Thursday, Sep. 03, 2009
Experimental Home Brewing
Lately, I've been conducting an experiment of sorts at home.
Whereas I am a big fan of microbrews - especially India Pale Ale (IPA) and its intending hoppiness - the habit can get rather expensive.
So, with the economy still in the crapper but my thirst for beer remaining constant, I've been dabbling in the, shall we say, economy line brews.
It's really nothing new, as for the last few years, I've been buying Miller High Life and Miller High Life Light at around $6-$7 a pop for a dozen to have on hand for those weekend warrior type home improvement projects and ordinary stuff such as working in the yard, grilling out or watching a game on TV.
In doing so, I found my wife has developed a taste for the High Life, regular and light, the "Champagne of Beers."
That's good and bad.
Good, in that it creates a bond between us as we can both enjoy the same beverages and I don't have to pick up something silly like wine coolers or those already-mixed-in-the-bottle Mojitos to appease her.
But bad, as my beer-commercial-idiot-like alter ego has also emerged filling my head with an inexplicable overwhelming desire to horde the brew all for myself.
So, back to the experiment. I began bringing home cheaper and cheaper beers in an effort to see which she wouldn't touch.
I can recall the scrunched-up-nose-look my wife had on her face the first time I brought home a 12-pack of Pabst Blue Ribbon. And that really was the impetus for my experiment.
"It's good, I promise,'' I assured her.
She must have believed me, because when I bring PBR home, it doesn't last long between us.
So, I moved on to Milwaukee's Best Ice, Old Milwaukee, Busch Light, Natural Light, to name a few.
Now, I'm not trying to paint the picture that she's a lush, as she's far from it and she will only have one or two beers per session, but the point is, I was finding it difficult to stump the wifey when it came to bargain basement brew.
Her disclaimer: "it's like cheap cola - sometimes you drink it because it's there, but you'd rather have the real thing."
But recently, I think I've finally found one my wife truly does not care for, the so-called "high gravity'' Steel Reserve 211, which was less than $6 for a 12 pack at the Bi-Lo near my house, and boasts a 6-percent alcohol-by-volume index. That's roughly 50-cents per beer, people.
I bought that Steel Reserve 12-pack more than two weeks ago, and as of writing this column, there are still a couple of cans sitting in the fridge, usurped by some Yeungling Light and Blue Moon Belgian wheat.
When opting for cheap beer, I personally like the less-watery ones, such as the aforementioned PBR, which has a kind of sweet bite to it.
But what do real beer experts think?
I'm glad you asked.
For this week's cover story, our resident libations expert, Colin "Beerman" Burch, has rounded up four local brew experts and conducted an experiment of his own to find out how these low-cost beers rate according to the more sophisticated palate.
This test was all conducted with you - the reader and consumer - in mind as you gear up to celebrate the last blast of summer, otherwise known as Labor Day, in a year that has been quite laborious for many of us.
Are these inexpensive ales merely "alcohol delivery units'' as Gordon Biersch's Pete Velez, chief brewer at The Market Common restaurant/brewery, (humorously) described, or is there a hidden gem in the grocery store bargain bins offering a truly satisfying bang for the buck?
For the results of Beerman's Cheap Beer Challenge, turn to page 12.
Maybe you'll have some change leftover to buy a nice steak to throw on the grill, too.