16 Ounce Macro Lager Can Shootout

It must have been. Good times back then. Then again I make a ton of typos on here and don't bother to clean up after myself.

 

@JackHorzempa I recall you saying that one of your favorite homebrews is a Classic American Pilsner.

I was up in Massachusetts a few weeks ago and I brought back some Champagne Velvet by Upland Brewing Company (via Indiana). It's a Pre-Prohibition Pilsner, apparently a largely forgotten legacy brand with some interesting history (along with the stereotypical "lost recipe found in grandpa's attic" tall tale). Have you tried this beer before?

from https://www.uplandbeer.com/beers/champagne-velvet/



It's a really delicious looking (and tasting) pilsner, though not what I imagine a Pre-Prohibition Pilsner actually tasted like. There is corn added to the malt base, yes, but that is pretty much all that qualifies this as a Pre-Pro Pils. The malt body was majority (seemingly) pilsner malt, carapils and just a bit of corn that comes out as it warms (DME pretty much non-existent, just a subtle hint as it warms).

Most importantly, the hop flavor is very heavy on the Noble hops (Tettnang) with just a subtle note of woody earthiness from the Cluster hops. Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't Pre-Pro pils usually hopped with whatever was domestically grown (Bullion, Brewers Gold, Cluster etc.)? Per the website this was hopped with Cluster and German Tettnang. Not sure if brewers had access to Tettnang back in the 1910s.

Anyway, I'm curious as to your thoughts on this beer. For me it was a really nice pils that I'd probably buy again, though I'm not sure what the target demographic is. It's a pre-pro pils but decidedly priced and packaged as a craft beer ($9-10 a 4 pack of 16oz cans). I really hope it does well but I'd be pretty surprised if it becomes a hit.

 

Pre-pro Pils could indeed have noble hop aroma and flavor, and that one's a dandy. Whenever I've picked it up it's been in NY, and the price was a bit out of whack as a result. But I can see making it a regular thing if it were cheaper, and easier to find.

 

Thanks for the reply @TongoRad I forgot you were a lagerphile yourself! Should've tagged you on that. Glad you liked it too, reminded me a little bit of Prima Pils with just a touch lighter malt body.

Agreed on the pricing. This beer is crying for 12oz cans in 12 packs, I think ~$14.99 would be an acceptable price, IMO.

 

Forgotten? How can a beer that Howlin' Wolf sang about ever be said to be "forgotten"?

(Yeah, yeah - some idiot, long after it was recorded, incorrectly named the unreleased song C.V. Wine Blues - I think it might have been after the Chess label archives became unavailable in the US and most Chess recordings were coming out of Europe in the 1970s - but you can clearly hear him say "C.V. Beer" at 2:11. CV was a big seller in Tennesee at the time of Wolf's recording at Sun in Memphis.)

In 1901, the US imported 2.6 million pounds of hops.

 

I am sad to report that I have not had the pleasure of drinking this beer.

A CAP as it would typically have been brewed circa 1900 would have been mostly 6-row pale malt and a minority portion adjunct (20-30% rice or corn). I typically homebrew my CAPs with corn (flaked maize) at 20% of the grist but I have a batch right now using flaked rice (the LHBS was out of flaked maize). The flaked maize adds a very subtle quality of 'sweetness' and it does not add any flavors of "corn" IMO. If you are tasting "corn" in an AAL it is likely DMS (Dimethyl Sulfide) which is generally considered to be a technical brewing flaw.

You are "wrong" here. A CAP would have used domestic hops (e.g., Cluster) for bittering but would have used 'better' (imported) hops for flavor/aroma. In my homebrewed CAP beers I use Cluster for bittering but I generously hop with Hallertauer Mittelfruh for flavor and aroma additions.

I am glad to hear you think this beer is a "really nice pils". In my opinion a properly brewed CAP is 'right there' with the German Pilsner and Bohemian Pilsner styles. It is a bit different in that it does not 'emphasize' the malt aspect of the Pilsner beer styles which IMO permits the hops flavors to 'shine'. Every year I brew a Bohemian Pilsner, an 1896 Michelob and a CAP and I enjoy drinking all of these varying styles of Pilsners but frankly my personal favorite is the CAP.

Cheers!

 

Shit, I think I've seen this around. Might pick it up, sounds tasty!

 

In Ernst Hantke's Handbuch für den Amerikanischen Brauer und Mälzer from 1896 there's an interesting chapter about hops where the following translated excerpts are taken from.

So according to Hantke only Saazer and Spalter hops, or at most Saazer, Spalter and Hallertauer (Hollerdau) hops came into consideration for US brewers. He also makes the point that "Bavarian hops" did not necessarily mean hops from Bavaria, but German hops as opposed to Bohemian Saazer hops (which is a bit contradictory). As per Hantke Tettnanger hops did not come into consideration due to being too far down in the ranking of quality reputation. That's not proof that Tettnanger hops weren't imported to the US, but I thought it made for an interesting perspective on things. The top three growing regions is consistent with many similar lists found in Bavarian brewing literature. Would Württemberg or Tettnanger hops have been sold at a premium with a seal to US brewers? Or might they have been sold under a more generic name, perhaps even as "Bavarian" hops as Hantke indicates might be the case?

When looking at the hop ledger for a Swedish brewery from 1894 the name of the hops are Saazer, Spalter, Bohemian and simply "hops". Those simply labeled hops are the cheapest, with the "name brand" hops of Saazer and Spalter competing as being the most expensive, though prices could vary somewhat between them if looking at other years. These hops were bought from Bavarian hop merchants (particularly those located in Nuremberg which was a center for the German hop trade) and a few Bohemian hop merchants. Below are the pertinent details transcribed (name of hop merchant, type of hops, price in crowns):

Leopold Alexander
2 bales hops á 2,30 1 bale spalter á 2,80
1 bale Bohemian á 2,70
Rosenfeld & C Nürnberg
3 bales hops á 2,30 2 bales Saazer á 3,10
Michael Schnebel Nürnberg
1 bale hops á 2,30 1 bale spalt a 2,50
Hopf & Söhne Nürnberg
2 bales hops á 2,30
S. Tuchman & Söhne
2 bales hops á 2,30 1 bale Saazer á 3,10

The point being that not all hops were sold as brand name hops, and only certain regions had built up a cachet which meant that they were sold on the basis of their seal (siegel) name, others were bunched together and sold as generic hops to willing buyers looking to save money.

Below is an image showing a brewing logbook example of how these brand name and generic hops could be used. Six different brews, with three listing only Saaz hops, two listing Bay (i.e Bayersk, or Bavarian hops), and one listing only Spalter.

 

I've been revisiting AALs that I haven't had in decades so picked up some MGD, I ended up really enjoying it. Nice for a palate reset and refreshing when you just want a basic beer.

 

Been eyeballing this... this probably just made me pull the trigger

 

24 ounce can of Rainier bb June 10th 2019, at $2 per is an eye opener. Definitely not Blue Ribbon with a different label, more flavourful than a fresh Hamms, and an ideal size to enjoy.

 

I love Solid Gold and will get that in place of whatever cheap macro lager comes in a 15 pack, usually Keystone Light.

 

I'm a big fan of Solid Gold as well and on many days I find myself reaching for it over an IPA when I have both on hand.

 

Of these, I like Hamms, PBR, Old Style, and High Life. All good value for the money. And Coors is nice, Bud I drink when someone offers me one, or I get my case a year comped to their advertisers. I drink Michelob on that case as I get any AB/InBev domestic for that certificate.

 

The first few years I began drinking, Andeker was still on the market. I miss it, it tasted very nice, had more hops, and a balanced hops/malt balance. Always tasted great at the end of a hard day. Loved it with fine music, and good friends.

 

If you are ever in Milwaukee you can buy a beer labeled as Andeker:

https://pabstmkebrewery.com/featured-brews/

Cheers!

 

I can't really describe how much nostalgia I feel, for my time in Mexico wandering, horseback-riding, and driving the foothills of Sonora, when I crack a 40 degree can of Tecate... good times.
No other Mexi-Macro does it for me...

 

Of course, that doesn't sound much like the Andeker Pabst was brewing in the 1980s and into the 1990s, which was all-two row malt*, 4.8% and hopped with imported Styrian Golding hops and - likely - a bit higher than 16 IBUs (18 was average for super-premiums, some of which reached 23-25) and some contemporary beer article noted its "bite".

* (When first bottled in 1960s, like the other big super-premium of the time, Michelob, it was an adjunct lager. As we've discussed ).

 

Lionshead FTW - around $11 a case.

 

A bit off but have you tried Lionshead's new Hefeweizen or IPA? I think they just were released last month but I haven't been brave enough to get a whole 12pack.