Your Favorite Discontinued Beer.

Dearfolk,
Why am I sitting here thinking about Blind Man Ale? That was made here in the mid-1990's by a brewery (Blind Man Ales, natch!) that was described by a visitor as "the second most primitive brewery in the world; the most primitive is in Burkina Faso."
Following introduction of their idiotically hoppy, cask-conditioned flagship product, production was expanded first to Blind Man India Brown Ale ("Think Newcastle on steroids," one reviewer wrote) and then to Blind Man Espresso Stout. The first batch of draught Espresso Stout contained enough coffee that after drinking 4 pints of it in 5 hours, I was rendered nearly permanently sleepless: my mother noted my room light burning at 7:00 A. M., peeked in to find me reading, and commented "You tell John [Gayer, the brewer] that I said to include some decaffinated coffee in there!" He did in subsequent batches, and I was no longer guilty of sleep deprivation.
If the company had been capitalized better, it would surely still be in business. An amazing rattling bottling line (fresh from the Biscoe, North Carolina Coca-Cola plant) did help matters, but there was no quality control to speak of, and some batches didn't turn out as well as others.
Many beer lovers in these parts regret the all-too-soon passing of Blind Man; there is still Blind Man signage in The Euclid Avenue Yacht Club in Atlanta; Barley's in Asheville, N. C.; and Nick's Deli in Clemson, S. C.
Now -- do any of you have an out-of-production brew memory to share here? Now's the time!
A Wee Bit Thirstily, Ort. Carlton in Joyful Athens, Georgia.

Esslinger, as well as Rhinegold, although I hear that the latter has been resurected, although I have not been able to locate it in the Delmarva area. Anybody know anything?

Horlachers from Allentown Pa. Back in the mid 70s they brewed a "Perfection Beer" that was out of this world at $8.00 a case.

Iron City Golden Lager. Very similar to Sam Adams.

quote:

Originally posted by Phildelmar

Esslinger, as well as Rhinegold, although I hear that the latter has been resurected, although I have not been able to locate it in the Delmarva area. Anybody know anything?

They revived Rheingold around 2000. I think it was actually a relative of the original owners who did so. It was okay, but rather pricey. I would keep some around for my Dad, who was always a fan of the original. It then disappeared again a few years later, I recall reading someone had bought it, and planned to sell nationwide, but not sure if that ever happened or will ever happen.

quote:

Originally posted by Phildelmar

Esslinger, as well as Rhinegold, although I hear that the latter has been resurected, although I have not been able to locate it in the Delmarva area. Anybody know anything?

Rheingold was "revived" a couple of times, but seems to have disappeared again. The last attempt (by an outfit called "DrinksAmerica" that also sold brands "endorsed" by Willie Nelson and Donald Trump) the beer - in a clear bottle- was sold as "less calories than Corona". http://www.drinksamericas.com/brands.cfm/brands/59860

An earlier attempt at reviving Rheingold was headed by a former SoBe executive, Norman Snyder, who now head up the High Falls Brewery in Rochester, NY (formerly Genesee).

Esslinger, on the other hand, was a minor brand of Rheingold itself, after the Philly brewery closed. (If I recall my "east coast minor beer brand" history correctly) when Rheingold itself closed (late 1970's), most of the brands were picked up by Schmidt's, a few went to Ortlieb's (both Philadelphia breweries) yet the Esslinger brand wond up at The Lion (Wilkes-Barre) where the ownership of the name is probably still resides. Sorta doubt it's still being marketed, tho'- altho' a few of those old Lion brands still exist.

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by Phildelmar

...the Esslinger brand wound up at The Lion (Wilkes-Barre) where the ownership of the name is probably still resides. Sorta doubt it's still being marketed, tho'- altho' a few of those old Lion brands still exist.

Dearfolk,
A guy in Copper Creek Brewing (our ten-star local brewpub) summed it up very well a few weeks ago when he said "Stegmaier is an old fart's beer." He then took a deep swig of one of Matt's good draught brews and added "And I'm a young fart, but if it's good enough for my grandpa, it's good enough for me... when I'm home, I'll drink Steg until there isn't any more Steg to drink. Grandpa's been drinking it since repeal. Besides, Yuengling doesn't NEED my money!" -- I think he's from Pittston; he's down here in grad school.
The last time I was in Wilkes-Barre (September 2001), Steg was only sold thereabouts VERY cheaply in returnable 16-ounce bottles. It was also available on draught at a few old-time taverns.
Nobody in W-B had heard of Gibbons, but it was always more a Scranton beer than a W-B one. And I don't think they make Bartels anymore, unless it's sold in Edwardsville and noplace else (which IS possible).
Gee, I wonder if there's any such thing as a Stegmaier t-shirt....
Roaming Wyomingly, Ort. Carlton in Ever-Groovy Athens, Georgia.

Dearfolk,
How about THE ORIGINAL Ballantine India Pale Ale, when it was brewed in Newark... held in wood for NINE months (in vats that were cooped for Col. John N. Cummings' Ale Brewery in 1805!), contained a proud 67 units of bitterness, and came in green returnables?
After P. Ballantine & Sons closed in 1972, brewing was transferred to the Narragansett facility in Cranston, R. I. The brew tasted almost exactly the same; nobody had fiddled with the formula as late as 1979, when I refound it in Washington, D. C.
After Narragansett closed circa. 1984, brewing was transferred elsewhere and the product began its inevitable decline. It's still a pretty heady brew, but no longer is it necessary to chew it.
Nobody anywhere is attempting a similar product, or that I have ever been able to find out about. Too bad; it remains my standard by which all I. P. A.'s are judged. Hey, if it wouldn't survive a trip across the equator and around the cape and chugging across the open ocean to India from England, it isn't India Pale Ale!
Bittersweetly Nostalgically, Ort. Carlton in Well-Brewed Athens, Georgia.

Interesting stuff. As I posted on another thread I guess it would be Ringnes Special. I used to get this in 70's while living in Denver. I always look for it when traveling but I think it's gone for good.

Ort, I don't know if are stating that Ballantine I.P.A. is still being brewed. The only Ballantine product I know of still being produced is the XXX ale in the green bottles and cans. It is found in nearly every beer distributor for miles around the original Newark, NJ brewery, and sold at the going rate for a 24 pack. However, the 40 ounce bottle is also found in NY Metro area delis in the "bad" part of town (average price, $2.50), right next to the Colt45 and the Bada$$ malt liquors. XXX is still a good brew if it was not subjected to temperature abuse. Pabst owns the brand; last I heard it was being contract brewed by Miller/Coors in Trenton, OH.

quote:

Originally posted by David_NYC
Ort, I don't know if are stating that Ballantine I.P.A. is still being brewed. The only Ballantine product I know of still being produced is the XXX ale in the green bottles and cans. It is found in nearly every beer distributor for miles around the original Newark, NJ brewery, and sold at the going rate for a 24 pack. However, the 40 ounce bottle is also found in NY Metro area delis in the "bad" part of town (average price, $2.50), right next to the Colt45 and the Bada$$ malt liquors. XXX is still a good brew if it was not subjected to temperature abuse. Pabst owns the brand; last I heard it was being contract brewed by Miller/Coors in Trenton, OH.

DavidNYC,
Thanks for the info! -- The Ohio-brewed Ballantine I. P. A. is sold in Kentucky, among other states (probably Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio). The product, last time I tried it, had no "woody" flavor (it wasn't being oak-aged) and possessed about 35 to 40 bitterness units... still quite bitter, but nowhere near as intense as was previously.
I wonder if Pabst is still making either Pabst Old Tankard Ale or Andeker... now THOSE were a couple of good beers, folks. Andeker may still make its appearance in Milwaukee... can anyone substantiate?
Slightly Thirstily, Ort. Carlton in Can't Buy 'Em Here Athens, Georgia.

http://www.epinions.com/fddk-review-5F43-114DBB21-39C65A35-prod3

Schaefer is still around,bottled by Pabst...but a mear shadow of the beer to have "when you're having more than one"...like Reingold, and Ballantine, and even Pabst...those classic brands just ain't what they used to be!!!!

Some years back I belonged to one of those beer of the month clubs where they sent you 2 six packs of microbrews every month. If you liked a particular beer, you could order it from the club. I received a beer called Coho Pacific Light from a brewery in Oregon. This was not light in the sense of "lite" beer, but a golden Canadian style ale that was just delicious. I ordered more. Then it was discontinued. Why the brewery stopped making it, I don't know. I called and they said they replaced it with something similar. I tried it, and it wasn't nearly as good.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

Dearfolk,
How about THE ORIGINAL Ballantine India Pale Ale, when it was brewed in Newark... held in wood for NINE months

Yeah, the original version of Ballantine India Pale Ale from P. Ballantine and Sons, Newark, NJ would be mine, as well. (And, if I can't get that, the Falstaff/Narrangansett late 1970's version will do in a pinch...).

The post-Repeal version of Ballantine IPA (the brewery was sold at the end of Prohibition) was "aged in the wood for one-year" (as was their shorter-lived "Brown Stout"). See the early ad here- http://pballantineandsons.googlepages.com/alecomesback3

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

(in vats that were cooped for Col. John N. Cummings' Ale Brewery in 1805!)

Wow. I have never heard that claim. Ballantine built a new ale brewery on the Passaic River ("Front St., foot of Fulton" was the long time address) a few years after taking over the Cummings' facility. That brewery was enlarged several times over the years, until it had a capacity of over 100,000 barrels. One would think the Cummings' tanks would have been quite small for such production levels.

The Ale brewery was closed a few years before Prohibition, and all brewing was done at the Lager Brewery (Ferry St. in the Ironbound) after that, and the new owners continued running that brewery after Repeal, until the doubled it's size by buying the neighboring Feiganspan brewery in the '40's.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.


After P. Ballantine & Sons closed in 1972, brewing was transferred to the Narragansett facility in Cranston, R. I. The brew tasted almost exactly the same; nobody had fiddled with the formula as late as 1979, when I refound it in Washington, D. C.
After Narragansett closed circa. 1984, brewing was transferred elsewhere and the product began its inevitable decline. It's still a pretty heady brew, but no longer is it necessary to chew it.

Most accounts have Falstaff tinkering with the recipes of both XXX and IPA in the decade or so the products were at Cranston. Aging time for the IPA was dropped to "4 or 5 months", with IBU's at 45 and ABV 7.5%. Cranston closed in 1981-2, and once transferred to Fort Wayne, the IPA did continue to slid down in quality.

Ft. Wayne closed in the early '90's, and production was transferred to the Pabst Milwaukee plant (the parent company of Falstaff, the S & P Corp., had purchased Pabst in the 1980's). When Pabst Milwaukee closed (1996, IIRC), the IPA disappeared from the market. While at Milwaukee, however, Pabst *did* resurrect it's own "Old Tankard Ale" which they compared to BIPA (it certainly wasn't similar in the 1970's- when it was a typical US "blonde ale") and one supposes it WAS the same beer (or a blend).

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.


Nobody anywhere is attempting a similar product, or that I have ever been able to find out about. Too bad; it remains my standard by which all I. P. A.'s are judged.

Certainly, today, few brewers are going to age a beer for a year (they'd rather sell it first and have the consumer cellar them) but the beers that remind me most of BIPA are Sierra-Nevada's Celebration Ale and Bigfoot Barleywine. (S-N apparently uses a yeast derived from the Ballantine strain, according to brewing urban legend). I usually do a "Half and Half" in the winter when both are available- which brings the ABV to a similar level.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

quote:

Originally posted by David_NYC
Ort, I don't know if are stating that Ballantine I.P.A. is still being brewed. The only Ballantine product I know of still being produced is the XXX ale in the green bottles and cans.

-- The Ohio-brewed Ballantine I. P. A. is sold in Kentucky, among other states (probably Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio). The product, last time I tried it, had no "woody" flavor (it wasn't being oak-aged) and possessed about 35 to 40 bitterness units... still quite bitter, but nowhere near as intense as was previously.

As David notes, I, too, think you're confusing the XXX Ale with the IPA. IPA disappeared with the closing of the Pabst Milwaukee plant (as noted above). Pabst moved Ballantine XXX Ale production several times after that as it closed it's own breweries and bought most of the Stroh-Heileman brands.

As stated above, the XXX Ale is brewed by Miller (at different time in Ohio or North Carolina- which can easily be determined by the code stamped on the neck of the bottles or bottom of the cans). According to Pabst's own website (since changed, and no longer contains a distribution search feature or even LISTS Ballantine Ale as a product!), the Ale is pretty much a Northeast only product these days. (It was once a national brand, even tho' P. Ballantine & Sons was a single site brewer.)

The current Pabst CEO had mentioned "reviving" the Ballantine ales in an industry interview a little over a year ago (altho' he gets a lot of facts wrong in http://www.beverageworld.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&Itemid=127&id=6242). Unfortunately, they seemed to have gone with the current slow roll-out of the reborn "1960's formula" of Schlitz, instead.

quote:

Originally posted by CLVdog

Horlachers from Allentown Pa. Back in the mid 70s they brewed a "Perfection Beer" that was out of this world at $8.00 a case.

Ah, yes, Holacher's Perfection was some very nice stuff. I only found it a few times (IIRC, it came in a plain unmarked white case, 24 loose bottles and I used to search the dusty corners of those PA distributors for it...). Supposedly a "reborn" post-Repeal version of a popular pre-Prohibition beer. I've put some of my beer research and website on "hold" (broken scanner and Google apparently switching it's website to a different style) but here's the stuff I *did* collect on Perfection.

http://jesskidden.googlepages.com/holacher%27s9montholdperfectionbeer

Certainly, being aged for 9 months at the time (mid-1970's) made it unique in the US at the time, since, as noted in my other posts above, the only other "long aged" beer of the era, Ballantine India Pale Ale, had been reduced to a 4-5 month period.

What happened to good ol' Busch Light? I don't drink but my husband does. He drinks Busch Light. Now, please noone take this the wrong way but I always feel a little "Jerry Springerish" walking through the store with a 30pk of Busch Light.

Two that come to mind would be Tuborg & Falstaff Dark.

I also remember Genny 12 Horse Ale as being very good.

Whitbred is a great ale from the UK, but I dont think you can get it around the Boston area anymore...too bad i thought that was a great beer

Nattie Bo! (oh yeah)

quote:

Originally posted by ChefShan

What happened to good ol' Busch Light?

Huh? What happened to it? It was the 8th most popular beer in the US last year, with 2.7% of the market, selling over 5 and 1/2 million barrels of beer.* Sorta doubt Anheuser Busch would discontinue such a brand- maybe it's just sold out before your husband gets to the store? .

*http://www.beverageworld.com/special_reports/State-Industry-2008.pdf

quote:

Originally posted by wmceaton



I also remember Genny 12 Horse Ale as being very good.

Genesee played around with the recipe for 12 Horse Ale a lot over the years. I used to love it when it was available only in long neck "deposit" bottles or kegs (I never saw it on the retail shelves, but since I had a NY state retail beer license, I ordered it direct from the distributor for personal use. It came in regular "Genesee Beer" shells). The ale was very similar to UK ales (albeit a bit "lighter" and less hoppy).

In the early 80's, they revamped the label, expanded distribution but changed the ale to an imitation Canadian golden ale. Very disappointing, after the excitement of finding it on the shelf in "throw-away" bottles. After Genesee bought Koch, they seemed to put more effort into the Black Horse Ale brand they acquired but, eventually, both ales were dropped. Nowadays, most of their effort is going into the many Dundee beers and ales.

quote:

Originally posted by wmceaton



Whitbred is a great ale from the UK, but I dont think you can get it around the Boston area anymore...too bad i thought that was a great beer

Whitbread Ale is now contract-brewed in Cincinnati at the Boston Beer Company's brewery there (they took over the contract, after they bought the brewery from the owners of Hudepohl-Schoenling). Don't know the distribution area of Whitbread, but the sister brand- also contracted by BBC- Mackeson Stout, (one of the world's classic sweet stouts) is pretty well distributed. The brand is owned by InBev, so one wonders if they might move the contract to an A-B brewery at some point in the future when the dust settles from the take-over.

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by Phildelmar

...the Esslinger brand wound up at The Lion (Wilkes-Barre) where the ownership of the name is probably still resides. Sorta doubt it's still being marketed, tho'- altho' a few of those old Lion brands still exist.

Dearfolk,
A guy in Copper Creek Brewing (our ten-star local brewpub) summed it up very well a few weeks ago when he said "Stegmaier is an old fart's beer." He then took a deep swig of one of Matt's good draught brews and added "And I'm a young fart, but if it's good enough for my grandpa, it's good enough for me... when I'm home, I'll drink Steg until there isn't any more Steg to drink. Grandpa's been drinking it since repeal. Besides, Yuengling doesn't NEED my money!" -- I think he's from Pittston; he's down here in grad school.
The last time I was in Wilkes-Barre (September 2001), Steg was only sold thereabouts VERY cheaply in returnable 16-ounce bottles. It was also available on draught at a few old-time taverns.
Nobody in W-B had heard of Gibbons, but it was always more a Scranton beer than a W-B one. And I don't think they make Bartels anymore, unless it's sold in Edwardsville and noplace else (which IS possible).
Gee, I wonder if there's any such thing as a Stegmaier t-shirt....
Roaming Wyomingly, Ort. Carlton in Ever-Groovy Athens, Georgia.

Ort, you certainly know your Wyomingvalleyania!

The brew your friend was probably drinking was Stegmaier Gold Medal, their traditional Americal lager. But Stegmaier also produces some excellent beers: Stegmaier 150, an all-malt lager (previously formulated as Stegmaier 1857 Lager); Stegmaier Porter, a Pennsylvania style using 4 different malts; and true Oktoberfest, Bock, and Wheat beers. Additionally they brew the Pocono series of beers, and Olde Philadelphia sodas, including the original Prohibition recipe Lion Root Beer!

The Lion Brewery is a Wilkes-Barre landmark, part of the local skyline visible from the North Cross Valley Expressway. In an area where treasures can be hard to come by, The Lion is a gem.

The one I miss most is Hull's beer. It was brewed in my home town of New Haven, Connecticut, and it was the first beer I ever drank. I had a relative who worked there and he'd being quarts of it to my father, who'd always give me a glass when I was a little kid.

I spent one summer delivering Ballantine beer for the distributor in Hamden, Connecticut, and the driver's room had a refrigerator filled with bottled beer and ale, including both Pale Ale and a dark ale. There were two refrigerated kegs, also. One with beer and the other with ale. After a day's work we could sit around the driver's room and drink as much as we wanted. We'd also take a half case of warm beer with us up front in the trucks and occasionally swap a warm beer out with a customer for a cold one while delivering.

Narragansett is being made again by a new company, after being gone for years. We drank it in college because it was cheap (not cheapest, but cheap). Nastyrancet as we called it, wasn't bad. Last weekend we took my daughter back to her college which will remain nameless. A case of 'Gansett (empty) was spread around the parking lot. College kids claim to be green, but college cleaning crews dread Monday morning. 'Gansett isn't cheap today, being priced above standards like Bud, or Coors. I'm surprised that college kids are willing to spend the $$$$, and more surprised that they didn't return the bottles for deposit.

As for the beer I miss, it is San Miguel (Phillipines) in the painted bottles. The stuff they import is junk.

Do they still advertise, "Have a Gansett"?

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by ChefShan

What happened to good ol' Busch Light?

Huh? What happened to it? It was the 8th most popular beer in the US last year, with 2.7% of the market, selling over 5 and 1/2 million barrels of beer.* Sorta doubt Anheuser Busch would discontinue such a brand- maybe it's just sold out before your husband gets to the store? .

*http://www.beverageworld.com/special_reports/State-Industry-2008.pdf

Boy, do I feel like as a double s When I made the comment I did I thought the topic said discounted beer. Here, it says discontinued LOL, I hope you get a good laugh out of my jackassary LOL

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.
Dearfolk, How about THE ORIGINAL Ballantine India Pale Ale, when it was brewed in Newark... held in wood for NINE months

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.
(in vats that were cooped for Col. John N. Cummings' Ale Brewery in 1805!)

Wow. I have never heard that claim. Ballantine built a new ale brewery on the Passaic River ("Front St., foot of Fulton" was the long time address) a few years after taking over the Cummings' facility. That brewery was enlarged several times over the years, until it had a capacity of over 100,000 barrels. One would think the Cummings' tanks would have been quite small for such production levels.

Jess,
Apparently the Cummings vats were only used to make the India Pale Ale. They must have transferred them when the new plant was opened.
I sure wish I had been alive while the Ballantine Brown Stout was on the market. Oh, well... at least I can find SweetWater Exodus Porter at several locations about town, and Copper Creek Brewing usually has either a Porter or a Stout on most of the time.
One thing I know: I'm glad to live today instead of 1937 or so. There are more and better brews to choose from locally than there were then, although wouldn't it be fun to go back in time just long enough to sample some of those departed locals that are remembered fondly by locals... like Kaier's of Mahanoy City, PA.; Potosi from Potosi, WI.; Progress from Oklahoma City; and even relatively recent beer-disappearances like Charge! from Huntington, W. V.; Hull's Export from New Haven, CT.; and Brew 102 from Los Angeles.
Makes me thirsty just thinking about it.
Prositingly Prosefully, Ort. Carlton in Amazing Athens, Georgia.

quote:

Originally posted by CLVdog
Horlachers from Allentown Pa. Back in the mid 70s they brewed a "Perfection Beer" that was out of this world at $8.00 a case.

CLVdog,
"Perfection: The Beer The World Awaited." -- I saw an old ad hanging on a distributor's wall in Tamaqua, PA. that extolled that sales message. It must have been some SUBLIME stuff.
Horlacher (the samples I had were from 1975 or 1976) was a mighty fine local beer. My Geology 125 lab instructor was a guy named Carl Brennan from Allentown, and he brought me some fresh samples of all their available products... regular Horlacher, Imperial Pilsner (really excellent), and Brew II "Second To None", which was on the way to being a well-crafted malt liquor style. I longed to motor up to Allentown to see the place, but -- alas -- it closed before I could manage to make it. Drat; I would have filled up Henry (my 1972 Dodge Dart) with the stuff and brought it back to Georgia!
Somewhere, though, I have one of their 85th. Anniversary cans, and a gorgeous work of art it remains. Here's to Horlacher Brewing, the pride of Gordon Street!
Nux Besser, Ort. Carlton in Ever-Groovy Athens, Georgia.
P. S. Yeah, I know I stole Neuweiler's slogan... hell, they were right down the street....

quote:

Originally posted by wmceaton
Two that come to mind would be Tuborg & Falstaff Dark.

wmceaton,
How well I remember drinking both Tuborg Gold and Tuborg Dark here. They came to us from the old National Brewing plant in Phoenix (Carling had bought it) that made A-1 Beer for their home market.
Both those brews had the pronounced "woody" taste that I have loved and failed to find lately, unless sampling from a cask of ale held on wood for a special occasion.
Thanks for the memory.
Suddenly Unsudsily, Ort. Carlton in The Beer Mecca That Is Athens, Georgia.

Brew 102? You're not missing anything there.

quote:

Originally posted by sftreat
Nattie Bo! (oh yeah)

sftreat,
Nice. My favorite was National Premium, which was only sold in and around Baltimore... when I lived in Richmond, someone brought me back a six-pack; we couldn't buy it there.
At one time, Carling National (and later Heileman) operated two breweries in Baltimore. Strikes me that National Premium was made at the newer Beltway facility, but I could be wrong... it could have been downtown.
Other vanished Baltimore brews would include Gunther, American, and at least one more that I can't remember.
Now... can you... or anybody... remember the words to the National Bohemian beer jingle? I can grab at pieces:
"From the Rappahannock to the Susquehanna you can hear the people cheer...
"... National Beer.
(CHORUS) "National Beer, National Beer, wet, cold, delicious National Beer,
"And while I'm singin' I'm proud to say that it's brewed on the shore (toot-toot) of the Chesapeake Bay."
-- This would indicate that they were still using their old downtown brewery at this time.
Drily, Warmly, And Deliciously, Ort. Carlton in Bohemian Athens, Georgia.

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

quote:

Originally posted by Ort. Carlton.

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by Phildelmar

Roaming Wyomingly, Ort. Carlton in Ever-Groovy Athens, Georgia.

Ort, you certainly know your Wyomingvalleyania!
The brew your friend was probably drinking was Stegmaier Gold Medal, their traditional Americal lager. But Stegmaier also produces some excellent beers: Stegmaier 150, an all-malt lager (previously formulated as Stegmaier 1857 Lager); Stegmaier Porter, a Pennsylvania style using 4 different malts; and true Oktoberfest, Bock, and Wheat beers. Additionally they brew the Pocono series of beers, and Olde Philadelphia sodas, including the original Prohibition recipe Lion Root Beer!
The Lion Brewery is a Wilkes-Barre landmark, part of the local skyline visible from the North Cross Valley Expressway. In an area where treasures can be hard to come by, The Lion is a gem.

Mosca,
Been there! It's located at something like 717 North Washington Street, about a mile north of the square.
It was Stegmaier Gold Medal he was mentioning.
My first taste of Stegmaier Porter was back when the label was brown and chartreuse and had a horse on it. It seemed to have a heavy licorace/anise flavor, which I loved. More recent samples seem to indicate a reformulation (hey, would Senape's mess with their Pitza?!?!?!?!?), but it's still a good brew.
Yuengling has introduced Lord Chesterfield Ale on draught to some customers in N. J. and N. Y., with the next state for trial being N. C., believe it or not. It ought to go over in Asheville.
Man, it's good to hear from you again!
Unwanderngly, Ort. in 30601.

quote:

Originally posted by Poverty Pete
Brew 102? You're not missing anything there.

Pete,
It wasn't good, but it must have been fun back in the day (when Maier was making it) to drive down to Watts to buy it at the plant.
One cannot help but wonder what the other 101 brews tasted like....
Curiouser And Curiouser, Ort. in 30601.

Dearfolk,
Did ANYONE out there actually LIKE Hop 'N' Gator? -- I LOVED the stuff, and it really bothered me when they took it off the market.
Ironically, Ort. Carlton in 30601-Central.

Ort, back in the day, it was 99 cents a sixpack, and worse than A-1, which was also 99 cents in the stubbies.

I agree with Ort Carlton, Ballentine IPA in the 1970's was Fantastic, rich and satifying a little sweet and a little bitter, just Great.

I miss Dobler Ale, Krueger Lager, Fitzgeralds Ale and of course my first beer Ruppert Knickerbocker - 3qts. for a Dollar.

There was a fun beer that I miss called a Chug-A-Lug, I think it was either Piels or Rhinegold it had a big opeining on the bottle and went down easy on a hot day.

quote:

Originally posted by santacruz

There was a fun beer that I miss called a Chug-A-Lug, I think it was either Piels or Rhinegold it had a big opeining on the bottle and went down easy on a hot day.

I think you are referring to the Rheingold Chug-a-Mug



As a kid I remember watching Met games and seeing Ralph Kiner open a few of these each game. Toward the end of the game he'd start sounding like my grandfather after he'd made too many stops at the linen closet where he kept his "medicine".

How about Ortlieb's ? Joe's beer as seen in a commercial down here in the Lehigh Valley during the early 70s was made for the real beer drinker - the kind that gets a case during the week and another case for the weekend. My kinda drinker anyways but I only tried Ortliebs once and don't remember much about it.

Lucky Lager!!!!!

I drank that all the way through college... probably not a very good beer (cheap) but they had awesome collectible caps with a puzzle (a rebus) inside. Apparently related to Labatts, they say the beer is still made but since 2003 not in the famous bottles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_lager
A picture of some caps: http://www.notcot.org/post/12836/

BTW the Whitbread pubs in the UK all disappeared when they were bought out years back... (pubs bought by "Enterprise Inns"). The company still exists but doesn't own interest in any brewing. Sad.

I had my favorite discontinued beer every day since May 27, 1977. That's when I quit drinking.

Back in my college days which was a long time ago in Niagara Falls N Y it was Indian Pale Ale "Brewed For Braves"
Clay Bell

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

Lucky Lager!!!!!

I drank that all the way through college... probably not a very good beer (cheap) but they had awesome collectible caps with a puzzle (a rebus) inside. Apparently related to Labatts, they say the beer is still made but since 2003 not in the famous bottles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_lager
A picture of some caps: http://www.notcot.org/post/12836/

Tho' that Wiki article (as do most of them) gets a lot of facts wrong, the owner of General, Paul Kalmanovitz, went on to buy the brewing companies of Falstaff (and, so, the Ballantine and Narragansett labels), Pearl and eventually Pabst (under which name the company goes by today).

Some of those brands still use the "rebus" puzzle caps which General/Falstaff/Pearl used to called "Crown Ticklers"- see [url] http://www.crownticklers.com/ [/url] The cap on that page, in the upper left is the one still used and one finds it on Ballantine Ale and Haffenreffer Private Stock Malt Liquor and maybe others in different regional markets. Since the latter beer is brewed for Pabst by The Lion, they also put that cap on some of their own beers.

Pabst has since sold (altho' some reports say they've only leased it) the brand name "Narragansett" to the new Narrangansett company, and they, apparently, have a different series of puzzles under their caps. http://www.narragansettbeer.com/showpage.aspx?pageId=66

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad

quote:

Originally posted by santacruz

There was a fun beer that I miss called a Chug-A-Lug, I think it was either Piels or Rhinegold it had a big opeining on the bottle and went down easy on a hot day.

I think you are referring to the Rheingold Chug-a-Mug

The Rheingold Chug-a-Mugs were great- dangerous, sometimes, but great. Piels also had a similar bottle (tho' the ones I recall best from them were the 7 oz'ers)- the Piels were more "barrel" shaped- even had little "embossed" riveted hoops on them. Pretty sure a similar bottle was also used for the Blatz brand (by then owned by Heileman).

The "wide mouth" bottle lives on in Mickey's Malt Liquor (now owned by Miller) tho' they have twist-off caps (perhaps for safety/legal reasons.

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Iron City Golden Lager. Very similar to Sam Adams.

No suprise there - when Sam Adams first started they were only a "label" and a slick marketing concept, not a brewery; their beers were brewed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Iron City and IC Light fame.

Steelers are going for their sixth this year!

"Natty Bo", Naragansett Lager, Stroh's, and Duquesne - "The Prince of Pilsners"

quote:

Originally posted by MetroplexJim

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Iron City Golden Lager. Very similar to Sam Adams.

No suprise there - when Sam Adams first started they were only a "label" and a slick marketing concept, not a brewery; their beers were brewed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Iron City and IC Light fame.

Steelers are going for their sixth this year!

You make it sound like they were just putting a label on someone else's beer. They DID (and still do) have their beer brewed at contract facilities, as many small breweries do...and almost have to unless they have deep pockets to just build a brewery from scratch, but the recipe was their own. The proof it was and is their own recipe can be seen in the fact IC Lager is usually ranked near the bottom of beer ratings, while Sam Adams is at the other end.

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

Lucky Lager!!!!!

I drank that all the way through college... probably not a very good beer (cheap) but they had awesome collectible caps with a puzzle (a rebus) inside. Apparently related to Labatts, they say the beer is still made but since 2003 not in the famous bottles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_lager
A picture of some caps: http://www.notcot.org/post/12836/

Tho' that Wiki article (as do most of them) gets a lot of facts wrong, the owner of General, Paul Kalmanovitz, went on to buy the brewing companies of Falstaff (and, so, the Ballantine and Narragansett labels), Pearl and eventually Pabst (under which name the company goes by today).

IMHO "most" is an exaggeration, but really the link was simply an fyi... since no one else had mentioned Lucky.

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad

quote:

Originally posted by MetroplexJim

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Iron City Golden Lager. Very similar to Sam Adams.

No suprise there - when Sam Adams first started they were only a "label" and a slick marketing concept, not a brewery; their beers were brewed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Iron City and IC Light fame.

Steelers are going for their sixth this year!

You make it sound like they were just putting a label on someone else's beer. They DID (and still do) have their beer brewed at contract facilities, as many small breweries do...and almost have to unless they have deep pockets to just build a brewery from scratch, but the recipe was their own. The proof it was and is their own recipe can be seen in the fact IC Lager is usually ranked near the bottom of beer ratings, while Sam Adams is at the other end.

You are correct - Sam Adams has proprietary recipies; more importantly, it has had a marketing campaign since its inception that has become a case study in most graduate business schools.

My comment was born of my amusement circa 1985 in drinking my first "Sam Adams' Boston Lager", then reading the fine print on the label and finding it was brewed by the producers and purveyors of what we in Pittsburgh used to lovingly call "Panther Pi$$" (after the U. Pitt Panthers).

Leaving the quality of Sam Adams aside, I'm sure that we both would agree that the "Boston Brewing Company's" marketing efforts have been one of the most successful of the past three decades or so in selling "sizzle" and maintaining an extremely high price point.

Props to them! And Coors for me!

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

quote:

Originally posted by jesskidden

quote:

Originally posted by cecif

Lucky Lager!!!!!
Apparently related to Labatts, they say the beer is still made but since 2003 not in the famous bottles. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucky_lager

Tho' that Wiki article (as do most of them) gets a lot of facts wrong, the owner of General, Paul Kalmanovitz, went on to buy the brewing companies of Falstaff (and, so, the Ballantine and Narragansett labels), Pearl and eventually Pabst (under which name the company goes by today).

IMHO "most" is an exaggeration, but really the link was simply an fyi... since no one else had mentioned Lucky.

Yeah, you're right - In my post I'd first written a bunch of "corrections" to that Lucky Lager Wiki entry but deleted it all (figuring no one really cared ) and should have changed what was left to read "most of the Wikipedia brewery histories that I've read get a lot of facts wrong". (Certainly did not mean it as an attack on you.)

I drank a few Lucky's when I lived in LA in the mid-70's and living hand to mouth. My favorite was the relatively rare "Lucky Red Carpet Beer". http://www.taverntrove.com/items/18253.asp

Even though they weren't my favorites, I loved the price of six packs of Schmitt's and Ballantine from my graduate school days in Charlottesville, VA: 99 Cents!

And what a convenience it was moving from Pennsylvania and finding beer available for sale by six pack and singles at groceries, gas stations, and drug stores. Unfortunately, that "convenience" revealed my first wife's alcoholism. Oops! Maybe PA's archaic alcohol laws had a purpose.

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad

quote:

Originally posted by MetroplexJim

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Iron City Golden Lager. Very similar to Sam Adams.

No suprise there - when Sam Adams first started they were only a "label" and a slick marketing concept, not a brewery; their beers were brewed by the Pittsburgh Brewing Company of Iron City and IC Light fame.

Steelers are going for their sixth this year!

You make it sound like they were just putting a label on someone else's beer. They DID (and still do) have their beer brewed at contract facilities, as many small breweries do...and almost have to unless they have deep pockets to just build a brewery from scratch, but the recipe was their own. The proof it was and is their own recipe can be seen in the fact IC Lager is usually ranked near the bottom of beer ratings, while Sam Adams is at the other end.

It's not as you say; Beer Advocate has IC Golden Lager as a "B", Sam Adams Boston Lager as a "B+". IIRC correctly, and I very well may not, the recipe for Sam Adams was derived from the recipe for IC Golden Lager.

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

quote:

Originally posted by Tony Bad

quote:

Originally posted by MetroplexJim

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

Iron City Golden Lager. Very similar to Sam Adams.

You make it sound like they were just putting a label on someone else's beer. They DID (and still do) have their beer brewed at contract facilities, as many small breweries do...and almost have to unless they have deep pockets to just build a brewery from scratch, but the recipe was their own. The proof it was and is their own recipe can be seen in the fact IC Lager is usually ranked near the bottom of beer ratings, while Sam Adams is at the other end.

It's not as you say; Beer Advocate has IC Golden Lager as a "B", Sam Adams Boston Lager as a "B+". IIRC correctly, and I very well may not, the recipe for Sam Adams was derived from the recipe for IC Golden Lager.

Most accounts of the creation of Samuel Adams Boston Lager have the recipe derived from the brewing logs of BBC's founder, Jim Koch's Great Grandfather. (Koch comes from a long line of US brewers.) The recipe was then "tweaked" by the famous brewery consultant Joseph Owades (updated hops to reflect current strains, added dry hopping & krausening, etc,). The Pittsburgh Brewery was picked for the contract because it could handle the processes (and, probably, few other brewers were interested).

Coincidentally, the "Iron City Golden Lager" shows up around the same time Koch contracted with PBB, in 1985 (according to Brewers Digest Annual Guide for the same year)- so there may have been some influence, one way or 'nother. It should be noted that IC Golden Lager is not the same beer as the regular Iron City.

I miss Walter's from Eau Claire, WI. Cheap, no-frills. My car broke down in 1979 over Labor Day Weekend en route from Chicago to Seattle. I was bored and pretty broke so I went and toured the brewery.

http://www.falstaffbrewing.com/walter's.htm

Cecif's memory of Lucky Lager with the rebus caps hit me hard. My folk's drank that stuff once or twice a year and then kept the caps around in jars... And later, I discovered that Lucky Light was something you could drink all day long without getting a buzz. Which is on occasion the way to roll.

I have heady memories of those days in the late eighties/early nineties when people were going into microbrewing like lemmings going over a cliff. Every week there'd be something new. Some good, some bad, but a continual flow of experiment.

Bison Brewery used to make a Coriander Rye ale. Sounds disgusting, doesn't it? Well, it was modeled on a British bitter ale and it was insane. The coriander melded with the hops and the slight tartness from the rye set everything off perfectly. If you've ever sniffed with pleasure at rosin, well, this stuff tasted the way rosin smells only delicious, if you know what I mean and you hop-heads probably do.

Lagunitas brewery used to have a real knack for making beers that were both remarkably tasty and ridiculously high in alcohol. For the turn of the century they made a B2K that tasted like a high-end India Pale Ale and had an alcoholic content of twelve or fourteen percent, I forget which. Pretty much the opposite of Lucky Light.

Now if we were talking about beers that used to be great microbrews and became mediocre with mass production...

<<How about THE ORIGINAL Ballantine India Pale Ale, when it was brewed in Newark>

Wow! What a great thread. When I saw the title of the thread, Ballantine IPA was what came to mind. Then I read thru the posts in suspense: Is it or isn't it still available anywhere?? Consensus seems to be that the answer to that question is "No". Dam...

It may be my favorite beer of all time (and I've had many).

Anyway, the current Ballantine XXX Ale is even worse than I remember from even a few years ago. However, I recently got a case of the current Steg Porter and I think it's better than the previous version.

Lastly, sorry Ort, but Hop N Gator was one of the worst beers I ever tasted

Ort, a great topic!

My most missed beer is definitely Tiger Beer, which was an import that was available locally up until about the mid 1970's or so. It was far and away my very favorite beer 1975-1976.

Another beer I'd like to find at the store is Hamms. I understand it's available in some limited markets still around the country, but I haven't seen it since the mid 1980's. I think it was sold at one point to Olympia (remember Oly-balls?!). I still have a whole bunch of "I brake for artesians" junk in a closet somewheres. Olympia's not sold locally anymore either.

I used to like the cousin of Little Kings Beer, "Big Jug". Big Jug was from Shoenling's Brewery and was, well, a big jug ... 64oz for 99cents!
Ah yes, those were rich times.

I'd like to find Tuborg Gold again as well.

Buckhorn, Top Hat, Falstaff and "no brand" with the red circle and stripe are missing in action too. Not that I have such a desire to find them however.

I'd buy Hamm's Draft everynite in the 70's at $2.25/12pk
britt

quote:

Originally posted by Mosca

It's not as you say; Beer Advocate has IC Golden Lager as a "B", Sam Adams Boston Lager as a "B+". IIRC correctly, and I very well may not, the recipe for Sam Adams was derived from the recipe for IC Golden Lager.

That Beer Advocate rating for IC Golden Lager is based on one review!

Other reviews have been less generous.

quote:

Originally posted by Sonny Funzio



My most missed beer is definitely Tiger Beer, which was an import that was available locally up until about the mid 1970's or so. It was far and away my very favorite beer 1975-1976.

Anheuser-Busch imports Tiger Beer, but don't know where they distribute it. http://www.anheuser-busch.com/BeerVerified.html Page down half way or so to "Imports" (you'll have to go through their age check first).

quote:

Originally posted by Sonny Funzio




Another beer I'd like to find at the store is Hamms. I understand it's available in some limited markets still around the country, but I haven't seen it since the mid 1980's. I think it was sold at one point to Olympia (remember Oly-balls?!).

The strange thing about Hamm's is that it was a Pabst owned brand for a few decades, after Pabst bought Olympia. Then, when Stroh folded in 1999, Pabst and Miller divided up the Stroh-owned brands (which by then also included the many old Heileman labels). Pabst took the majority of them, Miller just a few - most notably Henry Weinhard and Mickey's Malt Liquor- AND confusingly, Miller also wound up with the Pabst-owned brand, Hamm's.

Never did read a explanation on why that was, save for maybe Miller (strong in the mid-West) wanted another "discount" brand (altho' there were a bunch of Heileman brands that would have fit, as well)? As you note, they do seem to be ignoring the brand, letting it slowly die, according even to this fan site:
http://www.hammsclub.com/LocateHamms.htm