I have to put a case (...) in for SF too. We drank a lot of PBR at a host of hipster bars in San Francisco in the early to mid 90's. 1$ PBR nights were a staple of the Mission district bars for years. I remember buying a ton of it when I heard they were going out of business in 1996, my wife still makes fun of me for that as it is ubiquitous in every grocery store now. I also remember it being pretty entrenched in Chicago by the late 90's (the Hideout for sure)

I also went to Austin as an undergrad and I had no idea why Shiner went from roughly 5 bucks a sixer to over 8. Now I know. Thanks for the info, and yeah - Shiner ain't all that.

My favorite brewery (of the moment) is North Coast in California. I like Red Seal Pale Ale and Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout.

For a nice summer day, you can't beat Fireman's 4 from the Real Ale Brewing Company, now available in Texas state wide!

I'll pass on Shiner from now on.

"I'll fuck anything that moooooves!"

Ben:

"Here's to your fuck Frank."

Yeah, Shiner was $3.29 at the Pronto Mart on Duval for years.

Old Rasputin is great -- though dangerously strong. More than one and I'm loaded. I'll look for the Red Seal.

In the Summer in Portland I find stuff like imperial stouts too heavy. I prefer Widmer's Hefeweisen. Strange how much I like that stuff when I never really cared for Celis White. (More Austin references!)

I had a couple of friends from Ohio back in college. All they ever wanted to drink was PBR. It got to the point that it literally tasted like something that had died. I will never be able to drink it again.

Not that Budweiser is any good either, mind you.

Olympia and Negra Modelo.

I hate Corona.

... but what can i do?

All i got is Indio, and Modelo Especial, and Sol, and Corona around. At 60 cents a bottle.

wow. I used to drink pabst and other cheap lagers in the Lutz back in the late 80's and early ninety's. then I discovered microbrews. let the hipsters have it.

Nothing remains of the Grain Belt Brewery save this kitschy sign, but the beer is produced in Minnesota, by Schell, which bought the brand in 2002.

And? Being bought by Schell isn't exactly like being bought out by some massive beverage conglomerate. They produce some of the most stylistically notable continental lagers in the U.S. (Schell Pils, Schell Firebrick which revives the Vienna style, and one of the few spot-on altbiers brewed in this country). Their cheap deer brand (maybe it's called 'original' now?) and the aforementioned Grain Belt both have wonderful claims to make on the national-low-brow-everybeer sweepstakes this article seems to consider relevant.

Look, I don't work for them (if only, gawd!) but it's not like Grain Belt was a sellout to Unibev or Miller or something, Schell saved that beer, "branding" matters aside.

The brewery was founded in 1860 for crying out loud! Name one American-owned brewery that old (there's maybe 2).

I can remember seeking out Pabst in 1991 after Blue Velvet, and finding it in bars in New York.

We also searched out Mickey's Big Mouth (back when they had the snap tops) cuz of that Tom Waits song.

As a minor correction Yuengling is also produced in Tampa, Florida. To their credit, their Lager is pretty consistent between both breweries. Thought I don't know for certainty, I'm guessing this is why their Premium, Lord Chesterfield and other denominations aren't available outside of PA (sad, their Premium beer is the only beer that has ever made me say, "Damn, this is good beer.").

The last old-style American beer was Grain Belt Premium, and it failed under the marketing pressure of Bud, Coors and Miller.

Let's face it - all of this stuff is panther piss. Real beer is brewed in the US, but not advertised on TV. The brewers can't afford the advertising costs and the drinkers don't need it - we keep searching until we find stuff that is distinguishable from slightly flavored water.

And - while Stella may be considered by the ignorant in the US as some sort of premium brew, in Belgium it is held in the same low regard by people who know anything as Bud is in this country.

I wondered for some years whether I was off base - and then one night went into a place in Denver, where the waitress was offended by the suggestion that her employer served any form of Bud, Coors, Miller or a concoction with "Lite" in its name.

That Pabst might become hip, or widely popular, will not make it "great." The quality is uneffected by sales. Do beer connoisseurs think much of it? That's the question.

some of this surely must have something to do with those if us who fell passionately in love with beer and brewing culture in the 90s, which of course means we'd found a significant and meaningful subcultural niche and were comfortable. As passion and comfort are exactly the things ironic cold hipsters can't stand, the hunt was on for the most ridiculously arch interest in something precisely opposite a vibrant diverse homebrewing scene. Things were made worse that there were already older, hairier men with engineering degrees pAssionately engaged by quality beer and homebrewing. It hardly matters if the trend got momentum from Oregon, Austin, or ...Iowa. The homebrewers had gotten to the good beer first and the hipsters Had to find something thy could embrace. Cheap beer was their destiny. Some of them will change and start drinking the good stuff; maybe once they have kids.

Enjoyed the article. As a Pennsylvanian (and dedicated beer drinker ;), I grew up with Yuengling. It is a staple of refrigerators throughout PA, as well as a point of pride. For a mass produced Am lager, Yuengling is far and away better than Coors, Bud, and yes PBR (the trucker hat of beers--this trend will die).

That being said, it's still an American lager--not the tastiest or interesting beer in the world. Meh. Good for watching the ballgame I suppose.

I feel I need to give a shout out to my local brewery: Troegs. A small craft brewery in Harrisburg PA (only available in a 3 hr radius of Harrisburg). I love stopping by the brewery with my growler to sample their new "scratch" series (basically test beers they release in limited quantity) or fill up with my favorite beers (IPA, Nugget Nectar, their double bock). Chis and John Trogner (the owners, brewers) make world class award winning beer (2 bronze medals at the Brewers Association 2008 World beer cup!).

I say all this because if you like beer it is worth your while to find a local craft brewery. You can get a growler filled fresh from the tap--make friends--get to know the owners/brewers--support a local business--(did I mention the tasty FRESH beer?).

If you live in PA, MD, Del, NJ, parts of NY, VA and WV ask for Troegs at your local watering hole! http://www.troegs.com/

A really good website about beer: http://beeradvocate.com/ (informed reviews about any beer you can think of).

Beer!