David Chang's Favorite Beer Is So Much More Basic Than You'd Expect

Ever since the initial craft beer boom in the 1990s, the number of brands vying for consumers' attention has seen a massive increase. In fact, while craft beer's continuous growth remains relatively small compared to the entire beer market, the more experimental brands have captured the hearts and minds of many diehard beer lovers. However, not all beer drinkers have made the switch to craft beer, as some well-known alcohol enthusiasts have instead stuck to the classics. If you ask world-renowned chef David Chang, there's no need to buy tall boys of a niche craft beer; instead, the Virginia native favors Bud Light above all other brews, primarily due to its simplicity and his many memories drinking the refreshing beverage.

David Chang even explained his love for popular, affordable beers like Bud Light (and his general disdain for fancy craft beers) in an article he wrote for GQ in 2014 called "My Name Is David Chang, and I Hate Fancy Beer." In it, he noted that while there are many cheap beers — namely Singha, Tecate, and Miller High Life — that you're unlikely to see him turn down, Bud Light in particular has been his go-to for as long as he could remember. "There's no beverage that I've drunk more of in my life than Bud Light. ... And there's no drink I love more," Chang praised. "In my fridge, the only beer — practically the only foodstuff I've ever purchased for home — is Bud Light."

Now, an important distinction to be made for David Chang's beer preference is that it actually has very little to do with its taste. In fact, the chef even admitted that, on many occasions, craft beers can taste much better than cheaper, more mainstream brews like Bud Light. "I'm not saying that those beers don't taste good. They do! And there's a time and place for imperial stouts and barrel-aged saisons," Chang clarified in the GQ article. "I don't want something that tastes delicious. I want a Bud Light. ... I do not want a tasty beer."

Ultimately, both Chang's love for Bud Light and his apathy toward craft beers stem from the feelings each type of beer elicits. While Chang recalled memories of learning to love cheap, cold beer throughout his life, he also noted his frustration with the snobbish culture that he believes craft beer has cultivated. A similar disdain for the craft beer trend was shared by the late, great Anthony Bourdain, who often noted that he enjoyed craft beer but had no desire to dissect or analyze it on the level that some connoisseurs insist upon. However, while Bourdain was known to dislike just about all food snobs he came across, Chang's annoyance is much more specific to brews. "I have a tenuous relationship with the epicurean snob sets," Chang explained. "Cheese snobs are okay ... Wine snobs are pretty great ... Beer snobs are the worst of the bunch."