David Chang Rides On The Simpler Side When It Comes To Beer

David Chang has long been an advocate for cheap beer. The Momofuku founder wrote in a confessional essay for GQ, "I love cheap, watery swill. Singha, Tecate, Miller High Life — they're all the champagnes of beer, and for more reasons than you think." That said, Chang isn't suggesting craft beer isn't good and that he doesn't imbibe it on occasion. Instead, he notes in his essay that craft beer is the beer he turns to 5% of the time. The other 95% of the time, he is drinking the beer he prefers to drink: ice-cold Bud Light. 

The host of "The Next Thing You Eat" shared a story about his grandfather telling him to fetch a brewski after mowing the lawn on a hot day and saying, "One day, you'll understand what it's like to drink a really cold beer when you've earned it." It took him a few years, but he concedes that once he became a cook, he understood exactly what his grandfather meant. But Chang is not alone in his love for inexpensive beer.

As of 2023, the top-selling beer in the United States is Bud Light, and this beer brand has held this esteemed spot for over 20 years. In fact, USA Today notes that in 2019 alone, Bud Light shipped 27.2 million barrels — more than the total number of barrels all U.S. craft breweries shipped in 2018. And even with a score that translates to "awful" on Beer Advocate, Bud Light is beloved. Everyone from Chang to "Chemical" singer Post Malone to Will Ferrell likes to drink this classic brew. So, what is it about Bud Light and other cheap beers that make them a go-to?

Chang tells GQ that while cheap beers like Bud Light aren't necessarily tasty like a craft beer, they pair well with "all food." He even puts a finer point on this blanket statement by pointing to the fact that "...cheap beer and spicy food go together like nothing else. Think about Natty Boh and Old Bay-smothered crabs. Or Asian lagers like Orion and Singha and Tiger, which are all perfect ways to wash down your mapo tofu." He's right, cheap beer pairs well with what we like to eat, and it's easy on the pocketbook. Enough said.