What next for Rolling Rock? eBay?

The Wall Street Journal reports that Anheuser-Busch InBev NV is exploring the sale of the Rolling Rock brand.

You may recall that InBev sold the Rolling Rock brand to A-B in 2006, only to end up owning it again after buying A-B last year.

One possible suitor could be North American Breweries Inc., owned by New York private-equity firm KPS Capital Partners LP. KPS formed its beer company in February after reaching deals to acquire two upstate New York beer companies: High Falls Brewing Co. and Labatt USA. It bought Labatt USA, which imports and markets Canada’s Labatt Blue, from Anheuser-Busch InBev for an undisclosed price. A KPS spokesman declined to comment.

You may also remember that Labatt used to own Rolling Rock. Or not, because this has little to do with the beers you and I drink.

 

Let’s hear it for beermaking frivolity

So I was looking for this quote from Fred Eckhardt:

“Winemakers are so serious. Beermakers are frivolous.”

Which sent me into my archives — deep, this one was stored on a portable drive and in a version of Microsoft Word old enough I had to “import” the story. Once I’d gone to that trouble I decided to post this article I wrote for All About Beer magazine in 2001.

Another line I’d forgotten: Michael Jackson described homebrewers as the “the shock troops of the beer revolution.”

Also note: Maureen Ogle and Charlie Papazian continue to add to their posts about the early days of the American Homebrewers Association.

 

Navigating the noise: A few links

Every once in a while I’ll post a collection of links here. After all, that’s the blog way of doing things. And every once in a while I wonder if that’s such a great idea. You may have already seen these things. Between email, RSS feeds and Twitter I feel like I’ve seen 784 references to “Beer Wars.”

My friend Alan McLeod wrote about Twitter in his “other blog” a while back. I’m neither suggesting you join Twitter or break up with Twitter, but would simply note it can be very informative if your ready to deal with a room where too many people are talking at the same time.

So at the risk of adding to your clutter:

– Corona Extra’s sales are losing fizz. The pain of having Bud Light Lime kick your butt.

– Drink Beer With Flying Dog Brewery. And Also Not Have Any Pants On. Twitter tasting. Live. April 18.

– Who the Hell Is Enrolling in Journalism School Right Now? Just because newspapers are dying doesn’t mean journalism must. (Or why I’m not counting on Twitter for stories about piracy on the high seas.)

– Dregs Report. Posted April 1, and apparently vanishing April 14. Stuff like “New pairing craze: sustainable wines with endangered species.”

– Keep Your Soul: A Tribute to Doug Sahm. What we’ll be listening to as we resume out Central Texas barbecue hunting.

That’s five. Enough clutter.

 

Mama, it’s hot outside; pour me a . . .

Maybe the rest of the world will forsake pale lagers, but that’s hard to imagine in Texas. We’re only a few days into April and it’s already getting plenty hot. When we headed to Threadgill’s yesterday for a bunch of vegetables I could only imagine ordering one beer — Live Oak Pilz on tap.

Mama's Little Yella PilsBut today, assuming the clouds I’m looking at right now go away, when we spend a few hours boating it won’t be with Pilz in hand. Live Oak doesn’t package its beer.

(Yes, responsible boaters don’t drink and drive, but we’ll only be passengers.)

So should I go with beer from a bottle, Saint Arnold’s Fancy Lawnmower, or from a can, the new Mama’s Little Yella Pils from Oskar Blues in Colorado? Sorry, Mama, when there’s a good local alternative the rules of our trip make it easy to pick the beer brewed nearby.

I tell you what, though, I’m wondering why Oskar Blues didn’t hit on this idea before. Hot weather, and cold pilsner in a can makes for one fine match. (In fact, the answer it pretty simply. Since first packaging Dale’s Pale Ale at the end of 2002 the brewery has struggled to keep up with production.) Although, like the brewery’s other beers, Mama’s Little Yella Pils packs a lot more aroma and flavor when you drink it from a glass rather than straight from the can.

Both Live Oak Pilz and Mama have the pleasant grainy/grassy qualities I associate with a pale lager from the Czech Republic. And the all-malt flavors that, let’s be honest, many drinkers think interfere with drinkability. Not you, right?

Not the same as sitting in Domažlice and drinking Pivovar Kout na Šumav? 10°. But in a boat. From a can. This is progress.

 

Will pale lagers dominate forever? Ron says ‘no’

Ron Pattinson writes today about perspective and change. He makes two really important points back-to-back.

The horizon of personal experience influences our view of both the past and the future. We extrapolate the present back into the past. I used to think Bitter and Mild, as I experienced them in the 1970’s, had been around for centuries. It’s a fault repeated in many books about beer. Even brewers have little concept of what went on before they started brewing themselves.

And before you even pause to consider that he gives us more to think about.

The future we expect to be a continuation of the present, with just the odd tweak. Who could have imagined in 1900 that Porter would have disappeared within 50 years? Or in the 1940’s that Mild would have disappeared from swathes of Britain by 1980? Will pale lager continue its domination for another 100 years? History tells us no. Its decline will be unexpected and surprisingly swift.

It is hard to imagine isn’t it? Harder still to think about what might take its place.