Tell us why you hate AAL beers

Oh, no doubt. That list is pretty northeast (NE and Mid-Atlantic) centric for two reasons - non-AALs were most common in that region and - more importantly - I lived there (NJ, NY, MA, VT).

Ballantine Ale and Genesee Beer and Cream Ale would have been available in their home states most everywhere but, yeah, if you wanted Ballantine India Pale Ale or Genesee 12 Horse Ale, you either ordered it or bought it when you stumbled upon it.

And beer shopping (for me at the time, at least) wasn't a matter of stopping into any little liquor or grocery store and pickup up a sixpack. The were excursions, sometimes out of state (PA was within 25 miles or so when I lived in NY and NJ) and I came home with 3 or more cases of beer. If I went with a friend to PA, we might return with even more cases, that we'd split (case law and all that). So, the guarantee was that my home refrigerator had the selection of beers I wanted.

Yeah, that was a big drag. I can still drive around NJ and point to a vacate lot, housing development or a CVS and say, "There used to be a little gin mill there with Ballantine Ale on tap." Heck I can still remember about a dozen places I stop into when I was in the area with Ballantine Ale (my favorite was a former gas station converted to a bar, somewhere around Somerville). But I could still find Schaefer or Rheingold or Schmidts in NJ, UC, Matts or Genesee in NY, Narragansett and Ballantine In MA on tap.

 

It's usually the big can for me- always refrigerated and they tend to move.

It wasn't too long ago that I was informed that it's actually brewed here in the US when I remarked that I remember liking it even better in the DR.

Thanks for the video, I'll check it out when I get the chance.

 

Oh, yeah - a now hated aspect of NJ's liquor laws with its limited number of on-premise consumption licenses (based on municipality's agreement and population) meant that back then a LOT of restaurants, especially indie, mom 'n' pop or ethnic restaurants were BYOB because licenses were too expensive or just not available. So, the beer selection "out" was the same as at home.

 

Yeah, I recall a rough night in San Francisco in the 1970s, staying with friends and drinking 2 quarts of Rainier Ale (and maybe a few other beers), the first time I finally had that legendary west coast ale. Oh, add in the fact that my friends' guest room had a waterbed. (< there's an emoticon I've never used before).

But I've often noted that common alcohol level and serving size has been a big change in the US. Back then when I bought a sixpack or case of Ballantine IPA (~6.5 - 7%, depending on year) I would drink one bottle at a time, maybe even split a bottle (my SO at the time was a big fan, even joked about wanting me to call her "IPA" as a nickname - and not during lovemaking, either ). And a common draft serving of beer was 6-7 oz. of 4.5-5% beer.

20-30 years later, bars serve 7-8%-up craft beer in pint glasses (that people complain doesn't hold a full 16 oz.), people call 5% beers "low alcohol" and even I wouldn't think it odd at home to have 2-3-4 IPAs of the same strength of the Ballantine IPA of the 70s in an evening 1 or 2 making dinner, 1 at dinner, another one watching TV.

Yeah, I have a version of that list that includes a few AALs like those 2, along with National Premium and Regal Amber, along with some of those seasonal bocks and draft-only all-malt lagers, even a couple malt liquors (Haffenreffer and the one from Matt's - blanking on the name now) but I didn't use it since the topic was non-AALs.

 

West End/Matts Maximus Super (or Maximus Regular, which I never saw)?

 

Oh, yeah. Maximus Super. Altho' F.X. says it wasn't a "malt liquor".

I owned a small general store in NYS and carried Maxiumus Super. I talked the nephew of my brother-in-law into buying a sixpack of it using the same pitch as above (he and his family all drank "Blue" - their nickname for Pabst Blue Ribbon).

His uncle made him return the 5 left over beers the next day. I didn't accept returns on alcohol but made an exception (hell, I'll drink 'em).

Me, neither. Short-lived, I guess?

 

In California, you had liquor stores carrying a (relatively) big variety of beer. In Oregon in the 70s, liquor stores were state controlled and carried only fortified wine and liquor. Package beer and wine were at the supermarket or quickymart, unless you could find a specialty store. Washington was only slightly different. Strong beers and wine were in liquor stores. That meant that WA supermarkets actually had good Rainier Ale (likely 4%wt), while the high test (reputed 6%wt) was restricted to the liquor store.

 

ISO!

 

Right, 1953. That’s the one.

 

Since this thread is even more (!) off-topic than the Hamm’s thread, I’ll just post my drinking pic here.

@JackHorzempa had the best intentions, but trying to fragment these AAL threads is an impossible task. Jack, you even went off-topic in the OP by showing a pic of a beer you liked rather than following your title! It seems like there just needs to be a generic “the AAL thread” for these to work… and no Jack, I won’t start one with that title.

This Pabst zombie Schlitz is definitely not close to the bottom in this family, but it’s not at the top for me. I’d happily drink more if there was more in the bottle.

 

I don’t hate them at all. There is a time and a place for everything.

I dare anyone to mow the lawn on a Sunday morning in July, then try and hate a Miller Lite afterwards.

 

I don’t want to be a “hater” but I am not a fan of AALs. Like many who have posted, I view them as a steppingstone to my current “appreciation “ of craft beer. My misspent youth and college years were immersed in guzzling many of these beers. High school years consisted of Molson Golden (when I could afford it ), MGD, Michelob and Budweiser. College consisted of whatever frat house was pouring. The house I lived in at PSU had Busch. Most other houses had Old Milwaukee. It was definitely quantity over quality. Today, I’m at the point I prefer to enjoy and savor my beers instead of seeing how many funnels I can ingest!

 

"Less overall flavor and more corn flavor" are not what I am looking for in a beer.

 

"Clear blue mountain water" in Reading PA?

 

Isn't there an area of PA (or a mountain ) called "Blue Mountain"? I know there was a railroad with that name *. The fact that they capitalized Blue Mountain on the can sure suggests that. Maybe the brewery or the town got water from a reservoir near or off of Blue Mt?

* Edit - Reading Blue Mountain & Northern Railroad