Historical Tidbits: Beer. New Beers, 1971

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The more things change. . .

In 1971, several small and regional brewing companies introduced new beers aimed at "young adults" who were willing to experiment with "all sorts of beverages of an alcoholic nature."

From Pittsburgh Brewing Company came "Hop'n Gator," described as "a distant cousin of Gatorade" but with 25% more alcohol than beer. (No word on how or why Hop'n qualified as a beer ...)

National Brewing introduced Malt Duck. Hamm Brewing launched "Right Time" two colors, red and gold. The red version, with a fruity sweet flavor was for "girls." The "tart" gold version was for "boys."

Hamm executives believed they had a hit on their hands: Early sales figures indicated that "Right Time" appealed to young drinkers, "blacks, Mexican-Americans, and to some people in the 50-to-60 set."

And then there was "Lime Lager" brewed by Lone Star Brewing Company of Texas. Lone Star aimed the new brew at the beer drinker who "doesn't like the taste of beer but likes lime."

As far as these small regional brewers were concerned, drinks like these were the key to survival. "We have to bring out new products or we'll be buried by the giants," explained one brewery representative.

And hey, apparently that Lime Lager was a good idea!

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Source: "Advertising: Something Sweet Is Brewing," New York Times, March 31, 1971, p. 73.

Detour From Beer: Lower Drinking Age? Won't Solve the Real Problem

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I'm on record as supporting rational drinking. You can read my earlier posts by clicking on the tag titled "rational drinking."

So of course I was more-or-less glad to hear that 100 college presidents support lowering the drinking age to 18. (There's are lots of reports online; here's one of them.)

But let's get real. Lowering the drinking age won't solve the underlying problem. It'll make the life easier for the nation's police (fewer lawbreakers to arrest), but . . . that's about all it would do.

Because, as I've said here before, the real problem isn't the drinking age. (Also see any of the other blog entries under the "rational drinking" category.) The real problem is that Americans demonize rather than respect alcohol, and infantalize drinking.

Worse yet, we ignore the fact that alcohol is an ancient and normal part of human life. No surprise, we don't teach kids to respect alcohol. We don't teach them how to drink. So what we get are teen-agers and young adults who, ya know, don't know how to drink.

Why do we treat alcohol and drinking so differently than, say, cars and driving? We know that putting an untrained driver behind the wheel of a car is dangerous. We TEACH kids to drive before we turn them loose with the car keys. We should treat alcohol the same way: In the hands (mouths) of the inexperienced and untrained, alcohol can be dangerous.

So we should TEACH kids about alcohol's role in human life and how to use it responsibly. Until we start doing that, lowering the drinking age ain't gonna do a bit of good.

Historical Tidbits: Beer. The Beer Rules of 1958

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Beer-drinking advice and suggestions from 1958. --- "Don't stick to one beer. Try various kinds." --- "Judge each beer as you would a person, play, or book -- on its merits as an individual." -- - "Rinse the beer glass with cold water before you use it." --- "Serve the right beer with the right foods, mating light with light, rich food with darker, stronger beers and ales." What to drink? Imports:

  • Amstel
  • Augustinerbrau
  • Bass Ale
  • Beck's
  • Carlsberg
  • Carta Blanca
  • Guinness Stout
  • Heineken
  • Kirin
  • La Batt's (her spelling, not mine)
  • Lowenbrau
  • Pilsner Urquell
  • Turborg
  • Whitbread
  • Wurzburger

Prefer a domestic?

  • Andecker (brewed by Pabst, a "rich all-malt beer" available only "unpasteurized on draught")
  • Ballantine's India Pale Ale (a "remarkable ale")
  • Iron City lager (its fans are "enthusiastic and eloquent"; a "connoisseur type" beer)
  • Michelob (claimed by many to be "America's finest beer, one of the greatest in the world.")
  • Miller High Life ("great delicacy and elegance")
  • National Premium ("This beer has had its ups and downs, but is now doing better than ever ...")
  • Olympia (made with "pure glacial water . . . from exceedingly deep artesian wells....")
  • Prior's Double Dark ("...the only all-malt bottled beers made in the U.S.A.")
  • Rainier Old Stock Ale ("ancestral spores of the yeasts came from England," and the beer is aged in "the staid old British manner..."

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Source: Poppy Cannon, "The Changing Taste for Beer," House Beautiful 100 (October 1958): 209, 231-237. Cannon was, at that time, one of the nation's most prominent food writers.

Interview With Amy Mittelman

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Bob Townsend, beer's man-on-the-scene for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, has a nice interview with Amy Mittelman, author of Brewing Battles. Check it out.

(Although the accuracy-fanatic in me is compelled to point out that MillerCoors is a joint venture of SABMiller and MolsonCoors, and as far as I know, Miller does not own Pabst.)

Thanks and a tip o' the mug to the indefatigable David Fahey, the energy behind the Daily Register at the Alcohol and Drugs History website.