Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I remember that adjunct Michelob in the bowling pin shaped bottle as being maybe the smoothest beer I've ever had.
Is it still? I was using the term as compared to the beers available to me back in the 70s and 80s. Since then I've had many beers that have eclipsed my opinion of Michelob.
The dissimilarity (?) between prepro beers and superpremiums of the 70s that is most obvious is the visual. The superpremiuims were pale lagers, often not much different from a typical AAL. The pre-prohibition beers were mostly ambers (maybe those called pilsners were paler). Anchor Steam was based on a recipe that was probably close to pre-pro. Brooklyn Lager was also supposed to be in the pre-pro style. Those early craft ambers, I think, would be closer to prepro than the 70s super-prem.
It's been a long time, since I've had it. Actually, it's been a long time since it's existed. But I would say that Michelob and Samuel Smith Oatmeal Stout are the ones that jump to mind when I think smooth.
Wow. That's all? I have a few local breweries making some good, to-style German and English style beers that I'd call very smooth -- at least compared to some of the hop-bombs and alcohol shots available today.
Do you know if any of your local favorites distribute their beer to West Michigan? I'd love to try them. I'm not a fan of hop bombs either.
Maybe Lakefront, but the smaller ones probably don't. That said, I can't imagine you can't find some very smooth beers in Michigan. @PapaGoose03
The very first lagers brewed in America (i.e., 1842 onwards) would have been darker in color. They would be in color similar to the Dunkel beer style. In the latter part of the 1800's (i.e., 186x onwards) the most popular lagers (most widely sold/consumed) would have been Pale Lagers brewed with a combination of 6-row Pale Malt and an adjunct (corn and/or rice). Those popular beers would be the equivalent of the Pilsner style both in appearance and other sensory qualities. The most popular beers of 1900 - Prohibition by a wide margin were Pale Lagers (referred to as CAP beers today). Cheers!
I thought Augsburger (at least in the 70s and early 80s) was the closest American beer to a German Pale Lager. The label had the advantage of having dark and bock versions. Huber also marketed draft-only Berghoff (aka Gemutlicheit) all malt beers, very similar to Augsburger, possibly better. Other US brewers brewed all malt beers. But somehow the ones I tried didn't seem to me to have the expected body. To my palate the 70s adjunct Andeker had a bigger malt character than the all-malt version that was introduced in the 80s.
I have no idea but wondering if they still deliver kegs in refrigerated trucks or if that changed? Like you said they should be delivered that way and put into refrigerated conditions...when I worked for a Miller distributor in the late 80's the keg trucks were all refrigerated.
I presume (hope) so but I really don't know. Maybe some industry BAs can chime in here. @erway @JacksAbbyBrewing @BillManley @slander
I remember Augsburger Dark as it was labeled was there a regular one? Around that time Michelob Dark was available I liked them but was moving up to English and German beers in the early 80’s. Noche Bueno Mexican was a Christmas beer? That was good. Heilman special export when fresh was surprisingly good.
This is what I remember.. Andeker Encore,, National Premium all tasted better than the vast majority of.US beers . Michelob always was very good This would basically be mid 60s into the 8os.Rheingold was very tasty. Most beers were like malty water.
The Black Horse label might have been "owned" by each company in a defined distribution area. Another example. I think "Bohemian Club" was purchased by Blitz for the west when the Spokane branch of the Chicago Bohemian brewery closed (https://www.ebay.com/itm/144422654668). Interesting that Blitz bought the national rights to the Olde English label from Bohemian.. By the 70s, Huber owned the Bohemian Club label in the midwest. The labels were different (https://www.ebay.com/itm/175509689129), and the Huber beer was better than the Blitz version. I seldom saw Champale's Black Horse on shelves on Long Island in the late 70s. But my local bar had some in the fridge of unknown age. It was pretty drinkable, but I'd say it tasted "interesting" (was it intended, flawed, or too old)? I did find a returnable case of Champale's (dba Metropolis) Copenhagen Castle. Now that not very good (but a nice pkg. like the one illustrated. (https://www.breweriana.com/bottles/copenhagen-castle-251/).
Did you ever run into Hibernia Brewing Co products in the mid 80s? That was the last gasp of Walter of Eau Clair. They made some fine beers for a short while. Regular Augsburger was available light, dark, and bock in spring. In Chicago in the mid 70s there was a sprinkling of locations.with Augsburger draft. For a while, Augsburger was available Comiskey Park). I would buy Regal Brau bock (also by Huber) at $4.69 a case of 12 return quarts. A bargain and pretty close to Augsburger.bock in taste. Noche Buena was a Moctezuma product when I saw it in San Diego in the early 70s. Moctezuma also imported Dos Equis, Tres Equis, and Superior at the time. Heineken now owns it and the Cuatemoc brands.
@steveh suggested German and English beers above, probably based on your reply of the Michelob and the Samuel Smith's Oatmeal Stout, so I'll stick with that too. If West Michigan is your home area, if Grand Rapids is convenient to you, Archival Brewing in Belmont does a great job on historical and European beers. https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/61642/ Their current taplist https://archivalbrewing.com/our-drinks/ has a Kotbusser available, and it's a very smooth beer. I've seen it in cans in my store in Battle Creek, so it's in some good stores. There are other German beers currently on their tap list - a Kolsch and a Schwarzbier. Both of those can be easy drinkers. I see that a Maibock from Archival was added to BA last year, and I consider that to be a smooth-drinking style (usually). Maibocks are in season now, so maybe it will show up this year. They list a couple English beers, and historic English styles usually aren't very hoppy. The Vienna Lager style is usually not very hoppy, so if you see that style, it could be a good choice. Other German or English-inspired breweries in West Michigan are Brass Ring in GR for good English beers (they have a couple beer engines too), Territorial Brewing here in BC (their maibock is out now but not in distro although it can can be bought at the brewery in cans, and they brew a good helles called Kenny Lagers); and Cedar Springs Brewing in Cedar Springs https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/43130/, which has a GR location called Kusterer Brauhaus https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/63632/. The only Lakefront beer that I see in Michigan is their New Grist gluten-free beer. I wish we could see more from them. Many years ago they sent their Holiday Spice Lager here. That beer was special.
There is no brewery more fastidious about storage temps and holding wholesalers feet to the fire about such temps, including with kegs, than ABI.
