Actually, now that I look at it, it seems the canned versions (which presumably you were buying, since you mention a 30-pack) are the old formulation. They appear to be phasing those out and replacing them with the bottled version, which has been around for a couple years now. That’s the new formulation.
I don’t remember what the old formulation tastes like, but the geeks rate it at the same level as PBR for the style. Schaefer’s a good one for going downmarket, as is Blatz.
ETA: Apparently, the tall boy cans are also the old formula. I don’t think I’ve seen Schlitz cans around here in awhile. I could be wrong.
High Life, Guinness, and Yeungling from this list. Can’t get the Y around here so I make sure to get some whenever I’m in the South or East. It’s good stuff, and as cheap as MGD or Bud.
I don’t drink any lights, though I can understand why people do so… But… Keystone Light? Really?? Pure swill!
I’ll have the occasional Sam Adams because bars/restaurants that don’t carry my fancy microbrews will usually have Sam, and it’s pretty decent. I consume nothing else on that list even semi-regularly. Go micro-snobs!
Not to mention all the French vintners who have given up in despair not only their vinyards, but also their citizenships, to move to the Willamette Valley and worship at the feet of true winemakers.
Of that list, Sam Adams, Guinness, and Yeungling, though those are “nothing better on tap” choices. I’m surprised not to see PBR on that list; I’d have to have checked that box too. I miss Portland.
I’ll be seeking that out, thks. I’ve been hitting the craft stuff and high-end options for awhile, but given a long (if long past) history of Busch, Natty Light, Coors Light, and (GHM) Keystone Light, tempered with a good bit of Shiner Bock, I am nothing if not demotic – flavor would be a nice bonus, at a good price point.
How good is the distribution for Schlitz, if you know?
I’m pretty sure that beer, macro or not, generally doesn’t have any preservatives, or anything like that. Beer tends to have a pretty long shelf life- months generally.
But yeah, many places can’t handle beer correctly, but lucky for me, the Saucer can, and I work catty-cornered across the street from the Dallas (Addison) one!
That being said, I’m not particularly a fan of US microbrews. American brewers seem to be obsessed with “more!” at the expense of balance. I mean, WTF is a "Imperial IPA, and why would I want to drink a beer with upwards of 80 IBU, even if it is a 1.070 OG beer? Or something brewed with 20% roasted malt and 50 IBU?
I’m a bigger fan of foreign beers for the most part- particularly English ales and Central European lagers (German/Czech Pilseners, dunkels, etc…), but from time to time, I feel like a fairly low gravity beer, and my usual choice is regular old Budweiser, or if I can get it, Lone Star. I’m not a fan of Miller beers; something is just off with them, and I’m not a fan of light beers of any stripe.
What gets me about people buying shit like Keystone or Natty in PA is that The Lion Brewery makes very cheap stuff, $15/case for Lionshead. Knightshead (by a different company) is apparently a decent ultra-cheap beer too, and just $11/case. If you don’t have regional brewers I get that, but there’s no excuse when there are viable alternatives at the same price point.
No clue on the distribution of Schlitz. Unfortunately, I don’t think the new Schlitz bottles are priced at the same point as Busch, Natty, and Coors. From what I remember, they’re about the same as Sam Adams bottles.
I assume there’s some sort of sarcasm here, but I genuinely don’t know what it’s directed at. Help?
ETA: I see Czarcasm beat me to commenting on this but, still, I don’t know what it means.
From my days in the industry the only available data was from large retail stores. I forget the name of the data clearinghouse, but essentially grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores and mega-liquor stores are the only folks that have POS data available for purchase.
Beers with a large presence in the megamarts and drug stores are over represented because smaller stores tend to only stock the cheapest and most available brands, and the shoppers at these stores tend to not be connoisseurs.
Sales in bars and small liquor stores are not accounted for. It’s almost certain that the data in this list for Guinness represents a combination of both the Draught and Extra Stout varieties and the Sam Adams is a blend of all their SKUs. The data is inherently flawed but this is the only data that’s available for the general public. Distributors and brewers guard their statistics vigorously.
