rdz@ccice5.UUCP (Robert D. Zarcone) (01/29/85)
Since we don't have a net.spirits, I will ask this question here. I walked into my local supplier the other day and found cases of the legendary Texas brew. I had never had it, and since they didn't have six-packs, I thought I'd try a case. As soon as I took my first sip I knew I had tasted this beer before. I thought for a moment, had another sip, and said "Carling Black Label". I then inspected the label and saw G. Heilman (sp? label not here, sigh). I know that Heilman has been buying every independent around for the last couple of years. My question is, was Lone Star an independent that got bought-up? It would sure explain the sudden availability of this brand. BTW, not bad for a domestic. A little on the sweet side, but at least not the "foaming water" that is usually the hallmark of domestic beer.
clyde@ut-ngp.UUCP (Clyde W. Hoover) (01/29/85)
> My question is, was Lone Star an independent that > got bought-up? It would sure explain the sudden availability of this > brand. BTW, not bad for a domestic. A little on the sweet side, but > at least not the "foaming water" that is usually the hallmark of > domestic beer. Yes, Lone Star was indeed an independant what was bought up by a big brewery. Frankly, I can hardly stand the stuff, for my money I drink a Texas beer named Shiner (brewed in Shiner, Texas). They were the last independant brewery in Texas until recently (economic pressures finally got to them and the Spoetzl family sold out). Shiner 'Bock' dark beer has a personality that stands above Lone Star and most other light (and 'lite') beers. Hard as hell to find, unless you live in Texas (but I consider that one of the perks of living in the 'hinterlands' of modern American culture :-) ) -- Shouter-To-Dead-Parrots @ Univ. of Texas Computation Center; Austin, Texas "A stunning blonde, probably all bean dip above the eyebrows..." clyde@ut-ngp.ARPA, clyde@ut-sally.ARPA ...!ihnp4!ut-ngp!clyde, ...!allegra!ut-ngp!clyde
scott@kvue.UUCP (Gary Scott) (01/30/85)
> I walked into my local supplier the other day and found cases of > the legendary Texas brew. As soon as I took my first sip I knew I had tasted > this beer before. I thought for a moment, had another sip, and said "Carling > Black Label". The legendary flagship brew of the Lone Star state (Lone Star Beer) was bought by Olympia several years ago. I assume that since the G. Heilman name appears on the label that G. Heilman must have acquired Olympia. It is regrettable that the brewery that carries the namesake beer of Texas was passed to the hands of a foreign power. But if that is what it takes for national distribution, it is for the good of the greater majority. Remember the Alamo! Gary Scott {ihnp4,seismo,gatech,ctvax,nbires,ucb-vax}!ut-sally!kvue!scott
dht@druri.UUCP (Davis Tucker) (01/31/85)
Lone Star Beer is owned by the same people who run the Olympia beer company up in Washington and Oregon. Lone Star, based in San Antonio, was bought out in 1976 or 1977. A sad date in the annals of small breweries. They did very little advertising until 1979, when they started a number of different campaigns, very unusual for a regional brewery, even one as comparatively big as Lone Star. There were three separate, distinct campaigns. One was the radio campaign, which featured Kinky Friedman and his immortal line "Waitret! Gimme some fish ice cream anna chicken-fried snake! Hey - an' while yer at it, howsabout gettin' me one a them Lone Star longnecks..." The other was the infamous "Giant Armadillo That Drinks Lone Star" campaign, on television. These ads featured the brave men of the Lone Star distibution system, delivering beer to the masses of Texas even though there was a giant armadillo that had a fondness for wasting beer trucks. These ads always ended with some character saying that it was a small price to pay for the honor of distributing "The National Beer Of Texas." The last was a great series of posters by the famous "Armadillo" artist Jim Franklin. They ranged from (of course) armadillos drinking Lone Star, Lone Star longneck skyscrapers, Lone Star saguaro cactus, and were all very well drawn. These posters were very widespread in the icehouses (it would take too long to explain) of Texas, and various other sundry spots. I have to agree with the previous posting - Shiner is better. Especially Shiner Bock. Besides, it's such a cool little town and has such a nice atmosphere at their brewery. Sigh. As far as most of my old friends are concerned, Shiner is the National Beer Of Texas, no matter how much money Olympia spends on telling us the opposite. Davis Tucker AT&T Information Systems Denver, CO
darryl@haddock.UUCP (02/06/85)
Roughly ten years ago the British experienced a similar brewery war. Many local breweries were bought up and shut down. The stalwart drinkers of Britain responded with CAMRA -- The CAMpaign for Real Ale (cask-conditioned as compared to pastuerized kegs). It was quite a successful campaign, so much so that many believe CAMRA has outlived its usefulness. Of course, beer distribution and consumption is radically different here, but I like to spend my money on local breweries rather than the nationals (well, usually - I refuse to drink LA's "Brew 102"!). The point is that there is no BEST beer (advertising aside), there are many variations on a common theme each interesting in its own way. --Darryl Richman ...!cca!ima!ism780!darryl P.S. I thought Shiner Bock was quite good, too. I tried to bring a few samples back for a beer bottle-collecting friend, but I didn't package them well enough in my luggage... If you do something stoooopid like this, be SURE about your methods.