As we sat down to sample all 12 of the Retro Beer Challengers, I think the realization hit us all at about the same time: "Oh god, I've got to drink all of these." While this statement was probably said in ecstasy by my neighbor, who inherited the leftovers, there was only regret in the minds of the participating Knights.
I don't want to knock anyone who drinks this stuff regularly - it's pretty much an American tradition to drink this kind of beer. But once you've gone on to something better, there's really no turning back. You've got to trust us on this - this stuff really isn't good. If you don't believe us, come on out to a roundtable some time - we can prove it in two drinks. I'll even buy.
Round Two featured three beers from Wisconsin - Old Style, Old Milwaukee, and Blatz. You might think that these beers are easy to find, but it took trips to multiple liquor stores to find them. Blatz and Schlitz (which is featured in an upcoming round) could only be found in 24 pack cases, and when we brought the beer to the counter at PartyPak Liquors, the clerk said "I didn't know we had this." Such is the grip that Bud/Miller/Coors has on the local liquor scene. Or maybe it's just lack of demand - we saw Dogfish Head products more often than anything from the Pabst family (click on "Our Beers" to see the expansive selection).
All three of these beers looked exactly the same, but there were differences in taste.
Beer 1 was described as malty, soapy, and bitter. Kelly noted "this reminds me of high school - shitty beer drank in a corn field."
Beer 2 had a bizzare smell - skunk and/or vinegar. It was described as bitter and flat.
Beer 3 had a faint skunkiness, with notes of water and malt. It wasn't as offensive as the others, and had a "well balanced pissiness."
As you can probably figure, beer 3 (Old Style) advanced to the next round, with beer 1 (Old Milwaukee) narrowly beating beer 2 (Blatz) in score.
And so, the Cub beer moves on. There you go, Cubs fans! That's what a win looks like!
Ok, low blow.
That's just mean, man. Just mean. Especially from a guy whose team didn't make the playoffs...thppt!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever seen Blatz on the shelf before.
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone still make black label beer on the white can?
Do you mean Carling's Black Label? I haven't seen that stuff since college (the late '80s).
ReplyDeleteI can't remember who makes it. My dad used to talk about it. They could get a case of it for like 2.99 back in the late 70's and it was just a white can with with a black label that just said "Beer"
ReplyDelete