Lawnmower Beer

[eje]

My preference would be for most any of the beers that originated in Wisconsin:  Hamms, Miller, Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz, Leinenkugels, Point, Huber et al.

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You forget Special Export and Augsburger...

;-)

[nr706]

I'd have to be pretty desperate, though, to drink a Rhinelander.  I'm told it's good in and around Rhinelander but it sure doesn't travel well.

Rhinelander hasn't been brewed in Rhinelander in decades - it's brewed by Huber in Monroe - the opposite end of the state.

And when I toured the Point brewery a year or so ago, they said they were phasing out returnables, which is too bad, because I've used so many of their bottles for my homebrew. (Point is also making Augsburger these days, or at least as of the time of my tour).

And it was fun to see the look on my San Diego brother-in-law's face when I told him that Point was making Karl Strauss' bottled beers (Karl Strauss is a San Diego chain of brewpubs).

Long way to say Point is probably my favorite lawnmower beer (hefeweizens can be be as or more refreshing, but they're so good, they need to be savored - they need more thought. I think of lawnmower beers as the type you just swig and enjoy).

[kvltrede]

I'd have to be pretty desperate, though, to drink a Rhinelander.  I'm told it's good in and around Rhinelander but it sure doesn't travel well.

Rhinelander hasn't been brewed in Rhinelander in decades - it's brewed by Huber in Monroe - the opposite end of the state.

....Point is probably my favorite lawnmower beer (hefeweizens can be be as or more refreshing, but they're so good, they need to be savored - they need more thought. I think of lawnmower beers as the type you just swig and enjoy).

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Thanks for the info. Do you know when Rhinelander stopped being produced in Rhinelander? The case of skunk juice I'm referring to was purchased in 1983 or thereabouts. If it was produced by Huber I don't know what to say. I like Huber and Huber Bock so it wouldn't seem to be a problem with the brewery but who knows. This was a loooong time ago and there's been lots of beer under the bridge.

I agree completely that some beers are too good to be chugged on a hot day. And to answer Erik's post, I used to be quite fond of Augsburger. It's probably been ten or fifteen years since I had one but I vaguely recall that it had a nice bite to it. If memory serves I wouldn't include it in my list of ideal lawnmower beers. It's not (or wasn't) an innocuous chugger. Special Ex is a weird one. Back in the day (again) my pals and I used to consider it a step above Miller High Life, Bud et al. I think it was better and was also a bit more expensive. We didn't drink it too often that's for sure. I've had a couple, though, over the last few years and I can't say it tasted anything like I remembered. I assume Heileman's (or whoever owns Heileman's now) has screwed it up but it's certainly possible that my memory has failed me.

Kurt

[nr706]

I'd have to be pretty desperate, though, to drink a Rhinelander.  I'm told it's good in and around Rhinelander but it sure doesn't travel well.

Rhinelander hasn't been brewed in Rhinelander in decades - it's brewed by Huber in Monroe - the opposite end of the state.

....Point is probably my favorite lawnmower beer (hefeweizens can be be as or more refreshing, but they're so good, they need to be savored - they need more thought. I think of lawnmower beers as the type you just swig and enjoy).

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Thanks for the info. Do you know when Rhinelander stopped being produced in Rhinelander? The case of skunk juice I'm referring to was purchased in 1983 or thereabouts. If it was produced by Huber I don't know what to say. I like Huber and Huber Bock so it wouldn't seem to be a problem with the brewery but who knows. This was a loooong time ago and there's been lots of beer under the bridge.

I agree completely that some beers are too good to be chugged on a hot day. And to answer Erik's post, I used to be quite fond of Augsburger. It's probably been ten or fifteen years since I had one but I vaguely recall that it had a nice bite to it. If memory serves I wouldn't include it in my list of ideal lawnmower beers. It's not (or wasn't) an innocuous chugger. Special Ex is a weird one. Back in the day (again) my pals and I used to consider it a step above Miller High Life, Bud et al. I think it was better and was also a bit more expensive. We didn't drink it too often that's for sure. I've had a couple, though, over the last few years and I can't say it tasted anything like I remembered. I assume Heileman's (or whoever owns Heileman's now) has screwed it up but it's certainly possible that my memory has failed me.

Kurt

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Huber took over Rhinelander in 1967. Here's my source for this:

http://beer.trash.net/beerpage.php?beernum=1541

Special Ex (and Old Style) used to be made in LaCrosse, and they made a big deal out of being one of the few "fully kreusened" beers in the country. They're now being made at Miller in Milwaukee, and for them, kreusening is a thing of the past. (Apparently, Miller doesn't have the technology to do this, or at least they've decided it's not economicaly feasible.) The LaCrosse brewery was renamed City Brewing (which was its original name in the 1800's), and it's been struggling through several owners. Haven't tried their beers, but here's the website:

http://www.citybrewery.com/

[eje]

I agree completely that some beers are too good to be chugged on a hot day.  And to answer Erik's post, I used to be quite fond of Augsburger.  It's probably been ten or fifteen years since I had one but I vaguely recall that it had a nice bite to it.

Kurt

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I think Augsburger went through something similar to Special Ex. Changed hands a couple times. I found a couple references that the brand had been revived by the Point brewery in 2003. There are some current reviews on Beer Advocate, so I guess they are still making it.

Augie was the first beer I taught myself to drink.

http://www.realbeer.com/news/articles/news-001949.php

"June 19, 2003 - The Stevens Point Brewery in Wisconsin has revived the Augsburger beer brand. The brewery purchased the rights to brew and sell the Augsburger from Pabst."

[kvltrede]

...Huber took over Rhinelander in 1967. Here's my source for this:

http://beer.trash.net/beerpage.php?beernum=1541

Special Ex (and Old Style) used to be made in LaCrosse, and they made a big deal out of being one of the few "fully kreusened" beers in the country. They're now being made at Miller in Milwaukee, and for them, kreusening is a thing of the past. (Apparently, Miller doesn't have the technology to do this, or at least they've decided it's not economicaly feasible.) The LaCrosse brewery was renamed City Brewing (which was its original name in  the 1800's), and it's been struggling through several owners. Haven't tried their beers, but here's the website:

http://www.citybrewery.com/

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You don't say. Weird. I had a roommate in the early '90s who was from Rhinelander. We certainly didn't spend a lot of time sitting around discussing super-nasty beers but I know her "hometown brew" came up once or twice. I don't think she knew that Rhinelander was no longer brewed nearby. I imagine there was enough of a market for Huber to send plenty of their version up nort', eh.

Ah, yes, "kraeusening". I forgot all about that. Not that I ever had the faintest idea what it was exactly but, yes, "kreusening". I don't recall that Special Ex was "kraeusened" though. Was it? If so, that could very well explain why the last couple Special Ex's I had weren't very good. Then again, I never liked Old Style so who knows?

Thanks for the links. It seems I was also wrong in remembering that Pabst owned Hamm's in the mid/late-80's. They didn't enter the picture in LaX until '99. Go figure. I'm gonna keep my eyes open for the current LaX products. I'd be happy to give their City and LaCrosse lagers a try and support a fine business in a fine town.

Kurt

PS. what can't google turn up?:

Kraeusening

"To preserve the integrity of your organic beer, one option is to use organic malt extract or unfermented wort to bottle your beer. The most economical method is to use unfermented wort (called gyle), a process called krausening. True kraeusening actually involves adding freshly fermenting wort into a finished beer. This method is more time consuming but the carbonation period is significantly less."

[TongoRad]

Why is it American Micro Breweries can make quality Ales and Belgian style beers; but, more often than not, fall on their face when they try to make a high quality Lager or Hefe-Weissen?  Is it the water?

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It is actually the mash schedule- the imported versions of those beers have most likely been 'decoction mashed' as opposed to 'infusion mashed'. In a decoction mash a portion of the grain and liquid are removed and boiled and then added back to the main mash to raise the temperature in steps. This process accentuates the malty flavor of the grain in and of itself, but the overall length of time for the mash process is also dramatically increased so the grains are in contact with the mash water for that much longer. A triple decoction mash can take six hours before runoff whereas in the infusion mash used by many American micros the duration before runoff is in the neighborhood of 90 minutes.

The decoction mash requires specialized equipment and a longer workday for the brewers. The beers you mention can certainly be made with an infusion mash, or even its cousin the 'step infusion', but there is ultimately some tradeoff in character.

[stephenc]

Oh man,

Rolling Rock.

[Brad Ballinger]

For me, the lawnmower beer is one that is easily quaffable, doesn't require contemplation. I've had to mow in three states I've lived in. I usually drank the following after cutting the grass.

Cutting the grass in St. Paul, Minnesota: Grain Belt Premium

Cutting the grass in Oxford, Ohio: Goebel

Cutting the grass in Normal, Illinois: Old Style (technically, a Wisconsin brew but it used to be THE beer to get at Wrigley)

Now, for the beer after the lawnmower beer. . .

St. Paul, Minnesota: Summit Pale Ale

Oxford, Ohio: Gennesse Cream Ale

Normal, Illinois: Little Kings Cream Ale

[winesonoma]

Oh man,

Rolling Rock.

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Made in Latrobe Pennsylvania, birthplace of Arnold Palmer, Final resting place of Mr Rogers.

[jsolomon]

Cutting the grass in Normal, Illinois: Old Style (technically, a Wisconsin brew but it used to be THE beer to get at Wrigley)

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Thank you for validating one of my easily quaffables of choice. For the price point, I think Old Style puts out a hell of a brew.

[Nick Soapdish]

after work denison's weissbier is my quaffer of choice. at home I usually go for a bitbuerger or a pilsner urquell. I drank a cold paulaner salvator once when I was thirsty. I'm never doping that again.

ns

Edited June 3, 2005 by Nick Soapdish (log)

[odysseus]

hogarten - light, weaty, with a touch of orange peel and cardomon. excellent belgian summer beer.