Yearly Archives: 2012

Sexing up Old Milwaukee

TWENTY YEARS AGO this month, America lost what might’ve been the greatest beer commercial of all time.

It was a sly, funny advertising campaign that, despite running for just seven months, generated a ton of publicity and became an instant icon of American popular culture. Two decades later, red-blooded beer drinkers may not remember the brand, but they sure remember … Read the rest

Crassly adored malt liquor

“MINIMAL TASTE profile, minimal hopping, lacking in hop bouquet and threshold hop levels . . . ” – Fred Eckhardt, The Essentials of Beer Style, 1989, describing style characteristics of malt liquor

“Get your girl in the mood quicker, get your jimmy thicker, with St. Ides malt liquor.” – Ice Cube, Mix Tape, 1994, describing style characteristics of malt liquor… Read the rest

New year of new flavors on tap

YOUR NEW YEAR’S resolutions better include a promise to clean out the fridge, because you’ll need the room for a lot of new beer. Get ready for some exciting new flavors in 2012, from one-of-a-kind collaborations to the first-time domestic appearance of imported world classics.

Here’s just a sampling:

Barrel-Aged Bigfoot Barleywine. Sierra Nevada Bigfoot may be the benchmark for … Read the rest

Joe Sixpack’s 2011 Beer of the Year

TWO THOUSAND eleven will go down as the year that Miller Brewing finally repented.

Here is a company whose top seller, Miller Lite, forever stands with McDonald’s and “American Idol” as the archetypes of dumbed-down American culture, whose pursuit of the lowest common denominator brought us an utterly vile beverage with no redeeming quality other than its ability to pass … Read the rest