The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o

It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)

City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
"Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.

Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.

One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...

And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.

Im not up to speed on all the politics - but I'm happy to say Ive just
discovered Rolling Rock - found it in a little off license here in
London, England. Being an Aussie I love my lager and this one is top
stuff.

Lets hope the takeover doesn't detract from the quality.

Eamonn


wrote:
> The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
> Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
> so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
> find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
> cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
> perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
> ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
> Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o
>
> It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
> last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
> because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
> Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
> of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
> their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
> any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)
>
> City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
> Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
> bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
> brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
> "Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
> it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
> BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
> Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
> it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
> North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
> used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
> town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
> annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
> says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.
>
> Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
> general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
> Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
> announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
> of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.
>
> One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
> musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
> re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...
>
> And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
> I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
> includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
> Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
> can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.

In article .com>, "Foles" > wrote:
>Im not up to speed on all the politics - but I'm happy to say Ive just
>discovered Rolling Rock - found it in a little off license here in
>London, England. Being an Aussie I love my lager and this one is top
>stuff.
>
>Lets hope the takeover doesn't detract from the quality.
>
>Eamonn


Seems like I have known the RR from about when I was, well about 45 years
ago. Funny how all those other beers disapeared.

greg

>
wrote:
>> The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
>> Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
>> so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
>> find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
>> cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
>> perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
>> ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
>> Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o
>>
>> It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
>> last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
>> because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
>> Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
>> of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
>> their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
>> any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)
>>
>> City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
>> Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
>> bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
>> brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
>> "Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
>> it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
>> BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
>> Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
>> it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
>> North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
>> used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
>> town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
>> annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
>> says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.
>>
>> Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
>> general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
>> Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
>> announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
>> of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.
>>
>> One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
>> musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
>> re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...
>>
>> And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
>> I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
>> includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
>> Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
>> can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.
>

wrote:
> The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
> Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
> so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
> find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
> cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
> perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
> ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
> Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o
>
> It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
> last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
> because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
> Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
> of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
> their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
> any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)
>
> City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
> Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
> bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
> brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
> "Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
> it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
> BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
> Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
> it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
> North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
> used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
> town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
> annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
> says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.
>
> Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
> general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
> Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
> announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
> of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.
>
> One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
> musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
> re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...
>
> And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
> I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
> includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
> Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
> can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.

Yes, and look at the stable of beer brands Pabst has acquired too. The
owners must not have had much of an affinity for Latrobe because they
sold that brand to the highest bidder. I think that the demand for
american light lager is not what it was and the market really can't
support as many medium size brewers making what is very similar beer.

All is not lost though because the many local microbrewers across this
country are stepping up and filling the void with a much wider range of
fine local beer. Heck we have a range of choices in flavor and style
of beer that was unknown to the average guzzler 50, 100, 150 yeras ago.

On 1/5/07 9:55 AM, wrote:
> The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
> Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
> so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
> find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
> cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
> perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
> ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
> Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o
>
> It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
> last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
> because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
> Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
> of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
> their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
> any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)
>
> City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
> Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
> bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
> brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
> "Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
> it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
> BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
> Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
> it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
> North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
> used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
> town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
> annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
> says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.
>
> Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
> general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
> Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
> announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
> of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.
>
> One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
> musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
> re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...
>
> And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
> I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
> includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
> Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
> can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.
>
>
>

INBEV owned RR? Never new that but then again didn't drink it much. AB
must have made InBev an offer they couldn't refuse. The problem was
selling the brewery to InBev. At that point it is no longer a local beer.

The best lager IMO was PBR on tap or case bottles (which were only
slightly pasteurized) on warm summer day. Sadly no more now that
SAB-Miller brews it and it rarely on tap and no case bottles.

On 1/5/07 2:23 PM, Foles wrote:
> Im not up to speed on all the politics - but I'm happy to say Ive just
> discovered Rolling Rock - found it in a little off license here in
> London, England. Being an Aussie I love my lager and this one is top
> stuff.
>
> Lets hope the takeover doesn't detract from the quality.
>
> Eamonn
>
>
> wrote:
>> The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
>> Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
>> so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
>> find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
>> cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
>> perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
>> ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
>> Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o
>>
>> It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
>> last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
>> because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
>> Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
>> of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
>> their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
>> any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)
>>
>> City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
>> Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
>> bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
>> brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
>> "Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
>> it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
>> BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
>> Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
>> it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
>> North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
>> used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
>> town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
>> annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
>> says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.
>>
>> Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
>> general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
>> Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
>> announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
>> of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.
>>
>> One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
>> musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
>> re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...
>>
>> And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
>> I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
>> includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
>> Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
>> can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.
>

On 1/6/07 3:58 PM, John S. wrote:
> wrote:
>> The recent purchase of the Rolling Rock beer brand by megabrewer
>> Anheuser-Busch has been a topic of conversation here a couple of times,
>> so I thought that this tribute to the brewery would be of interest. I
>> find that the song is especially well-done (these things are usually
>> cringe-worthy to the extreme, since they are related to the song parody,
>> perhaps the lowest form of humor-hell, even slapstick aficionados
>> ridicule it). Maybe it's just having the good taste to pick John
>> Prine's classic song which is on a related subject.
>>
>> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ4Qdcrts2o
>>
>> It kinda touched me, as did some interviews with the workers I found
>> last night (sorry, lost the link from a Pittsburgh TV station), maybe
>> because I lost my factory job awhile back and am still "haunted" by it.
>> Perhaps the saddest thing for them will probably be seeing the bottles
>> of RR labeled "Latrobe Brewing Co., St. Louis, MO" on the shelves in
>> their hometown, a brand they feel they helped build. (If the town's got
>> any pride, they'll remain on the shelves, too...)
>>
>> City Brewery (the former flagship brewery of the late, great Heileman
>> Brewing Co.- which now specializes in energy drinks and contract beers)
>> bought the brewery, so most of the jobs will be preserved (for awhile,
>> brewing's a tough industry for that size brewery) but they can't brew
>> "Rolling Rock", of course. Now, City supposedly makes a clone beer of
>> it's old brand- LaCrosse Lager is, supposedly the old Old Style recipe.
>> BUT, they can't even market a clone using the logical name of "Latrobe
>> Lager" since A-B also bought THAT name, the name of the town. Sure,
>> it's not unusual in the US brewing industry (Old Milwaukee's made in
>> North Carolina, Milwaukee's Best is made in California, Milwaukee Beer
>> used to come from South Jersey, heck even a beer named for the Bohemian
>> town of Budweis comes from St. Louis <g>....) but it's got to be
>> annoying for those workers, especially since the "new" A-B RR still
>> says, "From the tanks of Old Latrobe..." on the back label.
>>
>> Note- Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light lagers in
>> general (tho' I did use to like the occasional National Premium or
>> Heileman Special Export)- the RR six pack I bought when the sale was
>> announced this summer was probably my first in 20 years- but I am a fan
>> of the old breweries (all but gone) and of good paying industrial jobs.
>>
>> One of the saddest things about being a fan of old beer brands (unlike
>> musicians or authors, say) is that once a beer is gone, it's gone. No
>> re-issues or reprints, no unreleased material from the vaults...
>>
>> And, I don't care to hear any cracks about RR's new home of Newark- as
>> I've said before, when your city can boast of a brewing history that
>> includes Ballantine Beer, Porter, Brown Stout, Bock, XXX Ale, India Pale
>> Ale AND Burton Ale (perhaps the greatest pre-micro beer of all) THEN you
>> can ridicule Newark or New Jersey.
>
> Yes, and look at the stable of beer brands Pabst has acquired too. The
> owners must not have had much of an affinity for Latrobe because they
> sold that brand to the highest bidder. I think that the demand for
> american light lager is not what it was and the market really can't
> support as many medium size brewers making what is very similar beer.
>
> All is not lost though because the many local microbrewers across this
> country are stepping up and filling the void with a much wider range of
> fine local beer. Heck we have a range of choices in flavor and style
> of beer that was unknown to the average guzzler 50, 100, 150 yeras ago.
>
I agree. Though there is undoubted pain with these kind of changes,
the USA beer landscape for connoisseurs is the best it has ever been.
Now if Alpha King ever goes away I will weep, but there are many other
IPA's that are wonderful too.

Dan wrote:

> [...]
> INBEV owned RR? Never new that but then again didn't drink it much. AB
> must have made InBev an offer they couldn't refuse.

A-B is now the USA importer of many of InBev's beers, including Stella
Artois, Hoegaarden, Leffe, and Beck's. That means that InBev now has
access to the A-B substantial distribution network. Helluva deal.
--
dgs

Dan > wrote:
>The best lager IMO was PBR on tap or case bottles (which were only
>slightly pasteurized) on warm summer day. Sadly no more now that
>SAB-Miller brews it and it rarely on tap and no case bottles.

For some reason, PBR is always on tap around here.
Seems to be some kind of cult beer.
--
Joel Plutchak

"Things just fall apart." - Now They'll Sleep (Belly)

Dan wrote:

> The best lager IMO was PBR on tap or case bottles (which were only
> slightly pasteurized)


I assume by "case bottles" your talking about the classic longnecked
re-usable, returnable, opener needed, deposit bottle ("returnable" and
"deposit" meaning different things post-deposit law), aka "export
bottle" or "longneck" "tall neck" (man, them things had lots of names,
some regional, didn't they)?

I never heard of them being "slightly pasteurized" - since bottled beer
usually went through a hot water bath after capping to pasteurize them,
I can't imagine that brewers turned down the heat/sped up the line for a
different bottle (but, with brewing, anything can happen I suppose). I
was interested to read that one of the advantages of the new canning
lines some micros are adding is FASTER pasteurization is possible with
cans, since they heat up and cool down faster.

I do know that, for me, despite all logic, I always found some beers
just tasted "better" out of that bottle (Ballantine Ale & Chesterfield
Ale two of the most noted) but I always chalked it up to better
protection from the light (thicker glass, stayed in the case), better
seal on the cap, less handling and back and forth between refrigerator
and room temperature.

It's funny, I miss both the classic deposit bottle AND the stubby
throw-away- go figure. (Also, the steinie quart and steinie 12 oz
deposit...) I think I'm just getting old and overly nostalgic.

Joel wrote:
> Dan > wrote:
>> The best lager IMO was PBR on tap or case bottles (which were only
>> slightly pasteurized) on warm summer day. Sadly no more now that
>> SAB-Miller brews it and it rarely on tap and no case bottles.
>
> For some reason, PBR is always on tap around here.
> Seems to be some kind of cult beer.

PBR acquired some retro-chic status around 2000.

Tom W

In article .com>,
"John S." > wrote:

> Heck we have a range of choices in flavor and style
> of beer that was unknown to the average guzzler 50, 100, 150 yeras ago.

I concur, ever since Killian's was introduced (before Coor's) bought
the product name,...I've seen a big change in the quality and diversity
of good beers.


--
Would thou choose to meet a rat eating dragon, or
a dragon, eating rat? The answer of: I am somewhere
in the middle. "Me who is part taoist and part Christian".

Little Green Eyed Dragon wrote:
> In article .com>,
> "John S." > wrote:
>
>
>>Heck we have a range of choices in flavor and style
>>of beer that was unknown to the average guzzler 50, 100, 150 yeras ago.
>
>
> I concur,

Well, I guess this thread I started got a bit hi-jacked- something I
expected. I should have put "OT" in the Subject line, since my post
wasn't about the *beer* Rolling Rock
(as I noted, "Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light
lagers in general...
the RR six pack I bought when the sale was announced this summer was
probably
my first in 20 years- but I am a fan of the old breweries (all but gone)
and of good paying industrial jobs.")

Yeah, there are lots of good beer choices in the US, most better than
the light lager that was Rolling Rock. My post was about the loss of a
brand name (and the town's name) associated with a small city and the
potential loss of more good industrial jobs in the US. Is that a
"natural" part of capitalism? - yeah. But, so are traffic accidents a
part of life in the US. When your friend's daughter is killed in a car
wreck, do you say, "Well, that's the way it goes. Plus, you have
another daughter, anyway, and she's better looking!" <g>

> ever since Killian's was introduced (before Coor's) bought
> the product name,...I've seen a big change in the quality and diversity
> of good beers.

Killians *before* Coors? In the US? The George Killian Lett Brewery in
Ireland closed in the 1950's and was contract-brewed in France by
Pelforth (tho' I never heard of it imported in the US) before Coors also
got the rights to brew it (they later changed it from an ale to a lager,
however, so the "authenticity" of the already French-Irish beer is in
doubt) in the late 70's/early 80's- well after the beginnings of the
"beer revolution" had begun with Maytag's purchase of Anchor (mid-60's)
and the beginnings of the microbrewery movement in the mid- to late-70's.

I'd say Coors' "Geo. Killian Irish Red Ale/Lager" was more akin to
Miller's Lowenbrau- a quick and easy way to jump into "superpremium"
segment then dominated by A-B's Michelob brand. (Coors also came out
with a Henry Weinhart imitation called "Herman Joseph's" around the same
time and, for awhile, was importing Stella Atois.)

In article >,
wrote:

> Little Green Eyed Dragon wrote:
> > In article .com>,
> > "John S." > wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Heck we have a range of choices in flavor and style
> >>of beer that was unknown to the average guzzler 50, 100, 150 yeras ago.
> >
> >
> > I concur,
>
> Well, I guess this thread I started got a bit hi-jacked- something I
> expected. I should have put "OT" in the Subject line, since my post
> wasn't about the *beer* Rolling Rock
> (as I noted, "Was never much of a fan of Rolling Rock or US light
> lagers in general...
> the RR six pack I bought when the sale was announced this summer was
> probably
> my first in 20 years- but I am a fan of the old breweries (all but gone)
> and of good paying industrial jobs.")
>
> Yeah, there are lots of good beer choices in the US, most better than
> the light lager that was Rolling Rock. My post was about the loss of a
> brand name (and the town's name) associated with a small city and the
> potential loss of more good industrial jobs in the US. Is that a
> "natural" part of capitalism? - yeah. But, so are traffic accidents a
> part of life in the US. When your friend's daughter is killed in a car
> wreck, do you say, "Well, that's the way it goes. Plus, you have
> another daughter, anyway, and she's better looking!" <g>

LOL
>
> > ever since Killian's was introduced (before Coor's) bought
> > the product name,...I've seen a big change in the quality and diversity
> > of good beers.
>
> Killians *before* Coors? In the US? The George Killian Lett Brewery in
> Ireland closed in the 1950's and was contract-brewed in France by
> Pelforth (tho' I never heard of it imported in the US) before Coors also
> got the rights to brew it (they later changed it from an ale to a lager,

<I believe this is where my experience came in, at some point the taste
of it dramatically changed> As for when Coors took over, I remember
drinking this beer with my oldest brother, back when I was still 17-18
years old ? 1982?. He told me the beer was new and being test marketed
in this country, nothing on the bottle said Coor's unlike at a later
point in time- but that was many bottles ago


> however, so the "authenticity" of the already French-Irish beer is in
> doubt) in the late 70's/early 80's- well after the beginnings of the
> "beer revolution" had begun with Maytag's purchase of Anchor (mid-60's)
> and the beginnings of the microbrewery movement in the mid- to late-70's.
>
> I'd say Coors' "Geo. Killian Irish Red Ale/Lager" was more akin to
> Miller's Lowenbrau- a quick and easy way to jump into "superpremium"
> segment then dominated by A-B's Michelob brand. (Coors also came out
> with a Henry Weinhart imitation called "Herman Joseph's" around the same
> time and, for awhile, was importing Stella Atois.)


--
Would thou choose to meet a rat eating dragon, or
a dragon, eating rat? The answer of: I am somewhere
in the middle. "Me who is part taoist and part Christian".

Little Green Eyed Dragon wrote:
> In article >,
> wrote:

>>Killians *before* Coors? In the US? The George Killian Lett Brewery in
>>Ireland closed in the 1950's and was contract-brewed in France by
>>Pelforth (tho' I never heard of it imported in the US) before Coors also
>>got the rights to brew it (they later changed it from an ale to a lager,
>
>
> <I believe this is where my experience came in, at some point the taste
> of it dramatically changed> As for when Coors took over, I remember
> drinking this beer with my oldest brother, back when I was still 17-18
> years old ? 1982?. He told me the beer was new and being test marketed
> in this country, nothing on the bottle said Coor's unlike at a later
> point in time- but that was many bottles ago

Coors introduced it's Geo. Killians Irish Red Ale in 1982, so the timing
is right. I don't know what it said on the label at that time, but
"dba" ("doing business as") fake brewery names have been used in the
industry for decades, especially when a brewery is closed and it's
brand(s) is sold. Before the microbrewery boom, very few cities had
more than one brewery, so it was usually easy for the knowledgable
drinker to figure out who made what (beer can collectors were especially
adept at that).

At some point, the feds loosened the rules about "brewery location" on
the label, so it's a bit more difficult nowadays. Killian's no doubt
said "Golden, CO" on the label, so that would have been enough to make
it Coors, altho' they have used "Denver" (where they have a
microbrewery) on some beers since then, IIRC. The most well-known dba
being used today is probably Miller's "Plank Road Brewery" for some of
it's lesser brands.
(IIRC, some of the old Falstaff brands listed a PO box on it's labels
after they were folded into Pabst by the parent company, S&P. A PO
Box? Now THAT is a microbrewery!)

Coors changed the formula, lowered the alcohol content and changed the
label to read "Lager" (in very small letters) from "Ale" in 1988.
(There was also a George Killian's Irish Brown Ale for a time, too, but
I don't remember that at all).

In article >, wrote:

> Little Green Eyed Dragon wrote:
> > In article >,
> > wrote:
>
> >>Killians *before* Coors? In the US? The George Killian Lett Brewery in
> >>Ireland closed in the 1950's and was contract-brewed in France by
> >>Pelforth (tho' I never heard of it imported in the US) before Coors also
> >>got the rights to brew it (they later changed it from an ale to a lager,
> >
> >
> > <I believe this is where my experience came in, at some point the taste
> > of it dramatically changed> As for when Coors took over, I remember
> > drinking this beer with my oldest brother, back when I was still 17-18
> > years old ? 1982?. He told me the beer was new and being test marketed
> > in this country, nothing on the bottle said Coor's unlike at a later
> > point in time- but that was many bottles ago
>
> Coors introduced it's Geo. Killians Irish Red Ale in 1982, so the timing
> is right. I don't know what it said on the label at that time, but
> "dba" ("doing business as") fake brewery names have been used in the
> industry for decades, especially when a brewery is closed and it's
> brand(s) is sold. Before the microbrewery boom, very few cities had
> more than one brewery, so it was usually easy for the knowledgable
> drinker to figure out who made what (beer can collectors were especially
> adept at that).
>
> At some point, the feds loosened the rules about "brewery location" on
> the label, so it's a bit more difficult nowadays. Killian's no doubt
> said "Golden, CO" on the label, so that would have been enough to make
> it Coors, altho' they have used "Denver" (where they have a
> microbrewery) on some beers since then, IIRC. The most well-known dba
> being used today is probably Miller's "Plank Road Brewery" for some of
> it's lesser brands.
> (IIRC, some of the old Falstaff brands listed a PO box on it's labels
> after they were folded into Pabst by the parent company, S&P. A PO
> Box? Now THAT is a microbrewery!)
>
> Coors changed the formula, lowered the alcohol content and changed the
> label to read "Lager" (in very small letters) from "Ale" in 1988.
> (There was also a George Killian's Irish Brown Ale for a time, too, but
> I don't remember that at all).

Thanks for the most interesting insights- I have no arguments

--
Would thou choose to meet a rat eating dragon, or
a dragon, eating rat? The answer of: I am somewhere
in the middle. "Me who is part taoist and part Christian".

Little Green Eyed Dragon wrote:

> In article >, wrote:

>>
>>Coors introduced it's Geo. Killians Irish Red Ale in 1982, so the timing
>>is right.
>
> Thanks for the most interesting insights- I have no arguments
>

Here's an interesting development. Coors, of course, is now a
multi-national brewer, with the purchase of the Bass breweries in UK
(but NOT the Bass brand) and the recent merger with Molson- technically
the company is now "MolsonCoors".

The merger with Molson allowed them to close the old Schlitz/Stroh
brewery they had in Memphis (which brewed a number of their "other"
brands like Zima & Extra Gold) before the Virginia facility had a
brewery (which they're in the process of building- previously it only
"prepared" [added water to high gravity beer] and packaged beers from
Golden), since Molson has several breweries that are close to East Coast
markets. AND, it also allows the company to say "IMPORTED" on the
label. (Lots of "imports" of international brands in the US are
actually only imported across the border- like "Australian" Fosters,
"Irish" Guinness Extra Stout, "Japanese" Saporo, etc.) I think some of
the Blue Moon brands are already being brewed in Canada and Killians
would be a natural.