By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Apr 28, 2011 at 9:09 AM

Popping the top on a bottle of the new MGD 64 Lemonade, one gets the whiff of beer, not lemons. The look is cloudy, like a weissbier. So, it's a little surprising just how lemon-y the new brew tastes.

I'm not really a fan of MGD or Miller's Lite beer – but I'll take a High Life, thank you very much – nor am I a fan of fruity beers like berry weisses, but this 64-calorie beer, which launces nationally on May 1, is pretty darn tasty.

Miller knows that the allure of a cold lemon-laced light beer is strongest in summer and so MGD 64 Lemonade will only be available through Labor Day.

I can certainly see uncapping a couple of these on the patio in July or at an August picnic, though, I admit that in the vast majority of cases I will likely choose a non-fruit-infused beer.

But I won't turn my nose up at this stuff, as I usually do with fruit-flavored beer.

Be careful, folks. This is seriously sweet – with natural lemon flavor and sucralose – and you could find yourself tossing them back very, very easily. It's still beer...

And if this kind of thing matters to you, according to the folks at Miller, here's a comparison of 12-ounce servings:

  • MGD 64 Lemonade: 64 calories, 2.4 grams of carbs
  • Michelob Ultra Lime Cactus: 95 calories, 5.5 grams
  • Mike's Lite Hard Lemonade: 109 calories, 14 grams
  • Bud Light Lime: 116 calories, 8 grams

The new lemony fresh drink from Miller is available and six- and 12-pack bottles and cans and at bars and restaurants.

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.