Beers that Brewers Would Drink Forever.

It's nice to see Boston Lager there because it's a brave choice. Nice to see pFriem Pilsner too because that one is probably my favorite new-to-me beer for '22.

 

pFriem Pilsner is good .
Why anyone would choose PtE is beyond me , but hey

 

Are you trading for the Pfriem? We don't even get it here a few hundred miles south of the Oregon/California border.

 

The rest of my life? How about a beer that survives a few years. I look for and latch onto good ones when I find them. Chances are any favorite beer will be discontinued in a year or two. Most of the remaining brands will be "improved" so as to be recognizable mostly by the label. May I use present-day Pilsner Urquell as an example, being brewed with a fairly traditional package, but contents being -- different. It's probably a decent beer, but I'm sorely disappointed because I have to compare it to the incomparable experience of drinking Urquell in the late 70s. I avoid it now. Many other of my "lifetime" favorites have disappeared or changed over the last 50 years: Dortmunder Ritterbrau, McSorley's Ale, Ballantine Ale, Blue Point ESB . . . .

 

Had on a business trip to Vegas. I went to a place for dinner that I knew had it. I liked it so much at the time that I went back to the same place for lunch the following day. When I ordered it with lunch, the bartender didn't understand what beer I was asking for at first. Then it clicked with him and he said, "Weren't you here yesterday? I remember now. People don't usually buy this beer."

 

My father worked for Pabst in Milwaukee before the war (WWII), later was a pharmacist. He was so grateful to Pabst for hiring him at the bottom of the depression that he drank Pabst for the rest of his life; no question. It was always in the fridge. The only exception to the Pabst rule was when there was a strike at Pabst, so then he drank another beer--I recall once it was Leinenkugel's. But that tasted "spoiled," so it was back to Pabst as soon as possible.

So I'd argue that people sometimes drink a beer for reasons that don't entirely have to do with "flavor," and they eventually become one with what they drink. It's a kind of terroir thing, maybe--i. e., it's cultural, has to do with the locale, the lived situation. And it may not even be a conscious decision, certainly not after while.

 

Well, this guy might be a brewer and things might be different out in Nevada but that ain't how beer distribution and freshness availability work out in the real world at the retail level in much of the country.

 

Perhaps this...

 

That dark lager sounds delicious.

Can't wait for the local breweries to revive their dark lager recipes for the cold months.

 

Yeah I rarely see any Sierra Nevada products with bottling dates less the 60 days ago.

 

By my reckoning the split was 9 lagers and 5 ales.

Lagers do indeed have the quality of drinkability going for them.

Cheers!

P.S. And I too will give a shout out for pFriem Pilsner. I enjoyed drinking that beer when I had lunch at the pFriem brewery (Hood River, OR).

 

Good thing about SNPA is that even at 4-6 months, there’s very little falloff if kept correctly. SN hoppy brews “age” better than most, if not all, PAs/IPAs.

 

I have found that our closest Wegmans, at least in my experience, almost always has it under 60 days. Sometimes only 3-4 weeks old even; its pretty out of the way for me so I haven't been in quite a few months now but maybe worth checking.

This is the Wegmans in Cherry Hill by Philly which sees a ton of volume, that parking lot is a nightmare. I'm sure this contributes to their fast volume turnover.

 

The sacred profane dark lager really stood out to me. If you told me five years ago that a brewery would be charging $7.99 for a 16 oz can of 3.8% ABV dark lager, I would have said you’re on crack.

 

ABGB Industry and pFriem Industry are 2 two excelent beers that I've had the pleasure of drinking fresh at the breweries. Will have the Industry again soon.

 

Your father might have also preferred the taste. Up through the 70's at least, Pabst brewed good beer (Red, White and Blue and Eastside excepted). Pabst-brewed Blue Ribbon was a good adjunct lager. I'd be hard pressed to name one that I thought was clearly better. And Andeker, Pabst dark draft, Old Tankard Ale, Pabst Bock were all good or better. I liked Blue Ribbon better than Leinies when I lived in Chicago in the mid 70s. Today's Blue Ribbon bears little relation to the beer of 50 years ago (its yellow). Not sure about Leinenkugel.

 

Rothhaus FTW!

 

I say in 2022 they are on crack charging that much.

 

That’s probably the case for 99% of Bud Light drinkers.

 

Glad to see the IPA's and pale ales getting some love from the brewers. If I had to pick one, it'd be Zombie Dust in a photo finish with PseudoSue. (ZD FTW because 12-ounce bottles.)

 

Couldn't agree more--I remember raiding the fridge after a hard and hot day's work at Ambrosia Chocolate in Milwaukee (1970) and finding it delicious. Of course part of that was the heat, my tiredness, etc., but it really was a rich and flavorful beer.

 

Yes, the circumstances matter, especially for industrial American lagers. On a hot August night in 1977, after I did some emergency mid-trip auto repair in Lincoln Nebraska, my wife and I went for a late dinner. We had a couple of Falstaff drafts that tasted better than seemed possible.

 

For craft beer drinkers it’s hard (for me anyway) to just pick 1 beer as the only beer option for rest of your life. I frequently get tired of the same great beer working through a Sixer for several days. If I could alternate each between 1 hoppy ale and a great lager, I could do that. Fresh Jai Alai or Zombie Dust for hoppy option. The Sam Adams Festbier really tasted good to me this fall. Not overly sweet like their Okoberfest, just really nicely balanced.

 

Every time I find myself drinking with brewers everyone seems to end up on Augustiner Helles or Rodenbach.

 

I second this. Yes, a lager is a given, but after the IPAs got "invented", there isn't any turning back.

 

i don't think that beer is sold in 16 oz cans (picture on the article is a 12 oz can). it's draft and 12 packs of 12 ounce cans as far as i know. that $7.99 price is from craftshack.com, they're most likely breaking up 12 packs. for reference, craftshack also sells brooklyn lager for $7.99/12 oz. craftshack is obviously smoking boatloads of crack, yes.

 

PtE for me, for sure.

Have a hard time believing someone would choose an orange gose to drink "forever."

 

Because they haven't transitioned to the new 'it' beer style of Juicy & Hazy IPA yet!?!

 

More that it's a very specific taste profile . . . I mean, to each their own.

 

I’ve given this a little too much thought already, but with the caveat that I hope to never actually have to put this to the test, I think I’d be ok with something like a Hans Pils out of Real Ale or a Live Oak pils, something just hoppy enough to scratch that itch but not something I necessarily need to think about.

 

I too enjoy those beers. And Austin Beerworks make tasty Pilsners too.

Maybe just create a 'category' of Hill Country Pilsners?

Cheers!

 

They don’t package in 16 oz cans. There is nowhere, quite literally, that this format and pricing is a thing. 12 ounce 12 packs. $25

What a weird thing to print and not, you know, fact check.

That said, I just finished one and I’m going to have another. It’s dynamite.

 

[Insert you favorite locally available) Helles. I brought a few bottles of Russian River Velvet Glow to share at the table tonight and received several comments about how tasty it is. Helles is a great compliment to dry (and even property cooked) turkey and many other dishes.

 

Then someone seriously screwed up printing that article. Still a rip off at $25 for a 12 pack though.

 

No way. Not in New England (or most parts of NY — not sure where you are at) where four packs of IPAs are $17+. In this case I’m getting eight more beers for that extra ~$8.

We need more 12 packs. And for a dark lager (and the pale for that matter) that good? Shit that’s a deal.

 

Most twelves I see are for under $20, but then again that’s more of the traditional standbys that have been on the market for a while. I think we may be looking through different lenses of what a bargain is, so to each their own. It is nice to see that lagers are more appreciated nowadays, and dark lagers especially, which are right in my wheelhouse.

 

You're right. There are many 12-packs for under $20. Of course you have Sierra Nevada and New Belgium hitting that price point, but the real outlier is Allagash who consistently prices their 12-packs under $20 (I believe it's $18.99 for 12-packs of White). Outside of that (and in the macro aisle), you're not getting 12 beers for $25.