Posted on 07/19/2006 10:06:47 AM PDT by pissant
'THERE STANDS the Glass," the 1953 country classic, echoed in my mind the other night as I contemplated the glass of beer in front of me. It was Pabst Blue Ribbon , and it's our Beer of the Week.
The old Webb Pierce song, contemplates the oblivion and destruction that lies ahead when the narrator takes the first sip of the day: "There stands the glass/ Fill it up to the brim/'Til my troubles grow dim/It's my first one today."
This is standard American lager, a kind of soulless beast, driven by profits. But it's acquiring a hip, new legend that goes something like this: Bicycle messengers in Portland, Ore., who drink a lot of beer, discovered Pabst and made it their beer. Word spread and PBR's sinking sales began to rise, up 4.3 percent last year to 1.25 million barrels. Now, it's the right thing to drink PBR.
Homebrew experts at Beer, Beer & More Beer in Concord, say it's 20 to 30 percent rice, the rest pale German pilsner barley; hops are most likely Saaz: faint lager aroma, slightly sweet taste, dry finish. You know: a kiss of the hops and high drinkability. This is true, hot-summer-day, lawnmower beer.
The beer was originally called "Select." The company, founded in 1844 in Milwaukee, began tying blue ribbons around the bottles and it became Pabst Blue Ribbon in 1895.
Sales peaked in 1977 at 16 million barrels. A Bay Area takeover artist bought Pabst in 1985. The company wound up in San Antonio, Texas. A few years ago, the company stopped brewing, hired Miller (now SABMiller) to brew the beer. Now the company's moving to a Chicago suburb, because the Chicago area is its best market.
I found this fitting quote in 8bitjoystick.com, an E-zine For Nerds:
"These are harsh times and it calls for a harsh beer. Pabst Blue Ribbon is just the thing. It is not shoved down your throat with multi-million dollar mass marketing, it is simply a decent cheap beer. This beer is America whether you like it or not. It is real for what that is worth anymore."
Lucky was the cheap beer out here, brewed by General Brewing. But they came in stubby bottle and with a little picture puzzle on the bottom of the cap!
I hear there are quite the pretty women in Prague as well.
Miller Genuine draft is nothing but a marketing ploy. What the hell does genuine draft mean. Well, it did stick around longer then the stupid "dry" or "ice" beers.
I've never heard it. I'll have to see if I can download the tune.
My favorite part is when I find MGD on tap. It's a true "WTF?" moment.
LOL. I can see why. Fortunately, you are smart enough to order sumthin else.
The last Straub I had must have been around 25 years ago, so I really don't know. I was just trying to relate ........
Take care.......
Man Law: You poke it, you own it.
Ah yes, the old "quantity, not quality" thing, huh?
I don't believe you
Are you on the right thread? LOL
That is all the college budget typically allows.
Miller is getting heavy with their "Man Law" campaign in Texas.
Ohhhhhh. I get it. I've seen one TV add about that. Slipped my mind, mercifully.
Not near my likeness; each of the depicted grows a lot more wool, er, hair, than me. Besides, if the beer is Grolsch, I do not even like it.
Lucky Beer (with the Rebus in the cap)!! 5 bucks a case and got me through college.
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