Hamm’s Appreciation Thread (2024)

Finally, managed to source some. Had to stand in line 2-3 hours. $5.99 for six tallboys.



Get in my belly, baby!

 

That should be illegal!

 

Staring around 1998 and then the closing of those last 2 Pabst breweries in 2002, and up until recently most Pabst beers were contract-brewed by Miller > MillerCoors > Molson Coors. Then there was a big lawsuit and they broke up.

"Milwaukee" on a Pabst label meant it was brewed at Miller's brewery there (or at another MC brewery - see below*).
Irwindale (built by Miller to replace Azuza) was a Molson Coors brewery that MC closed and sold to Pabst and then sold to City Brewing Co.

Here are >snips< from the official label approvals from the US Feds, the TTB.


CBC = City Brewing Co. / IBY = Irwindale Brew Yard, a subsidiary of City.

* You'll also note under Box 2 that, under Federal labeling regulations, the name of one city on a beer label does not mean the can was brewed and canned in the company's brewery in that city. Only the main or corporate headquarter city ("principal place of business") has to be listed

but the brewer is required to code the can with the actual brewery location ("EACH CONTAINER MUST BE CODED TO INDICATE ACTUAL PLACE OF BOTTLING").

 

Pabst brewed beer fairly recently in Milwaukee. It was called the Captain Pabst Pilot House and beer was brewed from 2017 – 2020. I am uncertain if they had the ability to package (e.g., can) beer there.

Cheers!

https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/pabst-closing-pilot-house

 

All the TTB records and other sources suggest that there were no packaged (cans, bottles) beers coming out of that now-closed facility and even when they released a beer under the "Captain Pabst" branding, it was brewed and canned by the Wisconsin Brewing Co. of Verona, WI (one of the smaller breweries Pabst has used for some of their specialty brews).

(Above center and right) They did have keg label approvals for some of the draught beers they brewed there, but, as noted, those beers could also be brewed at other contract-brewers' facilities (Matt, The Lion and CBA).

Could they have brewed Pabst Blue Ribbon at that small brewpub and canned it? Sure, possibly. There are no TTB records of it, however. Seems real unlikely they would have sent it to the California market even if they had.

 

A dive bar out here offers something they call Hamm it up: Hamms, pickle, and shot of well whiskey. What other sorts of combinations have you all encountered (or invented)?

 

What? A SuperMod not playing by the house rules?
Keep Style in Mind
We don't expect everyone to judge like a pro, but keeping the beer's style in mind will help you approach each beer a bit more objectively.

Pro tips:

• Check out BeerAdvocate's Beer Styles. They’re not perfect and need an overhaul, but it's a good place to start.
• Review with an open mind. Judge the beer for what it's trying to be, not what you think the beer should be; like that that kick-ass India Pale Ale that you just finished drinking.
• Don't review styles that you know you don't like. Your opinion will be tainted, and it's not fair to the brewery. A beery characteristic that you might not like could be due to style and shouldn't be deemed a flaw. Examples:
  • Buttery notes (diacetyl) in a Scotch Ale
  • Sourness in a Lambic
  • Intense smokiness in a Rauchbier
• Check out the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) and Brewers Association beer style guidelines, which are used by judges at homebrew and professional competitions.

That said, yes -- I know you were being tongue-in-cheek () and in no way do I think an AAL 5.0 is equal to a Foreign Stout 5.0 -- but that doesn't mean an AAL can't reach a 5.0 within its own segment.

 

Schell's Deer Brand is pretty good. Not a 5 to my palate, but we're talking subjectivity, right?

From that land of sky blue waters, too!

 

I did admire some of the AALs in the 70s. Schaefer, PBR, National Boh, and Huber Premium all tasted good to me, and could have scored well. Since then I've been avoiding AALs if possible. They have become more uniform and tended toward blandness. But on a trip to Mexico a couple of years ago, I tried Bohemia clara, and it was positively good, in my estimation. I think it would deserve a pretty high score. I don't think most other mainstream US, Mexican, or Canadian lagers would come close.

 

I used to go out of my way to find Schell's Deer Brand back in the mid-80s, so I might have used that scale back then. Not so much anymore. Too many good beers that aren't AALs available to me these days.

Doesn't mean I'd turn down a Deer Beer at a BBQ.

 

Circa 1986:

 

Good to want to try it. In the 70s, I thought Schell's (Deer Brand now) was OK, with not much to distinguish it from the run of the mill AALs on the market. No matter the brewery location or size, I was usually not too impressed with the products (and we tried many). I haven't had Schell's since. There may be a noticeable difference between it and the big-beer brands since big-beer tastes have become blander. But only if Schell's taste hasn't changed along with the big beers. Good luck.

 

In the '80s Merchant Du Vin distributed a Schell's all malt beer around the country. It was that regional that got me recognizing beers didn't all taste like BMC.

I found a local distro (Aurora, IL) that handled the Deer Brand (image above) -- it wasn't as rich as the all malt MdV was selling, but it definitely had more flavor than most other beers on shelves then. Maybe even more than what Huber was brewing.

I loved finding regional beers back then -- Schell's, Dubuque Star, Hibernia.

As to Schell's current beers, they're even better than before... but not widely distributed.

 

+1 Bohemia Clasica Pils. My mileage varies regarding Moosehead lager (can only). That beer has earned a permanent corner in my beer fridge.

 

At first, I was like, who's this dude spouting' off about Pabst's. Now I realize you know your shit. Well done sir, I'm a fan