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."
The beauty of fosters is that it tasted the same when you barfed it back up.
That was one of the worst I tried. Unfortunately, I had bought a half rack, so I was obligated to drink it.
Hey, Dennis Hopper (Frank Booth in "Blue Velvet") knows a real beer:
Frank Booth: What kind of beer do you like to drink, neighbor?
Jeffrey Beaumont: Heineken.
Frank Booth: Heineken? (Expletive Deleted) that (Expletive Deleted)! Pabst Blue Ribbon!
Uncensored text at:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090756/quotes
Nice.
Ooooops. LOL
my apologies to the forum for an inadvertent posting;
I've already reported to Admin Mod to remove it.
Mea culpa,
VOA
Yep, I've goofed that one but good.
I've already turned myself into the Admin Mod.
Good film, but definitely adult content.
Sittin' on the Wall,
Checkin' out the b*tches,
Drinkin' PBR tall,
Got my other hand free,
So I tug on my balls,
Go Guido Go Guido Go.
Never saw it, but have seen it quoted a few times.
It can't be shipped very far, because it has no preservatives (also, no rice or added sugar). If it weren't for the corn they add to the mix, it would comply with the Reinheitsgebot.
Destined to be a classic?
I agree. I would take a PBR over Rolling Rock anyday. The RR is not very good. Better than Weiderman's, Meisterbrau, or Old Milwaukee's Best and some of the other swill I have tasted.
That picture made me cry a little bit.
Well, the film is different.
But Hopper is delivered on film without dilution.
What's funny is that one of his tag lines in the movie where he hollars
"Neighbor!" in the dialogue is a lot like dialogue he did LONG AGO on
a "Twilight Zone" epidsode (the original series).
Hopper was a loud-mouthed politician type during a nuclear-war era and
was explaining how "we had to nuke 'em" in a speech peppered with lots of
"Neighbor!" shouts.
I just did the Miller Brewery tour -- they said Pabst no longer brews its beer at Pabst locations. They brew it in the Miller plant in Milwaukee.
yeah, that corn serves the same purpose as rice, BTW.
But to be honest, the popular German beers here (St Pauli Girl, Becks) that follow the reinheitsgebot are not very good. I'd rather drink US industrial beer.
I don't suppose you got Lucky Lager in your neck of the woods. Watery but ever so thirst quenching.
I had a reaction, but it wasn't tears.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.