introduced

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  The light-lager extension was introduced and later became the best-selling offering in the brand family.

• 1961

  Miller acquires Gettelman and shortens the brand name

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  After Miller Brewing Company acquired A. Gettelman Brewing Company, the beer became known as Milwaukee's Best.

• 1895

  Brand established as Gettelman's Milwaukee's Best Beer

  [1]Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org

  A. Gettelman Brewing Company established the beer in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, under the Gettelman's Milwaukee's Best Beer name.

An affordable, mainstream American beer brand aimed at value-conscious consumers, with light and higher-alcohol variants extending the core lager proposition.

• American-style pale lager · 1895

  Milwaukee's Best

  The original Milwaukee's Best product was an American-style pale lager associated with the brand's value-market identity. Its reported alcohol content was 4.8% by volume after a 2016 increase from 4.3%. The product was also known at different points as Milwaukee's Best Premium and Milwaukee's Best Lager. Molson Coors announced its discontinuation in August 2021 as part of a reduction in low-end beer offerings.

• American light lager · 1986

  Milwaukee's Best Light

  Introduced in 1986, Milwaukee's Best Light became the best-selling offering associated with the brand. It extended Milwaukee's Best into the light-beer segment while retaining the parent brand's accessible, mainstream positioning. The beer was used in humorous advertising and became the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker in 2009, following a reported sponsorship relationship that began in 2006.

• Ice beer · 1992

  Milwaukee's Best Ice

  Introduced in 1992, Milwaukee's Best Ice is the stronger variant in the brand family and is sometimes nicknamed “the Yeti.” Its alcohol content was listed as 5.9% by volume, increased temporarily to 6.9% in fall 2016, and then reduced to 5.9% in August 2017. Molson Coors did not include the Ice variant in its 2021 discontinuation of the original Milwaukee's Best product.

• 2009World Series of Poker sponsorship

  United States

  Milwaukee's Best Light was promoted as the official beer sponsor of the World Series of Poker, building on a relationship reported to have begun in 2006.

  Outcome. The sponsorship connected the brand with televised poker and a gambling-oriented adult entertainment audience.

  Source
• 2006Milwaukee's Best Light giant-can advertising

  United States

  MillerCoors ran humorous advertisements in which men portrayed as insufficiently masculine were crushed by a giant Milwaukee's Best Light can. The campaign contrasted conventional masculine behavior with the claim that light beer should still taste like beer.

  Outcome. The campaign became a notable expression of the brand's irreverent value-beer advertising style.

  Source

• 2021

  Discontinue the original Milwaukee's BestStrategy

  Background

  Molson Coors was reducing the number of low-end beer products in its portfolio.

  Action taken

  The company announced the discontinuation of the original Milwaukee's Best beer.

  Aftermath

  Milwaukee's Best Light and Milwaukee's Best Ice were not included in the discontinuation announcement and continued to represent the brand family.

  Source

• 2016

  Revise standard and Ice product specificationsGeneration change

  Background

  The brand adjusted product naming and alcohol levels in an effort to differentiate its value-beer offerings.

  Action taken

  The standard beer increased from 4.3% to 4.8% alcohol by volume and changed from Milwaukee's Best Premium to Milwaukee's Best Lager. Milwaukee's Best Ice increased from 5.9% to 6.9% alcohol by volume.

  Aftermath

  The standard product later returned to the Milwaukee's Best Premium name, while the Ice variant returned to 5.9% alcohol by volume in August 2017.

  Source

• 1961

  Integrate Gettelman's beer into Miller's portfolioStrategy

  Background

  Miller Brewing Company acquired A. Gettelman Brewing Company and inherited the Milwaukee's Best beer.

  Action taken

  Miller shortened the name from Gettelman's Milwaukee's Best Beer to Milwaukee's Best.

  Aftermath

  The product continued under a simplified name within Miller's brewing and distribution system.

  Source

1. 1Milwaukee's Besten.wikipedia.org