I'm not a beer drinker, but back in my youts when I played (poorly) on the company volleyball team (tbf, it wasn't just me, we all sucked), we'd meet up for pitchers after practice at the local watering hole.
I always drank Andeker, it's the only beer I can remember ever actually enjoying. Pabst discontinued it decades ago, then brought it back, then discontinued it again, and I guess it's had special releases on occasion. I am not sure what drives these decisions.
I just heard on NPR today that Wisconsin Brewing Company got permission from Pabst (who now owns the brand) to produce an 80 barrel version of the original, 1950's, Schlitz beer. Kirby Nelson apparently went through the archives and didn't find an exact recipe but devised one from the grain orders, manifests, and whatnot. The beer is available for pre-order and I guess there is an event at the Wisconsin Brewing Company on June 27th. I imagine it will be a perfectly fine light lager, but I'm not going to Wisconsin to get it.
I have a Harrison Apple Tree, THE cider champion back in the days when cider was an everyday beverage. It's in my backyard and the squirrels pick the apples off and eat the seeds long before they're even close to ripe.
Add Mickey's. I went through a hell of a lot of that in my late teens. Actually, a hell of a lot went through me. We'd take road trips up to Wisconsin where the legal age was 18 with our cases full of empties for the deposit and buy more.
Just last week I got stuck with some Olde English 800 for the first time since my 20s. Remembering that it was strong ass malt liquor that really did the trick in my yute...Imagine my suprise when I found out it's now only 5.7%. Pffft. That's practically Near Beer.
I drank a lot of PBR at college. I was used to paying $1.25 for a six-pack but it was around $2 where I went to college. BUT, you could get PBR for $2.50 a 12-pack. That was also the first 12-pack packaging I'd ever seen.
High Life and MGD are the exact same recipe; it's just that High Life is pasteurized while MGD isn't, for that fresher "draft" flavor. Neither is terrible, but they do definitely taste different.
From a former brewer at Miller: They make 4 different high gravity beers (higher alcohol), blend, add de-oxygenated water, carbonate, and bottle to produce the variety of brand offerings. There's actually a reason to do this beyond economics and consistency. I imagine the other major brands do similar things.
Miller used to have a test brewery called Plank Road in Milwaukee and in the 80s they made a beer simply called Plank Road. It was quite tasty.
Grain Belt Beer was bought out by the August Schell Brewing Company and moved to New Ulm, MN, but the Grain Belt Beer shines on at Nicollet Island in Minneapolis.
And hoo boy, dad was a drunk...so Schlitz was certainly in the house in the late 60's and 70's. More often, 'Gansett pounders though. (Bud and PBR 'tawls' were too expensive. Those were fancy brands.) Then he discovered the Old Milwaukee 12-pack of 12 oz cans, at a bargain price.
I enjoy good beer. I remember an Aussie beer I could get in San Diego back in the 80s from Thos. Cooper brewery that was especially good. Anchor brewing Steam beer was always a favorite. In Santa Cruz we had small breweries popping up everywhere. Many good, some not so. A shout out to Seabright Brewery as one of the good ones. Anderson Valley Brewery was another must stop while on a road trip up to Mendocino and Ft. Bragg. Ft. Bragg had, or still has, a great brewery called North Coast. How I remembered that I will not remember tomorrow.
I prefer the brews not so heavily hopped. Drank Kolsch in the old brewery in Cologne back in the day when I had a German girlfriend. The famous wait staff's impatient insults only encouraged me to order another round of such small glasses.
Basically anything that involves Dick Uihlein, or any of his relations, for that matter, is gonna speak of corporate greed, malfeasance and shitting all over the workers. A tradition Dick & Liz carry on proudly to this day with their cardboard box empire.
Crack open a cold one and say a hearty "Fuck you, Dick!" to the Uihleins.
I stopped drinking except with other people -- no routine couple-IPAs every night I was starting to worry about brain function (as An Old, I've already got some memory issues, hopefully nothing too serious) and I was finding it a bit difficult to be as functional as I want to be overall.
I tried some non-alcoholic IPAs from the local small breweries -- and they're pretty good!! It's really nice to crack open a frosty one, and it delivers some of the taste and ritual I like so much.
back in the 90s, when I was working in Thailand, one of our ironworkers asked for non-alcoholic beer every at restaurant and bar we went to. The concept did not really translate...
Hooper, I love you. And if I could I’d raise a six-pack of Blue Moon to you. (The orange and the nuttiness of Blue Moon is just spectacular. I still remember the first time I had one many…uh…many moons ago.)
I had a vascular specialist appointment this afternoon and despite my paranoia and anxiety, the doctor all but took my hand and said she understood what I’m dealing with. I’m not laid out in a hospital bed, so obviously she wasn’t too worried.
I’m on a different antibiotic for a while, and I need to call next week to update her. She said if the symptoms don’t resolve, then more direct intervention may be necessary.
I wrote all this out—and better—on my Substack along with a plea for help. But one last thing I wanted to share here is this:
Somewhere along the line, I apparently managed to fracture my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th toes—and the damned things never healed properly. It’s bizarre, it’s fascinating, and according to my doctor it has a really low chance of actually being a problem
Busy questions go.
Busy questions go
So many thirsty people
Fridays are a test.
I'm not a beer drinker, but back in my youts when I played (poorly) on the company volleyball team (tbf, it wasn't just me, we all sucked), we'd meet up for pitchers after practice at the local watering hole.
I always drank Andeker, it's the only beer I can remember ever actually enjoying. Pabst discontinued it decades ago, then brought it back, then discontinued it again, and I guess it's had special releases on occasion. I am not sure what drives these decisions.
I just heard on NPR today that Wisconsin Brewing Company got permission from Pabst (who now owns the brand) to produce an 80 barrel version of the original, 1950's, Schlitz beer. Kirby Nelson apparently went through the archives and didn't find an exact recipe but devised one from the grain orders, manifests, and whatnot. The beer is available for pre-order and I guess there is an event at the Wisconsin Brewing Company on June 27th. I imagine it will be a perfectly fine light lager, but I'm not going to Wisconsin to get it.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2026/05/19/famous-beer-schlitz-brewed-one-last-time-ending-177-year-run/90157205007/
I promise the beer is not worth the travel, but we won't let it go bad ;)
"The Beer That Made Milwaukee (In)Famous"
Old timers remember the good version. Like with most things the (In)Famous was corporate weenie owners trying to make more profit.
I hear it was "The Beer that made Mel Famey walk us".
I would like to know what the beer drinkers' cider of choice is, please
when i was drinking, the woodchuck hopped dark n dry was a fave
I have a Harrison Apple Tree, THE cider champion back in the days when cider was an everyday beverage. It's in my backyard and the squirrels pick the apples off and eat the seeds long before they're even close to ripe.
https://monticelloshop.org/cdn/shop/products/bare-root-harrison-apple-tree-malus-cv-597162.jpg?v=1742996405
I second Citizen Cider. I also like Artifact Cider Project.
My favorite cidery in the US is Citizen Cider from Burlington Vt. Not sure how far they distribute. My favorite from them is "Stan Up"
https://untappd.com/b/citizen-cider-stan-up/401405
I get a Black Madonna Mead from The Hive, in Cheboygan...
What would be the beer rankings for the following list?
Hamm's
PBR
Schlitz
Scab Labor . . . wait, no, I think it's called Olympia
Bud -- whatever the basic Budweiser is, no light or whatever
Miller Genuine Draft
Miller High Life
Ranking for actual enjoyable drinking. And they can't all be dead-last.
Water.
What? No Genesee Cream Ale?
No Schaffers? The one beer to have when you're having more than one?
Actually, I'm about to have some Murican beer, made by a brewery.
And yes, it's Genny Black, which may not be the most pleasant flavor, but carries that all important 8.0%.
Add Mickey's. I went through a hell of a lot of that in my late teens. Actually, a hell of a lot went through me. We'd take road trips up to Wisconsin where the legal age was 18 with our cases full of empties for the deposit and buy more.
No Rolling Rock? No Olde English 800 or wtvr the fuck that slug juice is?
Just last week I got stuck with some Olde English 800 for the first time since my 20s. Remembering that it was strong ass malt liquor that really did the trick in my yute...Imagine my suprise when I found out it's now only 5.7%. Pffft. That's practically Near Beer.
Add more!!!! Rainier, Old Milwaukee, Meister Brau, Tivoli, Rheingold, Black Label, and Grain Belt for a few.
WHAR Leinie's?
No, just no. Life is too short to drink bad beer. Plus, bad beer is not worth the calories.
Olympia, "It's the water."
Well, if you know what is wrong with it...
I drank a lot of PBR at college. I was used to paying $1.25 for a six-pack but it was around $2 where I went to college. BUT, you could get PBR for $2.50 a 12-pack. That was also the first 12-pack packaging I'd ever seen.
High Life and MGD are the exact same recipe; it's just that High Life is pasteurized while MGD isn't, for that fresher "draft" flavor. Neither is terrible, but they do definitely taste different.
I always liked Miller. I’m not a big beer drinker but apres sail on a hot day, an ice cold beer hits the spot.
From a former brewer at Miller: They make 4 different high gravity beers (higher alcohol), blend, add de-oxygenated water, carbonate, and bottle to produce the variety of brand offerings. There's actually a reason to do this beyond economics and consistency. I imagine the other major brands do similar things.
Miller used to have a test brewery called Plank Road in Milwaukee and in the 80s they made a beer simply called Plank Road. It was quite tasty.
If it's ice cold, wouldn't it be frozen?
*runs away*
Don’t forget Black Label
I drank that back in high school because it was Stephen King's favorite beer and he was my favorite author 😂
Hamm’s, PBR and Schlitz tie for last. Bud, MGD and High Life tie for not last.
Schlitz lost its way about the time I got my driver’s/drinking license in rural Iowa, where distance was measured in beers.
I think my friend's dad drank Piels (a regional brand) when my friend and I were teens.
He'd have a couple of cases in the garage.
We swiped some one time and wound up pouring them out into a storm drain, it was such bad beer. And we were teens, desperate for a buzz!
I suspect dad switched to PBR light to keep me from draining his stash.
Okay. The Altbiers of Dusseldorf. I rest my case. Now I have no case....
Grain Belt Beer was bought out by the August Schell Brewing Company and moved to New Ulm, MN, but the Grain Belt Beer shines on at Nicollet Island in Minneapolis.
https://substack.com/profile/155980809-pliny-the-younger/note/c-263582766
New Ulm was the heart of the German beer brewing industry in Minnesota. And polka... make your own analysis...
There I was, forgetting about fascism for just a moment, and my friend shared "hello goodbye" from the last Late Show. Now I haz a big sad.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/may/22/comedian-laura-clery-fridge-fall?CMP=share_btn_url
Wait. "600lb wall-mounted fridge"? Hey, Guardian, something does not add up here.
OMG, I remember that ad!
And hoo boy, dad was a drunk...so Schlitz was certainly in the house in the late 60's and 70's. More often, 'Gansett pounders though. (Bud and PBR 'tawls' were too expensive. Those were fancy brands.) Then he discovered the Old Milwaukee 12-pack of 12 oz cans, at a bargain price.
I enjoy good beer. I remember an Aussie beer I could get in San Diego back in the 80s from Thos. Cooper brewery that was especially good. Anchor brewing Steam beer was always a favorite. In Santa Cruz we had small breweries popping up everywhere. Many good, some not so. A shout out to Seabright Brewery as one of the good ones. Anderson Valley Brewery was another must stop while on a road trip up to Mendocino and Ft. Bragg. Ft. Bragg had, or still has, a great brewery called North Coast. How I remembered that I will not remember tomorrow.
I prefer the brews not so heavily hopped. Drank Kolsch in the old brewery in Cologne back in the day when I had a German girlfriend. The famous wait staff's impatient insults only encouraged me to order another round of such small glasses.
We saw the end of this story coming.
Basically anything that involves Dick Uihlein, or any of his relations, for that matter, is gonna speak of corporate greed, malfeasance and shitting all over the workers. A tradition Dick & Liz carry on proudly to this day with their cardboard box empire.
Crack open a cold one and say a hearty "Fuck you, Dick!" to the Uihleins.
Let's party.
'I kill bottles of wine with my corkscrew and then drink their lifeblood. The knowledge and strength of the wine becomes a part of me.
I grow more powerful by the bottle.'
I love good beer. We called Schlitz *Shitz*. Nasty shit.
But a step up from Olde English 800.
I've never had the displeasure.
OH MY GOD
I'll be saving my first - and only - drink for the day IT dies.
A baked good so simple that even *I* would have trouble messing it up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsRunRPjb8s
I stopped drinking except with other people -- no routine couple-IPAs every night I was starting to worry about brain function (as An Old, I've already got some memory issues, hopefully nothing too serious) and I was finding it a bit difficult to be as functional as I want to be overall.
I tried some non-alcoholic IPAs from the local small breweries -- and they're pretty good!! It's really nice to crack open a frosty one, and it delivers some of the taste and ritual I like so much.
Not teetotaling, just moderating - a lot.
Surgery today. Separate post.
athletic brewing only does NAs, and they have a tasty range available, give them a look
I remember O’Doul’s in the brown bottle being tasty.
back in the 90s, when I was working in Thailand, one of our ironworkers asked for non-alcoholic beer every at restaurant and bar we went to. The concept did not really translate...
Hooper, I love you. And if I could I’d raise a six-pack of Blue Moon to you. (The orange and the nuttiness of Blue Moon is just spectacular. I still remember the first time I had one many…uh…many moons ago.)
I had a vascular specialist appointment this afternoon and despite my paranoia and anxiety, the doctor all but took my hand and said she understood what I’m dealing with. I’m not laid out in a hospital bed, so obviously she wasn’t too worried.
I’m on a different antibiotic for a while, and I need to call next week to update her. She said if the symptoms don’t resolve, then more direct intervention may be necessary.
I wrote all this out—and better—on my Substack along with a plea for help. But one last thing I wanted to share here is this:
Somewhere along the line, I apparently managed to fracture my 2nd, 3rd, and 4th toes—and the damned things never healed properly. It’s bizarre, it’s fascinating, and according to my doctor it has a really low chance of actually being a problem
I need tea now.
This rocket video is boring.
Still in one piece, eh?
Randy Rainbow - Where is our Congress
long ad in the middle but I guess that is normal for him now
https://youtu.be/X4V7ejdO6Zk?si=4FHMnIkHDnkaKbJb
you can slide right through it...
Might be your ad blocker?
Lately I'm not seeing any ads on Youtube (which situation is of course always subject to change).