Monday Rant: Beer Crusades

In the world of craft beer blogs, when the major American brewers are mentioned in someone's post (even on this blog) it's usually in a negative light. To be honest, we aren't the country's biggest fans of Coors, Miller, Budweiser etc. That especially goes for those of us that indulge in the many craft offerings we regularly enjoy.

Sometimes the attitude some in the craft community cause some of us to hide some of our feelings towards certain companies and some beers. I know there are some of you out there that will agree with what I'm about to say.

I sometimes get the feeling that craft beer has formed into its own persecuting society. I feel that if you don't like a certain type or a particular beer that you sometimes would get a reaction to the sort of "how dare you not like this beer!" It's kind of like living during the time of the Christian Crusades, although not to such a violent extent. When I want to write a piece like this (saying I don't enjoy really hoppy brews or a small nice thing about a major American brewer) it takes me some time to actually get it done in fear that many craft fans will be quick on the trigger.

When it comes to beer in America, I can sometimes go for a product from one of the American majors. I can sometimes go for a Coors Original Banquet Beer. There I said it. I don't think it's the worst thing out there. Before you want to crucify me know that I've always made it clear that beers like Coors Light, Miller Lite and Bud are abominations to brewing. The allegations that Budweiser might have been watering down its product might even shed light on what a lot of us have been saying for years. Those taste like watered-down soggy bread.

I'm not saying Coors Banquet is one of the great beer sin existence. In fact, it's far from that. What if you were in a situation where there wasn't a lot of craft offerings and a beer like Coors Banquet was there? What I'm saying is that once in a while a beer as such can be a decent fall-back when you can't have something that's outstanding and memorable. I was presented with such a dilemma while at the North Shore's Stage AE. It was all Miller and Coors products. If given the choices of something like a Lagunitas IPA, a Troegs Sunshine Pils and Coors Banquet the last beer named wouldn't stand a chance. I don't believe Banquet is that low on the American totem poll. I've never seen a ton of people in dive bars while in college downing pitchers of Banquet. It was always Coors Light.

As I've always said on this blog, I hold no biases when it comes to the beer I drink. I don't hold grudges against certain breweries. If you can pull off a good beer I'm very appreciative. If I don't like it that doesn't mean the entire world has to either. I've also been a bad critic of American beer advertising. I hate the Bud Light Pitbull ads. i hate the Coors Light train in the ice age ads. Banquet, on the other hand, has the voice of Sam Elliot. I have to give props to that. Sam Elliot makes a lot of things better on television and in movies. It's still not on par with the Breckenridge Truth in Beervertising ads, but it's not bad.

Don't worry. I still really love all of the craft breweries out there and the beers that are offered. For tomorrow's post I'm planning on a small list of my favorite craft brews that are made locally here in Pittsburgh! So, it'll be back to praising great craft breweries as usual.

False Beervertising

I love coming across a new Truth in Beervertising video from Breckenridge Brewery while I'm surfing on YouTube. I thought about this on Sunday while watching some of the ads created by American major brewers (you know who they are) and the fact that I wished to one day see one of these Breckenridge ads during a Super Bowl.

It's pretty much a given that the Super Bowl's portion of beer advertising is going to be Coors, Miller and/or Budweiser. One we traditionally see every year is the Budweiser Clydesdale campaign. If you miss that you usually see the new ad brandishing its new, but odd concoction.

The reality is that it's most likely not feasible for any craft brewer to pay the exorbitant sum that's required to advertise during the Super Bowl in today's day and age.

I've always looked at these Super Bowl beer ads to be very close to what the Pittsburgh Pirates do. The argument can be made that the Pirates, Budweiser, etc. have amazing marketing departments. Most in part because they provide viewers/consumers with a magnificent distraction from the actual product, which I don't particularly care for in either case. Budweiser has commercials that emotionally connect with many Americans. The Pirates have fireworks and pierogi races.

I'll admit the commercial was well done. That doesn't mean I'm cracking open a Budweiser any time soon. I'll still prefer a Breckenridge Vanilla Porter.

God Bless Breckenridge

You were most likely watching an NFL game on television when a Coors Light commercial hit the screen and you pondered to yourself what in the world the phrase "Taste the Cold" meant.

For me, it's one of those things where you have to remind yourself to breath because the phrase doesn't make one bit of sense. When I learned about the five senses in elementary school I knew pretty well that you could only feel the cold, but not taste it. Then again Coors Light doesn't taste real great, in my opinion. So, we can obviously see a possibility as to why that phrase was thrown together in the first place. If you can't tell, I don't really like Coors Light.

This isn't the first time I've posted about the advertising campaigns of Breckenridge Brewery. They're well-known for the television ads mocking big market beer commercials. I really can't get enough of them. According to a newer post by Beer Pulse, there is a new set of mockery commercials.

This new ad campaign puts me in the mood for possibly receiving a case of the Breckenridge sampler this Christmas which includes Vanilla Porter and Oatmeal Stout.
 

Beer Review: Breckenridge Vanilla Porter

Serving Type: Bottle

ABV: 4.7 percent

Appearance: I wouldn't Breckenridge Vanilla Porter as a black beer, as you'd expect most Porters to be. This brew has a body that's more on the browner side of the spectrum. The visible carbonation provides you with a texture that causes the mouth to water. The head is slightly tan and somewhat weak, but the lacing makes up for it later on.

Smell: I got plenty of roast and chocolate in the aroma at first. Next comes an inviting, sweet smell of vanilla beans. The hint of vanilla reminded me of the days when your parents made some homemade vanilla bean ice cream. Remember the black specks?

Taste: This beer tasted very dark, at first. The roast and chocolate are the majority of that. The chocolate is more on the darker side as opposed to milk chocolate. You end up wandering where the vanilla is, but then it comes and creates a dramatic, extremely smooth finish.

Overall Rating: 

This is a really enjoyable drink. At first, it teases you and causes you to think that this is just like any other Porter. Then, a rush of sweet vanilla kicks in. Good timing!

Monday Rant: Thank You, Breckenridge Brewery

I'm a little late to the game on this one (mostly because I'm nowhere near the Colorado market), but I just came across it. Breckenridge Brewery had a genius advertising campaign at some point in 2011 which featured a brilliant tag line that was even more brilliant than when Guinness used the word.

The commercial that I found pokes fun at all of the Coors Light commercials we've had forced down our throats as we watched our favorite television shows and features Breckenridge's "If you touch it and it's cold, then it's cold."



If you're still confused at the joke then I'll refresh you on it. The ad is to poke fun at all of those old Coors commercials that brag about how you can "taste cold" or "taste the Rockies." Not sure about you, but I have no idea what or how cold actually tastes. I do know that all of us can feel some cold, though.

I'm sure plenty of you have had the experience of seeing someone fire some Coors light into their fridge and foam at the mouth like a rabid dog when the cold-activation part of the can turns blue, which means it's cold enough to drink.

As a craft beer fan, I sure as hell don't need a can or bottle with some fancy color-changing apparatus to enhance my drinking experience of said beer. It's sad that some beer drinkers (if we can even call them that) out there drink their beer so cold, that they miss out on some of the flavors of their brews. Apologies, most of the people that do that don't drink what some of us refer to as beer. In fact what some of them drink is a slap to the face of some of us.

Now, you still might drink well-crafted beer and like it really close to the freezing mark. I can live with that. It's just my opinion that you're probably missing out on a portion of the experience that some beers provide.