Empty Michelob Ultra beer cans.
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Michelob Ultra became the best-selling beer by volume, in America, overtaking Bud Light in September 2025. The top-selling beer by dollar sales remains Modelo Especial, a position it has held since June 2023. Modelo Especial enjoys this position since it is priced as a premium product, despite selling lower volumes of beer than either Michelob Ultra or Bud Light.
A Sea Change In Beer Brand Popularity
When Modelo Especial became the best-selling beer in America by dollars in June 2023, it was a sea change moment, Bud Light having held the top position for over 20 years. At least Bud Light could still claim to be the best-selling beer by volume, but just two years later, Bud Light has also lost that crown.
The change in top position by volume was first reported by Beer Marketer’s Insights, a family of trade publications covering the beer and beverage industry. Analyzing scan data for the year-to-date to September 7, 2025, Beer Marketer’s Insights reported that sales of Michelob Ultra grew by 4.4%, while Bud Light sales continued to slide, by 9.9%, year-to-date 2025. Total beer volume market share now belongs 8.5% to Michelob Ultra against Bud Light’s 8.46%.
Michelob Ultra was first introduced in 2002 during a short-lived craze for low-carbohydrate beers. Since then, marketing for the brand has reduced emphasis on carbohydrates specifically, but has been consistent in positioning it as the beer of choice for health-conscious people.
“It is positioned as a beer for the athletic set,” said Christopher Shepard, senior editor at Beer Marketer’s Insights, by telephone. “It’s marketed as a beer for people who participate in sports, work out and who think about what they eat and drink—people who make careful choices.” Shepard notes that by law, beers cannot claim to be healthy, but Michelob Ultra has nonetheless been able to position itself as the beer for people who are into health and wellness, a demographic that has grown in recent years.
How Did We Get Here?
In 1988, Budweiser represented one of every four beers sold in America, according to the Beer Marketer’s Insights report. Since then, sales of Budweiser have declined for 37 consecutive years. Bud Light surpassed Budweiser to become the best-selling beer in America in 2001, with sales peaking in 2008. Bud Light sales have declined every year since 2008.
Sales of Michelob Ultra, since its debut in 2002, and of Modelo Especial, since it was introduced to the American market in the 1990s, have been on the opposite trajectory. Both brands have enjoyed consistent growth. And while Bud Light sales had been declining since 2008, a sharp decline in sales in 2023—followed by further declines since—allowed the sales charts of the three brands to converge.
According to Shepard, sales of Modelo Especial have increased every year since the brand’s introduction to the United States market in the 1990s—until this year. For the first time in the Mexican brand’s history, sales in the United States declined this year, due to changes in the buying habits of Hispanic and Latin American consumers who favor the brand.
That first-ever downtick in sales of Modelo is what has given Michelob Ultra top spot.
A Strange Dream Come True For Anheuser-Busch
The decline of Bud Light is certainly not good news for Anheuser-Busch, which owns and makes the beer. But Anheuser-Busch also owns and makes Michelob Ultra and Michelob Ultra’s ascending to top spot is something Anheuser-Busch has been wanting for years.
“Anheuser-Busch has wanted for a while for Michelob Ultra to be number one,” said Shepard. “It commands a higher price, so it’s better for the company’s financial results. And it’s growing and enjoying a healthier trend.”
So while the decline of Bud Light has been faster than Anheuser-Busch may have wanted, having Michelob Ultra as the best-selling beer in America is the culmination of decades of effort by the largest beer company in the world.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dontse/2025/10/16/how-michelob-ultra-became-the-best-selling-beer-in-america/
