Is the New Miller Chill Beer a Cool Hit?

On a recent visit to one of my favorite local clubs, I saw an advertisement on our table. It was for a new type of Miller beer. Being that Miller Lite is my favorite kind of beer, the advertisement caught my attention. It was for a beer called Miller Chill, with a hint of lime and salt. It showed the beverage in a green bottle, which is different from all of the other beers in the Miller family. After I finished the drink I was working on, I ordered up the new Miller Chill to test it out. To no surprise to me at all, it was delicious!

Miller Chill is inspired by a Mexican recipe, hence the lime and salt additions. It is a light beer, so it was refreshing without making me feel guilty. I thought it was a perfect blend of beer, lime and salt. I was immediately hooked. I liked how the bottle was a different color from the ordinary beers that most people drink. The front label of the beer also says Chelada Style. According to the Miller Chill website, Cheleda translates into "cold one," in Mexico, traced back to the 1950's.
Miller Chill was not distributed everywhere at first. Miller started with a limited distribution close to the Mexican border in the states of Arizona, Texas, New Mexico, Florida and also the city of San Diego. These are all close to the country where the inspiration for this beer came from. In June of 2007, after rave reviews in the limited market distribution, it was launched nationally. I live in Michigan and have already started seeing it in both stores and bars.

Furthermore, I think a great way to serve this beer would be in a frosty mug rimmed with salt, like a margarita glass is served. I think this would really accent the salt taste in the beer. As with many things these days in America, this is just one more example of the "Latinization" of American culture. It is the first major label beer of its kinda. Other Mexican beers are available on the market, but Miller Chill is an America Beer with a bit of a Mexican twist. It is lighter in flavor than competing beers such as Corona or Dos Equis. I anticipate continued success with this beer as it continues its nationwide distribution.