Molson Coors
When it comes to beer, Fort Worth played a bigger role than most folks, even the late, great Bob Uecker, might realize.
Long before light beer became a staple at backyard barbecues, stadium tailgates, and the refrigerator there was just one — Miller Lite.
And the revolution started right here in Fort Worth.
The Miller brewery off Interstate 35W has been churning out America’s first mainstream light beer for 50 years. For half a century, that plant has been more than just an industrial landmark south of town.
“Miller Lite was born in Texas,” says Ann Legan, global vice president for Miller Family of Brands at Molson Coors. “Not just brewed here — the original recipe was developed here. Our Fort Worth roots run deep.”
John Madden made quite an entrance in Miller Lite commercials.
To commemorate the event, Miller Lite is launching a nostalgia-packed ad campaign to celebrate and promote the brand.
“Legendary Stories Start With a Lite” debuted during the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Its narrator is iconic: Christopher Walken, with his unmistakable voice, guides viewers through a reel of Miller Lite’s greatest hits.
To the tune of David Bowie’s “Rebel Rebel,” snapshots of old commercials, bar scenes, and beer-soaked celebrations flash by. John Madden busting through a wall. The inimitable Uecker cracking his jokes. Luke Combs raising a toast.
Miller Brewing Co. purchased the Carling Brewing Company’s Fort Worth plant in 1966 for a reported price of $5.5 million. The brewery had not been operating for about a year at the time of its purchase. Miller undertook a $6 million expansion program to increase production capacity to 800,000 barrels.
Until 1966, the then 111-year-old Miller Brewery had produced beer only in Milwaukee. Its first plant outside of Milwaukee was in Azusa, California.
The company went through a number of ownership changes until finally being purchased by Molson Coors in 2016 from SABMiller as part of that company’s acquisition by industry giant Anheuser-Busch and its subsequent agreement with the U.S. Justice Department.
SABMiller and Molson Coors, then the nation's No. 2 and 3 brewers, had merged their U.S. and Puerto Rican operations in 2007 to better contend with Anheuser-Busch, which controlled about 50% of the market. The joint venture was called MillerCoors.
The capacity of the plant at the time was 9 million barrels.
The idea of light beer was in 1975 as radical as some of the political voices who came out of the preceding decade. Beer was beer — full-bodied and heavy. The notion of making it lighter, let alone marketing it as such, was unheard of. But Miller Brewing Company saw an opening. Led by John A. Murphy, the company set out to create a beer that had all the flavor without the heft.
Miller Lite carved out a space for itself as well as a stage for an entire industry.
“Tastes Great, Less Filling” was more than a slogan. It was a cultural shift. Backed by a crew of retired athletes and Hollywood personalities, Miller Lite became the beer of the everyman, the every-night, the every-occasion.
The idea of Texas runs through the entire 50th-anniversary celebration. The campaign isn’t just looking back. Expect throwback packaging, special edition cans, and new collaborations that nod to Miller Lite’s past while keeping an eye on the future.
Walken was a deliberate choice for the campaign. “We wanted someone who embodied that sense of authenticity,” Legan says. “His voice, his presence — it brings the weight of experience, the feeling that this story has been lived.”
Many of the images in the campaign were pulled from Miller Lite’s archives, moments that weren’t scripted. “These weren’t staged shots,” Legan says. “They were real people enjoying Miller Lite. That’s what we wanted to capture.
“Miller Time has always been about turning ordinary moments into something unforgettable. When people look back on their best memories, Miller Lite is often right there with them.”
And it all started right here in Fort Worth.