Full Circle: Time to Start Respecting AAL

Sorry I missed the suffrage reference. Early morning (at least to my retired self) myopia. I went on one Bar Tourist eastern PA event, but not sure that was the Reading one The tour I was on ended at an (almost) topless bar. The bar staff and entertainers were shocked to see a coed crowd walk in all at once and start to admire the tin ceiling. Was that the incident? Regarding Canadian Ace, I did buy a cheap half gallon of it at Mastic Beer, NY, in the late 70s. The bottle was clear, but the beer mostly protected by a foam wrap label.

 

Unfortunately no Live Oak isn't. So apparently they use to be but they cut distribution to keep up with demand years back. Iv never heard anything bad about Live Oak. No doubt I get some lagers that are just as good but it'd just be nice to get their year round offerings anytime I wanted. I'm hoping they end up wanting to expand eventually and we'll see distribution. I know more would like a taste of their beers myself included.

 

And when it comes to Live Oak it is not just their lagers. I think the Live Oak Hefeweizen is excellent. And ditto to their Grodziskie:



https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-717.595089/#post-6265329

Cheers!

 

No, but that's a classic BTA story... I think the PA tours I was on were Phila., and 2 different "Lehigh Valley" tours including that Reading one I mentioned, and that bar was called Stanley's.

Were you on the Elizabeth NJ tour, 1987? I think we might have met on that one. .

 

Not on Elizabeth. I am familiar with Stanley's because I bought the Berks bar pamphlet by Suds and Dregs, all memorialized here:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1982/02/15/a-few-beers-with-suds-and-dregs
My memory banks dredged up the PA tour I was on: Allentown. A highlight was a tour given by a rural bar owner of his nearby barn filled with classic cars. Other adventures I went on were a Lower Manhattan walking tour and Bkln/Queens.

 

Rereading the New Yorker article, they indicate that the whole bar room at Stanley's was off limits to women. They were relegated to the side room with the for-sale table(s).

 

Yeah, I got a copy of that, too, kicking around somewhere. (I'd forgotten that original article was from The New Yorker, I guess I always think of Trillin as writing for The Nation.)
Here's Suds & Dregs' Stanley's page from the tour itinerary (1983).

Yeah, it turns out both tours were called Lehigh Valley, #1 (Reading) and #2 (1984, mostly Allentown and Bethlehem bars).

Did one of the cars - 1950s model - feature a 45 rpm record player?

Yeah, I was a Manhattan tour around 1987 or 1988. (The itinerary isn't dated).

 

For me, adjuncts have always been a state of mind. Been on and off adjuncts all the time.
I remember the first thing I wanted to drink after visiting the US for the first time was a Mickey’s and an Olde English 800…
IMO the best adjuncts are made in the US, could never put up with (European) corn or Japanese (rice) lagers. US adjuncts are made in a way to achieve a certain crisp or clean flavor profile, whereas I have no idea what the other two are about but they could never get anywhere near that.
Yes, I do drink US adjuncts from time to time (whenever I can get my hands on them). I don’t drink them like craft beer but it does happen that I end up enjoying them quite a lot.

 

You might find it 'interesting' that some US craft brewers who brew AAL beers 'play up' the Japanese aspect. As one point of example. earlier today in the NBW thread I discussed an AAL beer from Jack's Abby which they brand as "Kogarachi Rice Lager".

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-weekend-134.671406/#post-7706075

You may already know what "Kogarashi" means but in case you don't: "The Japanese word Kogarashi represents a cool wind that ushers in winter..."

What do you think of US craft brewers 'leveraging' the Japanese aspect in branding/marketing their AAL beers brewed using rice?

Cheers!

 

Interesting, I must say. I guess they are really out of ideas…

Kogarashi, brings back a lot of memories. I used to prefer its counterpart, the haruichiban, the few days of warm spell that came every February. Maybe they should name a brew after that too.

 

You just gave them another idea: "...haruichiban, the few days of warm spell that came every February. Maybe they should name a brew after that too."

Maybe it will be a Haruichiban Corn Lager!?!

Made with Fritos corn chips?

Cheers!

 

I actually think AALs are quite refreshing compared to most styles.

New Trail here in Williamsport just started putting their Crisp Lager in cases of 12 oz cans for about the same price as Bud/Miller/Coors. And, it has much better flavor IMO. The best part? I still get to support a craft brewer while drinking a cheaper, more refreshing option.

 

Is Crisp Lager an AAL? If so, which adjunct (i.e., corn vs. rice) is used to brew this beer?

Cheers!

 

I've always had a soft spot for AAL's. At least the full bodied variety. The light ones are where they lose me. Coors Banquet and previously Extra Gold (RIP) were personal faves.
I've had a fair number of craft takes on the style and I feel like most of them miss the mark. Most have a weird tannic twang on the back end that the big boys have learned to control. The exceptions are the breweries hyper focused on lagers. I've long thought that a Banquet-like beer with 10-15% more hops would be amazing, and those places have made that reality.

 

To be honest, I’m not sure if it is. But, I’m assuming it is since it is being marketed at around the same price as the others. It is listed as an American Lager, not AAL here.

 

I visited the New Trails website (and other web searches) and found zero mention of adjuncts so...

Cheers!

 

Here’s a question maybe you can answer since you are very knowledgeable/passionate about the beer industry from what I’ve seen.

Wouldn’t it be more expensive to make an American Lager, which is why Bud/Miller/Coors use adjuncts? If so, wouldn’t it be an assumption that Crisp Lager incorporates adjuncts if it is priced in a similar range especially since New Trail is so much smaller than the others?

 

I appreciate your kind thoughts but I am not an industry person so I really do not understand the financials/economics of commercial brewing.

I can relate that in two days I will be homebrewing my annual batch of Classic American Pilsner which includes 2 lbs. of flaked corn. For me, as a homebrewer, it costs more to brew with this adjunct than it would cost if I brewed all malt.

Take that FWIW.

Cheers!

Edit: Just to clarify the cost of flaked corn is greater on a per unit measure than malt.

 

I'm still pondering how I feel about this subject, although I can see the ridiculousness of paying 2x more just because the beer is somehow "craft" just because who is making it....

But I do know that Duff man thanks you for your support!

 

Because some beer consumers look askance at the brewing practices of megabreweries such as Duff?