Part two of my multi-part series on beers, mainly lagers, and made in macro breweries.
Watch for other parts as they become available.
Miller High Life
Known as “the Champagne of Beers,” which is slightly different from the original tagline, “the Champagne of Bottled Beer.” The sleek bottle denoted style, even it was grouped into the working man’s beer category. With the emphasis on aluminum cans, bottled only addressed part of the beer audience.
Miller High Life, no, not my personal motto, is a medium-bodied beer and it can be very foamy because of its high carbonation. This beer’s taste has been described as having hints of hints of corn, white bread, light citrus, and malt and bread.
4.6% ABV, 141 calories
Miller High Life was launched as Miller Brewing Company’s flagship beer in 1903. Following a 2008 joint venture (MillerCoors) and a 2016 acquisition, Miller is fully owned by Molson Coors. The original Miller Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, remains in operation.
I used to drink a lot of this beer, and still do indulge with the lite variety. It’s one of my favorite three beers.
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“If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the beer.”
Coors Banquet
A top choice for an easy-drinking, accessible beer, considered as mild tasting and crisp. I would say a full taste, but no lingering aftertaste. Tasters describe this beer as fruity, banana bread and sweet, and smells of wet wood chips. I don’t perceive any of those tastes or smell, other than a little sweetness.
Liquor.com writes, “The beer represents a time capsule of brewing tradition as the brainchild of a German immigrant who settled down in Golden, Colorado to take advantage of the high-quality water running out of the adjacent Rocky Mountains…Legend has it that Banquet Beer was named by the throngs of thirsty miners who piled into saloons after long days working underground and ordered it en masse.”
Founded in 1873 by Adolph Coors and Jacob Schueler, it is now a subsidiary of Molson Coors.
Coors is brewed using Barley Malt, Corn Syrup, Yeast and Hops along with the aforementioned mountain water. 5% ABV now, but back in the old days it was 3.2% for those between the ages of 18-21. I drank a lot of this in college and my 20s, but not so much in recent years.
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Old Style
Old Style is a classic American lager, first brewed in 1902 in La Crosse, Wisconsin. Known for its crisp and light-bodied pilsner taste, it is 4.6% ABV.
The beer is a little stout to my taste. Instead of light, it weighs on the pallet. I wouldn’t say it’s a bad taste, just a fuller bodied beer.
Old Style is still produced using Heileman’s unique krausening method, in which the beer supplies its own malt because natural carbonation absorbs carbon dioxide and locks it into the beer. The beer is then stored for several months before being put on sale.
Old Style was the first brand created by Heileman. Heileman purchased the trademarks for Golden Leaf in 1899, and to complement their lighter beer, the company created The Old Times Lager in 1900.
Between the end of WWII and 1971, Heileman had jumped from 39th in the brewing industry to 15th. Heileman to was sold to Detroit-based competitor Stroh Brewery Company. Overwhelmed by this and additional debt piled up absorbing other breweries, Stroh’s failed. It was sold off in 1999, divvied up between Pabst and Miller, and the brand dissolved in 2000. The G. Heileman’s brewery names, brands, and intellectual properties, ended up with Pabst.
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Schlitz
Schlitz was a very popular beer once upon a time, now it’s very difficult to find. It’s considered a legacy beer. Schlitz was once the world’s second best-selling beer in the 1960s. Now brewed by Pabst Brewing Co., that still uses the “Gusto” recipe. 4.7% ABV.
Schlitz was one of those beers you bought in a case or ordered a keg for the backyard barbecue party. Fishing trip – yes. Softball game celebration – yes. Burgers and beer – yes. Schlitz was about summer and gatherings.
How does it taste? The general remarks include: grain/corn malt flavor and a gentle, grassy hop bitterness. To me, it’s a little harsh, and probably does sit better with food.
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Fishermen enjoying a beer 1971 commercial
1967 commercial at dinner party
Old Milwaukee
Old Milwaukee Beer was first brewed in the 1930s as a value-priced beer by the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company. It was discontinued in 1942 following grain shortages caused by World War II, but reintroduced in January 1959. In 1982, the Schlitz Brewing Company and the Old Milwaukee brand were acquired by Stroh Brewery Company of Detroit. In 2000, Stroh’s and all of its beer brands and recipes were acquired by Pabst Brewing Company, where the brand currently resides.
Old Milwaukee is thought of as a bottom shelf beer by many. However, even back in the 1960s, the beer was advertised to the middle class, using jazzy music, men in suites at parties, sports and an urbane vibe, Old Milwaukee had style. I’m not sure that is the opinion today.
How does it taste? Generally, a light, crisp, and slightly sweet taste with notes of grain and corn, low hop bitterness, a thin to medium body, and high carbonation, making it a mild, easy-drinking, and no-frills beer, often compared to a sweeter Budweiser. It does have a distinctive bitterness and sweetness to my taste. No frills is correct. To drink it with a backyard or picnic meal is fine, but on its own, I’ll pass.
Colt 45
I feel a bit like Billy Dee Williams. Back in the day, he was a spokesperson for this beverage. I am still not cool enough to drink one. Can you dig it?
Originally introduced by National Brewing Company in the spring of 1963. Through a series of mergers and acquisitions, the National Brewing Company and its brands (including Colt 45) are today owned by the Pabst Brewing Company.
Malt liquor is a strong lager or ale in which sugar, corn or other adjuncts are added to the malted barley to boost the total amount of fermentable sugars, malt liquors tend to make much greater use of inexpensive adjuncts such as corn, rice, or dextrose. Use of these adjuncts, along with the addition of special enzymes, results in a higher percentage of alcohol (5.6%) than an average beer.
So, the big question: what did it taste like? It’s definitely heavier than the average lager.
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Ticket 2 Ride 
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