Why Miller High Life is now on the menu at some of the fanciest restaurants in America

By Charles Passy

It's really living up to its nickname: 'The Champagne of Beers'

Marc Forgione is a Michelin-starred chef who knows how to offer diners the deluxe treatment. At his newly relocated New York City restaurant, simply called Forgione, he serves up such fanciful and creative fare as chili lobster on Texas toast and a dry-aged tomahawk steak. Prices can easily top $100 per person for dinner.

But when it comes to beverages, one of the biggest sellers on the menu turns out to be none other than a bottle of Miller High Life - for eight bucks.

Granted, that's considerably more than you might expect to pay for a mass-market beer at your local supermarket - or dive bar, for that matter. But the mere fact that a chef of such pedigree is pouring such a basic brew still might seem like an oddity.

No matter, says Forgione: "When it's hot outside and you had a long day, an ice-cold Miller High Life just tastes good."

As it turns out, Forgione is not alone in such thinking. These days, Miller High Life, the self-proclaimed "Champagne of Beers" that's been around since 1903 and is part of the Molson Coors Beverage Company's (TAP) large lineup of brews, has started to find a following among what might be called the smart set of the food and drink world.

It's showing up on the menu of many a high-end establishment, be it Pêche Seafood Grill, a New Orleans restaurant helmed by a James Beard Award-winning chef, or Coqadoq, a New York City restaurant that offers an upscale take on Korean-style fried chicken. At the latter dining spot, which prides itself on its lengthy list of Champagnes, the "Champagne of Beers" is offered in its 7-ounce version, or pony bottle, for $6.

Even craft-beer bars are getting into the act. Take Wet City Brewing, a Baltimore establishment that pours 20 of its own brews in a range of styles, from hazy pale ales to fruited sours. But on its very limited "guest" beer list, Miller High Life has its place, priced at a more reasonable $3.50.

Wet City has also taken the Miller High Life craze to the next level by turning it into a cocktail inspired by the Aperol Spritz, the Italian pre-dinner favorite. Called the Spagett, the $8 refresher combines Aperol, lemon juice and, naturally, Miller High Life. It's even served in a Miller High Life bottle.

P.J. Sullivan, Wet City's co-owner, says he can sell the cocktail by the hundreds in a month. "It has a cult following," he says of the Miller High Life-based drink.

What's behind this boom for a beer that is more about everyday drinking than a night on the town?

Some say it's precisely that point: Miller, a beer that can simply be classified as an American-style lager, is highly quaffable. And after years of trying to orient their taste buds to the bolder flavors of craft beers, Americans may be ready to get back to the basics.

"We've definitely seen an IPA fatigue," says Noah Rothbaum, a beverage-industry expert and author of the forthcoming "The Whiskey Bible." Rothbaum is referring, of course, to the often highly bitter style of beer that became something of a calling card for the craft-brew movement in its early days.

Of course, what some call quaffable others might call, well, bad beer. Miller High Life has a "poor" rating on the BeerAdvocate site, a popular forum for serious beer drinkers. "Unremarkable," says one reviewer of the brew. "Meh," says another.

Nevertheless, it doesn't hurt that Miller High Life has that Champagne cachet. In fact, that's always been part of the Miller High Life mystique, says Frank Cirone, a Molson Coors senior director in charge of marketing the company's value-minded (or "economy") brands.

Cirone notes that Miller High Life was unveiled more than 120 years ago to tie in with New Year's festivities - again, it's the Champagne alternative. And he says the clear, almost elegant design of the High Life bottle adds to the upmarket feel, to say nothing of the fact that it shows off the beer's appealing golden color.

Cirone says Miller High Life has enjoyed solid sales growth this year and last, though Molson Coors didn't provide specific figures for the brand. Overall, the company has seen sales growth of 10.7% over the past year, according to its latest quarterly-earnings report, even though its stock price has declined by more than 15% since the start of 2024.

Still, Miller High Life is nowhere near as popular as Miller Lite, that other brew that bears the Miller name, Cirone readily admits.

Some of that is by design: Miller Lite is more a flagship beer, the kind that appears in Super Bowl ads. By contrast, Molson Coors promotes Miller High Life heavily within the industry - it's long been an after-work favorite of chefs and bartenders - and through select partnerships. A case in point: It's currently the official beer of "Top Chef," a favorite show among foodies.

The buzz for Miller High Life is there, but it's a different kind of buzz, Cirone explains: "We make sure we show up with the culture and the community that is relevant to us."

In a sense, it might be called middlebrow chic, the idea that something so everyday can be seen as somewhat exceptional.

It isn't an entirely new idea: Think back to how Pabst Blue Ribbon became the beer of choice among the hipster crowd several years ago.

In any case, the Miller High Life faithful aim to showcase the beer with unabashed fervor.

"Why not give it its rightful platform?" says Justin Sievers, managing partner of Bar Primi, a New York City Italian establishment that features Miller High Life at its two locations.

Still, not everyone is quite ready to join the bandwagon.

Max Green, beverage director for Bronze Owl, a New York City cocktail bar, says it sometimes doesn't make sense to pour a lower-end beer at a higher-end bar or restaurant: Even if the profit margins are good, especially if you're charging up to $8 for a Miller High Life, the brew may not fit with the tone you're trying to set at a particular place, such as his own drinking establishment.

"You don't want someone sitting there paying $8 for a beer when the guy next to him is paying $19 for a cocktail," says Green.

-Charles Passy

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06-22-24 1123ET

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