This Light Beer Just Overtook Modelo As America's Best-Seller

After decades of steadiness atop the world of American beer, the last few years have seen a sudden shakeup, with a third beer in three years becoming the No. 1 best seller. For 20 years up until 2023, Bud Light was the undisputed champion of beer in the United States, topping the sales over and over. Then, in 2023, following the rise of top Mexican beer brands, Modelo took the No. 1 spot in a massive unseating. And now, just two years later, Anheuser-Busch has struck back — taking the crown, but with a different brand: Michelob Ultra.

This widely reported story came as Anheuser-Busch made the announcement on September 22 — citing 52 weeks of data from Circana, a company that tracks packaged goods sales in retail. Taking the top spot in overall retail sales comes after Michelob Ultra also overtook Bud Light (owned by Anheuser-Busch as well) as the No. 1 draft beer in the U.S. last year. Despite Modelo's brief reign as the No. 1 selling retail beer, Anheuser-Busch has truly dominated the draft beer world — and even at No. 2, Bud Light is still 30% ahead of the No. 3 draft beer. Now topping both draft and retail, Michelob Ultra is undeniably the biggest beer in the country.

How did Michelob do it? It is actually a newer brand, only being introduced by Anheuser-Busch in 2002 – but Michelob has always highlighted how light it is, and sold itself as a beer for healthy active lifestyles. This comes at a time when Americans are increasingly cutting back on drinking over healthy concerns around alcohol. Anheuser-Busch has made a particularly strong marketing push for the beer around sporting events recently, with Michelob showing up as a sponsor for the NBA, while also signing on for the 2026 Winter Olympic games. The push has paid off, and over the last five years Michelob Ultra sales have jumped 15%. Anheuser-Busch also attributes the rise to last year's release of the new Michelob Ultra Zero, a popular non-alcoholic beer with only 29 calories, which tapped into a growing market.

Modelo's decline has also been tied to President Trump's immigration policies. Owner Constellation Brands said the deportation push has spooked many Hispanic customers in the U.S. from going to parties and large gatherings, which has hurt beer sales. Mexican beer brands have also been hit by tariffs from the President's trade wars. However, Modelo's success was also a bit of an outlier, as light beer has long dominated the U.S. market – taking six of the 10 top-selling beer spots in 2024.