CARLING
Coors
UK, 4.1% ABV
No beer brand sums up the recent change in UK drinking habits more than Carling. Twenty years ago, Carling Black Label ruled the fag-ash pubs of Britain, alongside fellow no-frills lagers like Skol, Harp and Hofmeister. Landlords took little care of their generic draughts, pumping them through neglected pipes and selling them cheap. If drinkers did have a favourite, their choice was likely influenced by entertaining ads, such as those featuring Carling’s classic ‘I bet he drinks Carling Black Label’ slogan (or Hofmeister’s much-missed pork pie hat-wearing George the bear). A lot has changed. The fag-ash pubs are luxury bars, lagers are sold at a premium as ‘extra cold’ or with a slice of lime, Hofmeister has disappeared, and the market is dominated by big (relatively) exotic brands like Stella, Foster’s and Bud. But Carling has flourished, dropping the ‘Black Label’, offering Extra Cold and Creamflow Premier varieties, and slugging it out at the very top of the list of the UK’s biggest selling beers. Notably, Carling jumped aboard the 1990s ‘lad culture’ bandwagon personified by Loaded magazine and Oasis, sponsoring the Premiership and music events, and offering cheeky, way-hey, lads together, advertising. Today, Carling is very much the Nuts and Razorlight of British lagers – undeniably popular, relatively inoffensive, but pretty darn unexciting. Funnily enough, Carling pretends to be British, but is owned by Americans and was born in Canada. Kind of like a beery equivalent of Owen Hargreaves. PB
