What the Hell Does "Triple Hops Brewed" Mean, Anyway?

Unless you've been living under a rock, there's a good chance you've been subject to Miller Lite's newest ad campaign, in which they state that Miller Lite is "triple hops brewed". While the statement is true, it doesn't mean much, and might be a little misleading.

Imagine you're baking up a batch of cookies for sale to the public. You'd like to say you make a quality chocolate chip cookie, but you've only got 3 chocolate chips per cookie. You're starting an ad campaign for your cookies, in which you'd like to differentiate your brand. Your marketing team comes back with the follow options:

1) Don't mention the chocolate chips, and don't try to sell your cookies as chocolate chip cookies. Sell your cookies as a good time with attractive women. This has worked for you in the past, but not well enough to gain the sort of market share you'd like to have.

2) Mention the chocolate chips, but also mention the flour and eggs used in the making of your cookies. Don't mention that everyone uses these ingredients. Also don't mention that in 1982, the Center for Science in the Public Interest reported that your cookies contained propylene glycol alginate (a seaweed extract), water, barley malt, corn syrup, chemically modified hops extracts, yeast, amyloglucosidase, carbon dioxide, papain enzyme, liquid sugar, potassium metabisulfite, and Emka malt (a food coloring). I'm still taking about cookies.

3) Mention that you added chocolate chips to the cookies THREE TIMES. Which you did, technically. You might even say your cookies are "TRIPLE CHIPS BAKED".

So, cookie salesperson, which campaign would you prefer your brand run with?

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Let's go back to beer, and the hops used to make it. According to How to Brew:

"There are many varieties of hops, but they are usually divided into two general categories: Bittering and Aroma."

When making almost any beer, brewers add hops at least twice, giving the beer flavors, scents, and balance.

Miller Lite's site claims that step one of the hop addition gives Miller Lite a clean flavor and aroma. The second hop addition gives the beer balance and body, and a hop taste. The third addition gives the beer its head and locks in "great taste".

All these things may be true. But if its the triple hop process that makes Miller Lite so great, wouldn't quadruple hopping be even better? Why stop at three times?

So while factually true, triple hops brewing doesn't mean all that much. Yes, there are hops in Miller Lite. But Miller Lite isn't a hoppy beer. You didn't need me to tell you that.