Hamm’s Appreciation Thread (2024)

A win's a win. I didn't re-read the article, but I thought I remembered them saying that the only beer they all agreed on as being enjoyable was Hamm's, or something to that effect. If I'm mistaken then please forgive me. But again, Hamm's came out on top in this taste test of the brewers. Yours, mine, and everyone else's results may vary in a similar tasting.

 

Almost the exact on my can.

 

You left off the part of my quote where I mentioned that the regional lagers we’re talking about, really aren’t regional lagers anymore, just a name, but yeah, you’re just parroting my point.

I do love Gansett, Straub Amber, Genny, and am having some Grain Belt sent to me, so it’ll be my first time trying it.

While I’ve always thought of these bigger regional lagers that are under larger corporations as pretty much the same beer, but w/ a different label, I think it’s cool to see brands like PBR, Lone Star, Hamm’s, Rainier, etc… getting love, rather than Bud or Lite. Just my opinion though.

 

Well, I left it off because I didn't want to discuss that aspect of your post (was already gettin' too argumentative) --- but, since you brought it up , sure.

I guess I'd call most of them "formerly regional brewers' brands" but, when you think about, almost all of them are Pabst-owned (via S&P, Heileman and Stroh). Between AB and MC, there's mainly Hamm's, Olde English and Rolling Rock. (Go back further to the Gettleman days, and there's Milwaukee's Best, too.)

And, using the Brewers Association definition (which I don't in this) of "Regional" they base it on barrelage, not a brewer with distribution limited to one or more regions of the US.

So, given Pabst's current yearly barrelage of ~3.6M bbl., they are regional by size, yet the distribution of their many brands, in total, is, or appears to be, national. (Are there any states that don't get at least one Pabst brand?)

And then there are beers from AB and MC that are only regionally distributed (AB's Michelob Golden Draught & ZeigenBock and MC's Colorado Native and maybe some others?) but, while regionally distributed, I still wouldn't refer to them as "regional lagers" but brands that are brewed by national brewers with regional distribution.

Yeah, I'll admit it's confusing (like a lot of topics 'round here) and often dependent of one's own definition, since there's seldom an accepted industry-wide and consumer-wide definition.

 

It is interesting that Pabst's would be considered a Regional brewery by Brewer Association standards (though their standards are based on production), considering they have breweries in Los Angeles, San Antonio, and Milwaukee. Not sure if you've heard the same thing recently, but in a few of my other beer groups I'm in, they've said they've noticed a difference in PBR recently, having more of a "hop bite". I think someone had said they moved production, but not entirely sure if that's true or not.

 

No Pabst breweries in those 3 cities - they all have been locations where the Pabst Brewing Co. had the corporate offices. After closing the Milwaukee brewery (mid-90s), they moved to San Antonio where their parent company, S&P, owned Pearl. Pearl closed, along with the other last Pabst brewery in Allentown, PA around 2002. At that point, Pabst considered itself a "virtual brewery" (actually using that term) and one (of the many) Pabst CEOs of the time was once quoted as saying "Why would I want to own a brewery?"

The corporate offices moved to Woodridge, IL (closer to Miller) then, during the Twinkie family ownership period moved to L.A., the base of operations for that family. In recent years, they moved back to San Antonio, for some strange reason, since they are now under new owners.

Those owners, along with other investors, bought City Brewing Co., but apparently the two firms (Pabst & City) remain separate entities even though Pabst announced they are moving most of their contracts to City breweries in Latrobe, LaCrosse, Memphis and Irwindale CA (which they bought from Molson Coors).

 

Wait, Blatz is 3.8 ABV?

 

Oh, yeah the Twinkie family = Pabst beer sold to Metropoulos (<not the city that's home to The Daily Planet, where Clark, Lois and Jimmy worked for Mr. White)

Blatz Light.

 

That makes more sense.

 

I can't imagine a typical craft brewer enjoying (or even tolerating) this dismal beer list. Is that top score 4.5 out of 5! Maybe prune the beer list to 3: one AB, one MillerCoors, and one Pabst. Averaging by brewery gives MC and Pabst both about 3.8, but AB just 3.25. Maybe there should have been an entry from Stevens Point or Minhas or Schell or Matts or FIFCO or Straub or Yuengling.

 

Don't forget, if you're rating them to typical AALs, they should all fall in line with expectation of the style.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/styles/38/

 

I didn't read the article to see that 4 was rated for a ballgame or bbq. I remember Huber Augsburger being sold at White Sox games for a while in the 70s. THAT was a "ballgame" 4.5. Even at a BBQ my wife and I hosted in the late 70s,we served a special order keg of McSorley's Ale. That was a bbq 5. Have we regressed so far in 40+ years?

 

I was a long-suffering Portland Beaver fan -- until they were disbanded. My kids are Islander fans. I went to a few Sox games, both at old Comiskey and the new one.

 

$12.99 a 30 pack here. I’d rather have a Narragansett but won’t turn my nose up at it.

 

If you count “my belly” as a region, then Hamm’s is a regional brewery, yes.

 

Im confused, you said no Pabst brewery in Los Angeles, but the label says Irwindale. Are they brewing there? While it’s not LA, it’s just 20 minutes away. Could have sworn I’ve seen Pabst’s cans w/ Milwaukee on them. Guess I’ll have to look again next time