- Mike Beirne

MillerCoors is suspending plans to nationally launch the Miller Lite Brewers Collection, a line of craft-style beers.

MillerCoors, a joint venture of brewers SABMiller and Molson Coors Brewing, had been testing three brews for its leading Miller Lite brand—blonde ale, amber and wheat—since the second quarter in markets including San Diego, Austin, Texas, and Minneapolis.

"Test markets are intended to help us learn about a product's marketplace potential . . . and in this case, we learned we need to improve several aspects of the marketing bundle before going further with this brand," said a Miller rep. "We continue to believe in the potential of Miller Lite Brewers Collection, and will rethink the role Brewers Collection might play."

One wholesaler said some issues could have included unattractive packaging and consumers not being willing to pay more for a Miller Lite product. "People know what craft beer is, and you're not going to fool them," he said.

As consumers satisfy their thirst for variety and new flavors, craft beer (which typically refers to small batch producers that make a variety of beer styles) has been among the hottest growing segments in the beer category. Even with price hikes to offset the rising cost of ingredients and energy, craft beer sales rose 11% during the first half of this year, compared to the year-ago period, per ACNielsen. The craft segment helped lift overall beer shipments last year. It appears, however, its success isn't transferable to brands with mass-market roots and distribution.

Anhueser-Busch repositioned Michelob this year as a craft-style brew, yet shipments for the brand declined 5% in the second quarter versus the comparable 2007 quarter. One exception is Blue Moon, a Belgian-style wheat ale that MillerCoors' partner Coors Brewing has quietly marketed since it was introduced in 1995. Coors began national distribution for Blue Moon this year and has used a faux name, Blue Moon Brewing Co., on bottle labels since last year, rather than naming itself as the supplier.