Retro beer marketing

[Jono]

A little retro marketing.....I remember my brother in law was a Schlitz man...my dad hated it....he drank Joseph Huber or Pabst.

http://www.schlitzgusto.com/home.asp

Any Schlitz fans out there?

1973 appears to have been the high water mark.

http://www.pabst.com/mainpage.html

http://www.pabst.com/mainpage.html

I had lost track of who owns who now...once rivals in the same shed

...Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, Old Style....Colt 45 yee ha....Scheafer, Olympia.

PBR - "Today, this classic American brew has been adopted by a whole new generation of PBR drinkers. Currently, PBR is one of the fastest growing domestic beer brands. When you're this good, quality always comes through-PBR ME ASAP!"

I recall it being ok when VERY COLD.....

[Jazzhead]

Schlitz isn't the only old name coming back. Check this out -

Hi Neighbor! Have a 'Gansett

and this -

the Friendly Beer for Modern People

and this -

Stoney's of Smithton

[ratcheer]

Back in the day, I did enjoy Schlitz. Also Falstaff. And Carling Black Label. I never really cared much for PBR, but it was drinkable.

Tim

[StraightBoston]

This brings me back! My father was a Schlitz drinker (nay, fanatic) in a land of Bud fans. I remember well the change in formula -- something to do with enzymes to accelerate the brewing process -- and an ill-advised ad campaign that my dad called "Drink Schlitz or I'll kill you" that were a one-two knockout blow to Schlitz sales in the 70's.

Time to dust off all of the "Schlitzerland" breweriana in my attic from his collection!

(And Tim, he switched his allegiance to Schlitz from Falstaff...)

[OscarV]

Back in the day, I did enjoy Schlitz. Also Falstaff. And Carling Black Label. I never really cared much for PBR, but it was drinkable.

Tim

the change in formula -- something to do with enzymes to accelerate the brewing process -- and an ill-advised ad campaign that my dad called "Drink Schlitz or I'll kill you" that were a one-two knockout blow to Schlitz sales in the 70's.

...)

Schlitz was big down south and at one time they were the number 2 brewery nation wide. It was my first favorite before the brewing change.

I to did not care for Pabst.

Hey Tim, do you remember another one popular down south, Country Club Malt Liquor?

[ratcheer]

Hey Tim, do you remember another one popular down south, Country Club Malt Liquor?

I do remember it and I had a few of them from time to time, but it too was not a favorite. It was very nearly tasteless. Which is probably why some people preferred it.

Tim

[Jono]

Jazzhead...Stony's certainly has "eye appeal".....I thinks these old brewers are waking up slowly to the call for quality as they see micros popping up and the premium prices being paid. Competition is a good thing.

OscarV....is Stroh's still a favorite in Detroit?

[OscarV]

OscarV....is Stroh's still a favorite in Detroit?

The funny thing about Stroh's is that it never was a big seller in Detroit after the 1950's. In MI Stroh's was #1 in the '50's, Pabst in the '60's, Miller in the '70's and Budweiser since the '80's. Now Stroh's is hard to find. I used to like it out of the barrel.

It was huge on U of M campus in the '70's because of all the out of state kids have never seen it.

Now we roll out more barrel's of Natural Light for the frat-boys than any other brand, but the store owners scratch off the labels and take off the caps indentifying it as Natty Light and sell it for the more costly Bud Light.

[Jazzhead]

Jazzhead...Stony's certainly has "eye appeal".....I thinks these old brewers are waking up slowly to the call for quality as they see micros popping up and the premium prices being paid. Competition is a good thing.

Stoney's is real easy to drink. I try to get a sleeve of cans when I'm in the right part of Pennsy to find it. I'm not sure it's all that different from regular Iron City, though. The original owners closed down the brewery but still run the company from Smithton, with brewing contracted out to Pittsburgh Brewing. It's still being brewed locally, and I guess that counts for something.

My regular brews are Yuengling Premium and Straubs. Believe it or not, there's one bar in downtown Philly, the Society Hill Hotel, that serves Straubs on tap! Here's a link to the Straubs site - http://www.straubbeer.com.

Pennsy remains a treasure and a museum piece for the independent, pre-Prohibition brewer. It's not hard to drink local when the product's so good!

[Special Reserve]

Oscar,

Do you remember Sebewaing Beer from the Thumb?

I had a few of those in the day. It had a ring necked pheasant on the label and was affectionately called pheasant pi$$ by the locals.

I liked Stroh's and Stroh's Bock and toured the brewery a couple of times. There was a time at the end of the tour you get about 45 minutes in the bar with an open tap.

In later years the Frankenmuth Bock was a great drink until a tornado took out the brewery.

Ah! Memory lane.

Will

[Jono]

How is this for brand confusion / consolidation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_breweries

"The "Blatz" beer label currently is produced by the Miller Brewing Company of Milwaukee, under contract for Pabst Brewing Company , managed by CEO, Charles Thomas Blatz who coincidently shares the last name of the previous founder."

"On June 10, 1982, the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Co. was acquired by Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit, Michigan. The regular beer is still produced, though in relatively small quantities, by the Pabst Brewing Company,"

"G. Heileman's brewery names and intellectual properties became part of the Pabst Brewing Company, the current owner (as of 2007). Pabst oversees the brewing of several well-known Heileman brands, including Old Style and Special Export, under the G. Heileman name."

"On October 9, 2007, SABMiller and Molson Coors agreed to combine their U.S. operations in a joint venture called Miller Coors. SABMiller is to own 58% of the unit, which is to operate in the U.S. and Puerto Rico but not Canada, where Molson Coors is strongest. Molson Coors is to own 42%, but the parties are to have equal voting power.[2]

Miller has bought up the rights to the Hamm's Brewery brands."

And...finally...you have got to be kidding -so much for competitions.

"Icehouse - Icehouse is an ice lager and was the winner of the 2003 Gold Medal for American-Style Specialty Lager at the Great American Beer Festival, and also won the American-Style Ice Lager Gold Cup of the 1996 and 1998 World Beer Cup competitions."

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/icehouse/411/

Agree on this awful stuff:

"Milwaukee's Best—Miller's economy label. Popularly known as Milwaukee's Beast, Milwaukee's Worst, Skrats, or simply as the Beast."

Funny comments-

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/milwaukees-best/412/

[OscarV]

Oscar,

Do you remember Sebewaing Beer from the Thumb?

[QUOTE][/QUOTE]

No I have never heard of it.

Do you remember Goebel out of Detroit? Stroh's bought them in the early '50's. It was a very low priced beer. A case came off the truck for only a couple of bucks.

[Special Reserve]

Oscar,

Absolutely I remember Goebel. Didn't they sponsor the Tigers when they played in Briggs Stadium?

Sebewaing was brewed in the town of Sebewaing on the west side of the Thumb, I grew up on the other side of the Thumb. They went out of business in the middle to late 60's.

Will

[number7]

Jazzhead vbmenu_register("postmenu_119659", true);

Schlitz isn't the only old name coming back. Check this out -

Hi Neighbor! Have a 'Gansett

Wow. Narragansett. I had it last in 1987, when I sailed to Newport, Rhode Island, for a USNA sailing leadership exercise. We called it "a meal in a can," and I swear I half-expected to start spitting out barley seeds or something.

Reminds me of the Maryland favorite, National Bohemian, or Nasty Bohs. But when you're a poor midshipman in DC and thirsty, you adapt real quick.

[OscarV]

Oscar,

Absolutely I remember Goebel. Didn't they sponsor the Tigers when they played in Briggs Stadium?

Sebewaing was brewed in the town of Sebewaing on the west side of the Thumb, I grew up on the other side of the Thumb. They went out of business in the middle to late 60's.

Will

Michigan had a lot of breweries.

Up in Frankenmuth Carling had a brewery, they put out some drinkable suds.

[Jazzhead]

Growing up near New Haven, Connecticut, our local beer was Hull's Export. It was a fallen down place way up in the Hill section of the city, with a grand statue of King Gambrinus hoisting a stone goblet of suds to the passersby. I remember going there the day before it closed; I can still picture in my mind a few guys sitting forlornly on the loading dock.

Hulls was like many cheap beers, light and drinkable, but it had a certain tang that I've associated with more than a few decent local brews over the years. A beer that still perfectly captures that tang is Yuengling Premium, which is their original variant (a pilsener, not an amber lager) sold mainly in eastern Pennsy.

My college and law school days were taken up with the study of beer. Especially beer from little local breweries. This was before the micro revolution, when pre-Prohibition regional and local brewers were dropping like flies. Pennsy had a lot of 'em, and still has a few, thank the stars. Duquense, Neuweiler (from Allentown) Du Bois, Horlacher (also from Allentown; my partner in crime and I made it up there the week the brewery closed, and scored a case of unlabeled beer, fresh as a daisy and the last of its kind), Old Reading (now it's back!). Kaier's (from Manahoy City), Ortliebs (their rathskeller, which remains thankfully preserved as a jazz club http://www.ortliebsjazzhaus.com ) was a regular hang out, and still is) , and of course Schmidt's of Philadelphia are some that are now gone. But there's still Iron City in Pittsburgh, The Lion in Wilkes-Barre (home of Stegmaier's), Straub's in St. Mary's and Yuengling in Pottsville. (Stoney's in Smithton also survives, but the brewery is closed and it's now brewed in Pittsburgh.

I've always been a customer of these old regional and local brewers. Good beer and kharma, I figure. Pass me 'nother Straubs!

[wintermute]

Recently, they've resurected Ballantine in New York. Blech. The funny thing is it ain't cheap. Neither is Pabst, when you see it in a bar in Brooklyn. The annoying hipsters drink this stuff because it's kitschy and so the bars charge a lot. I'm not a big cheap or retro beer fan, but I can appreciate it...when it's cheap.

[Route 66]

Schlitz was big down south and at one time they were the number 2 brewery nation wide. It was my first favorite before the brewing change.

I to did not care for Pabst.

Hey Tim, do you remember another one popular down south, Country Club Malt Liquor?

Not only was Schlitz the number 2 brewery nationwide at one time, they also were the number 1 brewery in some years

[Jono]

Jazzhead said:

"My regular brews are Yuengling Premium and Straubs. Believe it or not, there's one bar in downtown Philly, the Society Hill Hotel, that serves Straubs on tap! Here's a link to the Straubs site - http://www.straubbeer.com."

-------------------

My brother-in-law gets a regular supply of Yuengling when his family visits...they will drive out and bring multiple cases. It is a very nice brew..easy to drink -pleasant taste and body.

[dave ziegler]

There is still one Other great brewery In pa The Penn Brewing Company on the other side of Pittsburg their Penn Dark Lager is Awesome also their Penn Pilsner is a great regular Beer! As for narragansett the New narragansett is one awesome tasting regular Lager contract brewed by High falls for them i always have friend going up to New Ehgland bring me some back and this past fall their Narragansett Bock was awesome too!

I drink the new reading regularly the label being Owned by Legacy Brewing In reading! And I admit I still Love Iron City beer always have some 30 packs around.

If you have never tried Penn Dark it is rated A+ I think by the Beer rating web site.

The Old Pennsylvania Brewery has been going on for many a year and cranking out lots of Good beer.

Their Web Sit

www.pennbrewing.com

Dave Z--------Beer Its Not Just A Beverage Beer Is Food------------

[Luna56]

I remember a Pennsylvania beer called Ortlieb's. My dad always drank it when I was a kid.

Seems like the brand expired, was revived and expired again. Hope I get to try it if the brand is ever revived again.

Ever tried this one, Dave? What did you think of it?

Cheers!

[dave ziegler]

Luna it was wonderful Beer and I drank alot of it! I also knew Henry Ortlieb the 3rd before he died a couple of Years ago He had the Old Sunny Brook Ballroom in Pottstown and was just making it go and was craft brewing there and had a full German food menu. I had his German susage Platter at the time four different Kinds it was wonderful and with Beer to die for.

He went for his first vacation in many yrs and died sudenly on Vacation. He was a really cool guy and had a special receipy Brich Beer that went with him when he died. It was so good people would drive up from Delaware to get it!

The only Ortlieb that I think is still living is his cousin Joe in NJ who tired to save the Family Brewery In Phila yrs ago.

I wish someone would recreat Ortliebs Back in the Day I drank Ortliebs and Good Old Schmidts both made in Phila every Day!

Dave Z

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Beer Its Not Just A Beverage Beer Is Food

[Potbanger]

Time to promote a site I made years ago: www.PfeifferBeer.com The "Giant that scared Stroh's" from Michigan. Haven't updated in years, but the history section is what I'm proudest of.

[OscarV]

Time to promote a site I made years ago: www.PfeifferBeer.com The "Giant that scared Stroh's" from Michigan. Haven't updated in years, but the history section is what I'm proudest of.

[DeanSheen]