New Book Answers the Question of Where the Beers Are That Grandpa Used to Drink

PRWeb ^ | 09-08-06 | PRWeb

[toddlintown]

Beer historian explores what happened to famous brews like Schlitz, Rainier, Schmidt and National.

Chicago, IL (PRWEB) September 8, 2006 -- Using Chicago as a backdrop, leading beer historian Bob Skilnik delves into the reasons why once favorite national and regional beer brands have faded in popularity, some banished to obscurity. BEER: A History of Brewing in Chicago ($24.95, Hardcover, 416 pages, Barricade Books, ISBN 1569803129), proves to be more than a regional history book as it also details the downfall of national breweries like Schlitz and Pabst, to once powerhouse regionals with their flagship brands such as Seattle’s Rainier, Detroit’s Stroh, Baltimore’s National Bohemian and G. Heileman’s Old Style, once anointed as "Chicago’s Beer."

"When it came to gaining favor with the Windy City’s thirsty beer drinkers after the local industry went flat in the 1970s," notes Skilnik, "a lot of out-of-town brands tried -- and a lot of brands died. Chicago’s stature as a financial center, as a hub of advertising agencies, and as a convention and hotel stronghold, however, made it the stage for a number of behind-the-scene maneuverings of brewery takeovers and consolidations which also affected the national beer market, and still does."

As the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times have reported on several recent occasions, when it comes to beer, retro is in, whether the beer served is Miller High Life, "The Champagne of Bottled Beers," Schlitz as "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous," or young Pabst Blue Ribbon drinkers telling bartenders to "PBR Me!"

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I don't know why, but growing up I just never thought of beer being brewed in Minnesota. Beer was brewed in Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, if it wasn't brewed in Chicago. St. Louis had a brewery, but they used rice, so it wasn't really beer, just some stuff that Card fans drank, but you didn't care if they got a headache, they were Cardinal fans.

Still, thanks for the info. I didn't know Hamms was brewed in Minnesota.

[Tribune7]

[dread78645]

Is PEARL still around?

Yep. But it's contract-brewed by Miller Ft. Worth.

[doc1019]

Many moons ago (late 60’s early 70’s) while stationed at Pearl Harbor, we would hit the strip (King Kamehameha Highway) and in any bar you would pay about $0.65 for a beer or $0.25 for a Primo.

[shorty_harris]

Primo = barf in a bottle! Hawaii’s contribution to the beer drinking world, bottled formaldehyde.

LOL! I wasn't very discriminating back then, but even I knew it was bad!

[mikrofon]

I can't vouch for the quality of Utica Club, but
used to get a kick out of their commercials when I was a kid!

[calex59]

When I was a child, in the 50s, my mother took me and my brother to see her cousin in Riverside CA. Her husband had his entire garage full of cases of beer and he always had one in his hand. My mother kept telling us that he was a bad example and not to be mislead by him, but it didn't work. My brother and I both turned out to be beer drinkers:).

[CJ Wolf]

It's always the water, or the hops.

[MagnumRancid]

That's curious. I was living in Goodlettsville TN, just north of Nashville and also a senior in '72. I have a vague memory of a party at some farm in Whitehouse or Portland where a couple guys showed up with a pickup full of Pabst and some story about a train.

[WorkingClassFilth]

If you ever get up this way, look for the old place on Payne Avenue in St. Paul. Here's a cool link for the Action Squad's visit to the old brewery (a bunch of X & Yers that explore weird places and abandoned buildings): http://www.actionsquad.org/hammsoverview.htm

[Riley]

Rainier had some of the funniest commercials.

One of my all-time favorites- this one for Carling Black Label.
The Carling 'Dam Busters' ad.

[CJ Wolf]

I have a whole beer can collection. My wife won't let me put it out.

[calex59]

Didn't Lucky Lager have the riddles on the bottle cap?

Don't know about the riddles because I always drank Lucky from the cans, it was during my teens and we took what we could get! You needed a church key then, no zip tops or tabs.

[calex59]

Falstaff was another beer of my youth. Not very good but it had alcohol in it:).

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

In KC we have Boulevard Brewing, the second largest brewery in the state of Mo. Their annual production probably equals one batch of Auggie's rice beer. Pretty Good Pale Ale.

My daughter waitresses in a place owned by an outfit that has a micro brew, 75th Street Brewery. Also decent.

But when I can I drive over to a local pizza place that has a draft micro brew, available only in barrels, called Katy Trail Ale. Most excellent brew. Body, good hops bite and balance, good grainy malt. (I drink it even tho its made in Columbia MO.) I sometimes forget to buy the pizza and just have some of the Ale.

The wonderful point is that in the age of micro brews I can have a quality beer locally available and never be reduced to buying aluminum cans or foreign beers that have spent 6 months in a hot warehouse.

[WorkingClassFilth]

The wonderful point is that in the age of micro brews I can have a quality beer locally available and never be reduced to buying aluminum cans or foreign beers that have spent 6 months in a hot warehouse.

True, true, true. There are gems, but our local microbrew (Summit Ale) tends to be too malty for me. Then there is the problem with making a decision standing in front of the cooler with the million and one microbrews that have gone national. Oh, yeah, don't forget the bizarre ones made with raspberries or chocolate or, or, or. Homebrew is just as good these days.

[garyhope]

I was an American army brat going to high school in Munich, Germany when I learned to drink beer, real bier. When I came back to the US I spit the first drink of American beer out, I thought there was something wrong with it. It tasted awful.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

I also made my own for a time. Made an ale that was disgusting. I drank it anyway. Some time later I purchased, at an exorbitant price, a Chimay Ale. It tasted--to me--just as skunky as my home brew. And people pay for the stuff.

Among several failures, I did succeed with a really fine pilsner using a really magnificent saaz hops. Got tired of cleaning bottles tho, and pretty much leave it to the micro breweries now.

[WorkingClassFilth]

I know the Chimay ales you speak of. Bought one on a lark and thought it was more like barley wine. You're right, too, good money wasted on bad beer. You're right on the second point, too. Homebrew IS work, but I like a pull now and then sitting by kerosene lamp light surrounded by a lifetime collection of hand tools knowing that I'll rule the world when society finally fails.

[labette]

Nasty stuff.