jesskidden
-
Total Posts:
151
- Joined: 7/25/2005
- Location: Middlesex-Monmouth-M, NJ
|
RE: Your Favorite Discontinued Beer.
Thu, 10/2/08 8:25 AM
( permalink)
quote:Originally posted by David_NYC quote:Originally posted by leethebard
Has anyone been able to document if and when the formulas of these beers were changed to reduce brewing costs? Perhaps the best article I've seen, with quotes from brewmasters, on the changes in recipe and techniques a brand has gone through as it bounced from brewery to brewery is this one about the Ballantine ales (XXX and IPA): The Late, Great Ballantine http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m3469/is_13_51/ai_63841298/pg_1?tag=artBody;col1
I think it's safe to assume that similar- probably worse - things happened to the original formulas of beers like Schaefer, Piels, Schmidt's, etc. (Indeed, the Schmidt's of Phila. brand was purchased by Heileman in the 1980's. Heileman had previously purchased the Schmidt Brewery of St. Paul, MN., and eventually "merged" the two brands [marketing region, labeling, etc], so it's safe to say one of the Schmidt(s) beers isn't original.)
I think ANY talk of "original formula" by most any brewery has to be taken with a grain of salt- well, grain of malted barley, maybe. Given that beer is brewed from agricultural products that vary greatly from year to year (starch content of barley, sugar content of adjuncts, bitterness levels of hops, new hop variations, etc.) for a brewery to make a consistent product from year to year (and, these sorts of beers certainly prize "consistency" over any concept of yearly "vintages"), they HAVE to adjust the recipe. Many of the "old line" breweries also tended to prefer to use the same yeast for all their beers (laziness? Fear of cross-contamination?) which probably also explains why many US porters and ales were bottom fermented in the pre-craft age. I doubt that Schaefer maintained Piels' yeast strain much less Miller uses the original strains for all those 30+ Pabst labels they brew today.
When a brewer says "original recipe", one has to assume the recipe looks something like this: "Mix a quantity of malted barley with water, cook a cereal grain or syrup. Mix together. Add hops or hop extract. Add yeast."
Take for instance Jim Koch's claim that his Boston Lager is brewed using his great-grandfather's pre-Prohibition recipe. In more forthcoming interviews, it's been freely admitted that the (in)famous "brewing consultant", Joseph Owades, had to "tweak" that recipe because of vast difference in barley yields and hop varieties today compared to a century ago (He also adding dry-hopping and krausening to the process).
Another example being Anheuser-Busch's recent admittance that the IBU's of Budweiser (long claimed to the same recipe as the 1870's) has been constantly sliding lower in the past few decades.
With beers like the vast Pabst collection, sold at discount rates, it's probably even worse as far as "authenticity" goes. Before they even got under the Pabst umbrella, they'd been "dumbed down" by the original and/or previous owners. The east coast beers, in particular, (especially the so-called "Bushwick Pilsners") were traditionally heavier than the Mid-Western "national brands" (Bud, Schlitz, Pabst) and as the latter "invaded" their region, and they lost market share to those "modern" beers, they often changed their recipes to a "lighter" version. Unfortunately, they often only lost their loyal customers, rather than win back any of the folks who'd abandoned them in the first place. quote:Originally posted by David_NYC quote:Originally posted by leethebard
Consolidation brought a few new brands into town:, Champale Champale!  Odd to see that one on the list. Actually, it was a somewhat local brand, originating in Trenton, NJ. (They also had a 'sister' brew called "Champ Ale", tho' I never saw it.) The brewery in Trenton (which over the years went by several names, and once brewed "Trent Ale") was owned by the Hertzberg's, father and son, who also owned the Old Dutch brewery in Brooklyn and the Metropolitan Brewing Company of Manhattan in the post-Pro era. Other famous brands of their's included Copenhagen Castle which survived into the 1970's (tho' it was rare even in NJ) and they were one of several US brewers who brewed and marketed "Black Horse Ale" (formerly a Canadian brand).
|
