NEW YORK CITY – The market for light beers appears to be shrinking, as fewer and fewer consumers are downing Bud Light, Miller Lite and premium lights, Advertising Age reports. While beer executives point to bad weather and a slow economy as why sales are sagging, other analysts think the reason lies more in the taste of the brew.

A new survey finds that 27% of consumers said they weren’t drinking as many big light beer brands because they are “getting tired of the taste,” while 21% pointed to “consuming more types of other beer,” as the reason, according to ConsumerEdge Insights' Beverage DemandTracker. Economics came in third with 20% of respondents saying money was a factor.

Drinkers now tout an imported brew as their top choice, compared with a premium light beer, the survey found. Craft beers continue to capture more market share, too.

The finding “reveals some serious warning signs for the premium light segment,” said David Decker, president of Consumer Edge Insight. “After a long period when these domestic premium light brands dominated the U.S. beer industry, many beer drinkers, particularly younger ones, are finding that they prefer the stronger and more varied tastes of imports and craft beers instead. This suggests that the recent weakness in share trends for the big premium light flagship brands is likely to continue.”

This week, Bud Light volume sales to U.S. stores dropped 4.7% in the second quarter, while premium light sales volume to retailers plummeted by “high single digits” in North America for MillerCoors.