This Week in the Mercury
Friday, May 28, 2010
Drunk Your Favorite Shitty Beer is Worth $250 Million
Posted by Patrick Alan Coleman on Fri, May 28, 2010 at 2:45 PM
The question now is this: If PBR becomes an even more popular national beer brand, will it still maintain its vaunted place on tap lists across PDX, Austin, and Williamsburg? If not, what kind of horse-piss will take its place?
Make you best guess!
1
If anything were to take the place of PBR taps in town it would probably be one of the other brands in the pabst portfolio. More retro NW brands would be nice; rainier, olympia, etc...
I wouldn't mind seeing some of the schlitz 60's formula "gusto" in town either.
I wouldn't mind seeing some of the schlitz 60's formula "gusto" in town either.
3
ha, well I stopped drinking so they're in for a major dip in sales...until I inevitably start again.
4
Rainier and Old German tallboys are already making inroads in the hipper dive bars around town. Schlitz is getting big in other parts of the country; I'd look for it to bump Pabst out of some places if one of the local distributors picks it up.
6
Good question. I once had this interminable conversation with this idiot messenger girl about what, exactly made Peebler better than, say, Rainier. She responded with a string of Pabst advertising slogans. "PBR me A.S.A.P.!", etc.
Other reasons I've heard over the years include:
"It's union-made." I'm pretty sure that all macro-brews are...
"It's vegan." (!)
Yeah, it'd be nice if we could just be honest about the real reason why we enjoy it: the unending quest of stupid ass white folks for some degree of "soul", and the misguided attempt to portray this through your nonexistent white trash roots.
Oh, and it's cheap. But so's Hamm's.
Other reasons I've heard over the years include:
"It's union-made." I'm pretty sure that all macro-brews are...
"It's vegan." (!)
Yeah, it'd be nice if we could just be honest about the real reason why we enjoy it: the unending quest of stupid ass white folks for some degree of "soul", and the misguided attempt to portray this through your nonexistent white trash roots.
Oh, and it's cheap. But so's Hamm's.
7
I'm going to push for Old Style.
Or Old Milwaukee, which can be found still at some of the more refined markets around town.
Or Old Milwaukee, which can be found still at some of the more refined markets around town.
8
@RB: Actually PBR is not union-made. They seriously dicked over their previous employees who were union by cutting the health benefits of the retirees and stuff. And pretty much no beer is "hardcore vegan" due to the use of isinglass as a fining agent.
9
I vote to bring back Blitz.
American macro beers like Pabst are Pilsners, a type of lager so named after the town in the Czech republic where they were developed.
App they weren't bad until after prohibition when the brewers started really thinning them out by adding rice (which gives them a dry finish).
Pabst and Schlitz used to be good and they even made a bock style beer (a dark, sweet, malty hi alcohol german lager).
American macro beers like Pabst are Pilsners, a type of lager so named after the town in the Czech republic where they were developed.
App they weren't bad until after prohibition when the brewers started really thinning them out by adding rice (which gives them a dry finish).
Pabst and Schlitz used to be good and they even made a bock style beer (a dark, sweet, malty hi alcohol german lager).
11
I'm with Michelle. OLYmpia and not just cause I have 3 tall boyz sitting in my fridge and I am moving there next month (aaaaaaaand yes I know it is not made there anymore).BUTT because it doesn't have that shittay sugary after-taste of PB'er
12
My friends and I once went to Tube. ...still reading? (sorry if you're disappointed in me) and I thought, "hey, what the hell, when in Hipster Rome...." and ordered a Pabst. To which the bartender informed me that the don't carry it. Yes, the hipster bar is, apparently, the only place in Portland that DOESN'T sell the hipster beer.
...so I'd wager that whatever hipster beer Tube sells is going to be the hipster beer that everyone else sells, too.
...so I'd wager that whatever hipster beer Tube sells is going to be the hipster beer that everyone else sells, too.
13
Can we make Rainier happen again, please? Maybe it too will eventually be sold and move back to the Northwest where it belongs (right now it's brewed on contract in California).
15
Yes Ansel, at the Tube, PBR is passe. I believe when I was there last, they had Tecate(?)
Anyway, I find it hilarious that one mass-produced can of piss can go out of style while hipsters look for the next mass-produced piss that hasn't been "played out" yet. Old German? Seriously? What rock did that crawl out from under?
Anyway, I find it hilarious that one mass-produced can of piss can go out of style while hipsters look for the next mass-produced piss that hasn't been "played out" yet. Old German? Seriously? What rock did that crawl out from under?
16
Mike, American macrobrews have little in common with Czech and German style pilsners. The old world brews are made entirely from malted barley, water, hops and yeast. American macros are made with a large percentage of adjunct sugars, like corn and rice in place of barley, since they are much cheaper. This drastically alters the flavor of the beer, requiring a separate class.
As for the next "hip" cheap beer, my vote's for Olympia.
As for the next "hip" cheap beer, my vote's for Olympia.
17
dirigibleduck:
also, rainier DID just get bought. The brand is owned by pabst, although millercoors has been contract brewing it for them, just like Olympia.
also, rainier DID just get bought. The brand is owned by pabst, although millercoors has been contract brewing it for them, just like Olympia.
19
Graham:
I'm not sure where you learned that PBR is fined with isinglass, but that's mostly used with English-style ales, particularly cask-conditioned ones. Most large scale commercial breweries use either a centrifuge or some type of DE filtration to get the turbidity out of beer (for pre-filtering, you would find silica powders/gels are more common fining agents in this day and age). Vegans could argue that the calcified fossils that make up diatomaceous earth were once plankton of a sort, so that's pretty much the only consideration an animal-conscious PBR drinker has to worry about.
And I'm not sure why everyone isn't drinking more Session. Full Sail is the closest thing Oregon has to a union brewery, and their beer is a hell of a lot tastier than anything else mentioned above.
I'm not sure where you learned that PBR is fined with isinglass, but that's mostly used with English-style ales, particularly cask-conditioned ones. Most large scale commercial breweries use either a centrifuge or some type of DE filtration to get the turbidity out of beer (for pre-filtering, you would find silica powders/gels are more common fining agents in this day and age). Vegans could argue that the calcified fossils that make up diatomaceous earth were once plankton of a sort, so that's pretty much the only consideration an animal-conscious PBR drinker has to worry about.
And I'm not sure why everyone isn't drinking more Session. Full Sail is the closest thing Oregon has to a union brewery, and their beer is a hell of a lot tastier than anything else mentioned above.
21
One more clarification (ha!) on DE filtration for beer:
Diatomaceous earth does not find its way into the beer you drink. The beer is sent through it at high speeds and the leftover yeast and trub-y bits become impaled on the spiky bone structures, letting the bright beer through. If any DE manages to get past whatever filter it's built upon, there are generally multiple filters down the line that catch these wayward diatoms. I personally don't see a conflict for beer-loving vegans, but you have to draw your own line somewhere.
Diatomaceous earth does not find its way into the beer you drink. The beer is sent through it at high speeds and the leftover yeast and trub-y bits become impaled on the spiky bone structures, letting the bright beer through. If any DE manages to get past whatever filter it's built upon, there are generally multiple filters down the line that catch these wayward diatoms. I personally don't see a conflict for beer-loving vegans, but you have to draw your own line somewhere.
22
@Graham
"American-style Lagers are awful. I hope the entire genre eats a dick and dies in a fire."
I would guess that excessive PBR drinking in this town has led to many, many dicks being eaten.
"American-style Lagers are awful. I hope the entire genre eats a dick and dies in a fire."
I would guess that excessive PBR drinking in this town has led to many, many dicks being eaten.
23
yes, why isn't Sessions available on tap??? though i do love the cute stubby.
i wouldn't mind Rainier for a cheap beer.
what i would love though is National Bohemian (aka Natty Bo) that i had while in DC. way better than PBR, which really i only like b/c it's cheap and drinkable-to me- and i think the graphics are cute (i know, terribly reasons).
i wouldn't mind Rainier for a cheap beer.
what i would love though is National Bohemian (aka Natty Bo) that i had while in DC. way better than PBR, which really i only like b/c it's cheap and drinkable-to me- and i think the graphics are cute (i know, terribly reasons).
27
Javzor I am talking about pilsners a long time ago, not the crap we have today. I agree the stuff today is an insult to old-world pilsner.
As for corn being horrible many traditional english pale ales and bitters (not the american versions brewed here) use corn in place of some of the malt.
As for corn being horrible many traditional english pale ales and bitters (not the american versions brewed here) use corn in place of some of the malt.
28
olympia for the west coast, Yuengling for the east, and old style for the middle. why can't we get old style on the west coast? it is full of love and takes me back to were i should be, chicago... past that, why don't the nw craft brewers make something to compete instead of a million "different" beers that all taste like willamette hop extract? i mean it's nice once in a while to have a beer that makes you drowsy but christ! at least switch it up with some other flavor of hops, or something WITHOUT HOPS!
Most Commented on Blogtown, PDX
-
City's "Overnight Sleeping" Program Finds First Host—and Neighbors React in Ugly Fashion by Denis C. Theriault
-
Oh, Did You Think The Great Gatsby Movie Was Going to Be Good? by Alison Hallett
-
Feds Dish Out $745.2 Million to the Light Rail by Alex Zielinski
-
Happy World Goth Day! by Marjorie Skinner
-
Game of Thrones Recap: Calm Before the Storm Edition by Joe Streckert
-
Good Morning, News! by Wm.™ Steven Humphrey
-
Portland Button Works Opens on Killingsworth by Alison Hallett
-
Ye Olde Underground Loo by Alex Zielinski
-
We're Number One! by Alex Zielinski
-
Weekend Eatings: Corazón and The Slide Inn by Marjorie Skinner
Our Friends
- UrbanHonking
- Culture Shock
- Portland Roundball Society
- Steph Cassano
- Cort and Fatboy
- Street Roots
- Powell's Books Blog
- Portland Transport
- Portland Afoot
- Bike Portland
- Eater: PDX
- Portland Food and Drink
- Mr. Movie
- Sunday Softball
- BlueOregon
- Sightline Institute
- Ultra: Arts Portland
- Bitch Magazine
- Blazer's Edge
- Reading Local: Portland
- Portland Food Carts
- Stumptown Vegans
Our Enemies
The Handyman Pro - Your Honey-Do Specialist
Don’t let our name fool you. The Handyman Pro, LLC is a repair and remodel service provider with over 25-years experience. We cover all aspects of construction and repairs for residential and commercial clients.
Bands Page
Housing
Jobs
Musicians
For Sale
Wheels
Services
Health
The Arts
Friends 'N' Neighbors
Bulletin Board
Personals
Adult
RSSGoing to Seattle?
Comments (29) RSS