Miller Lite line of craft beers falters

MillerCoors is ending testing of its trio of craft styles of top seller Miller Lite beer so it can rethink the brand, the company told distributors.

The so-called Miller Lite Brewing Collection didn’t perform as well as expected in test markets that included Baltimore, Minneapolis and Charlotte, N.C., said Julian Green, a spokesman for MillerCoors, a joint venture between SABMiller’s Miller Brewing and Molson Coors Brewing Co., the brewer of Coors Light.

The company had high hopes for the brand, which tweaks Miller Lite into various styles of craft beers such as wheat, amber and blond ale. In April, it said testing was so strong it would release the collection of beers nationwide by September. But by mid-June it said the release would be delayed for more testing.