Beer Question

[LowerCaseRepublican]

This is a little odd but does anybody know if they still make Hamm's beer? A close friend of mine used to drink it a lot and she can't find it anymore. Her birthday is coming up so I was thinking about picking her up some if I can find a local place that carries it (if it is even produced anymore.) Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

[AngelasDaddy0427]

My dad used to drink that s*** before he died.

Nothing like the cheap stuff when your desperate...

[FlaSoxxJim]

This is a little odd but does anybody know if they still make Hamm's beer?  A close friend of mine used to drink it a lot and she can't find it anymore.  Her birthday is coming up so I was thinking about picking her up some if I can find a local place that carries it (if it is even produced anymore.)  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ah, the beer "From the Land of Sky Blue Water", the "Paws of Refreshment", and all that.

 

Actually, it's not an easy question to answer, Apu. Hamm's has probably been brewed in more different places by more different breweries than any other American regional beer. Since it began in St. Paul in 1865, the Hamm's family sold tthe brand to Heublein, who I think sold it to Seven Dwarfs, then Olympia, then it went to Pabst who gave it to Stroh's.... I think Heilmann's was in there somewhere, I forget. Anyway, Stroh had taken over the original Hamm's brewery in St. Paul, but closed it in 1997. Miller now owns the brand and they DID regularly produce it until the beginning of last year (2003), in WA State at the old Tumwater Brewery where Olympia began. Miller laid everone off and closed Tumwater a year ago January (that was the last of the old NW regional breweries to close its doors, so it was the end of an era). I believe production of Hamm's has been very irregular - if at all - since then. They have seven regional breweries in operation (including the once family-owned Leinie brewery in WI, friggin' Miller rat bastards), but Hamm's doesn't appear to be in regular production at any of them. I'm sure it will remain in at least intermittent production in some form because the name brand recognition and history of the product is huge.

 

http://www.bevmo.com would be the place to keep on the lookout for it. Of course, they now list it as 'temporarily out of stock,' likely reflecting the brewery limbo situation described above. I'd give them a call direct and see what they can tell you. Happy hunting at any rate.

 

Yours,

the Beer Geek

[Gene Honda Civic]

I was beginning to wonder where Flasoxx was... Thankfully he came through, even if it's not the answer you were looking for.

 

Flasoxx

[YASNY]

I can see the Hamm's Bear skiing through a thicket of trees only to run into one little tree standing alone. I used to love those commercials.

[Texsox]

I use to love their commercials in the 70s

[israel4ever]

This is a little odd but does anybody know if they still make Hamm's beer?  A close friend of mine used to drink it a lot and she can't find it anymore.  Her birthday is coming up so I was thinking about picking her up some if I can find a local place that carries it (if it is even produced anymore.)  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Check out "Sam's" in the DePaul area. If anyone has it, they will.

[mreye]

I use to love their commercials in the 70s

I was only 5 when the 70s ended and I know those commercials.

 

 

I didn't know the history of Hamm's, though. That was a great read, Fla. Is that how they were able to have "Hamms Genuine Draft" because Miller owned them? That was my favorite Hamms.

[FlaSoxxJim]

I was only 5 when the 70s ended and I know those commercials.

 

 

I didn't know the history of Hamm's, though. That was a great read, Fla. Is that how they were able to have "Hamms Genuine Draft" because Miller owned them? That was my favorite Hamms.

Hamm's Genuine Draft (or 'draft in a can' or whatever they called it) preceeded the 1997 acquisition by Miller I think. It would have been under Stroh's from the mid-80s until then. They had done the 'keg can' draft tie-in thing well before that in the early to mid 70s, but I'm sure they also jumped quickly on the success of MGD (still brewed exclusively at the NC plant where it started I believe). Just like there was the glut of 'dry' beers, the glut of 'ice' beers, now tythe glut of 'lo-carb' beers - the megas are not a highly original bunch.

[AssHatSoxFan]

Neil, I spotted some today!

[1549]

Fla-

 

Your beer knowledge is very interesting. I am still too young to drink, but I enjoyed reading your beer history.

 

Do you have a favirote beer?

[The Beast]

This is a little odd but does anybody know if they still make Hamm's beer?  A close friend of mine used to drink it a lot and she can't find it anymore.  Her birthday is coming up so I was thinking about picking her up some if I can find a local place that carries it (if it is even produced anymore.)  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Does anyone know all the beer types they serve at Comiskey...JimH, quickman and my dad had this one kind that they were like, wow they have that here? (at the park)

[1549]

Does anyone know all the beer types they serve at Comiskey...JimH, quickman and my dad had this one kind that they were like, wow they have that here? (at the park)

[FlaSoxxJim]

Fla-

 

Your beer knowledge is very interesting.  I am still too young to drink, but I enjoyed reading your beer history.

 

Do you have a favirote beer?

Guinness, actually

 

But I'm glad I can't get in trouble for beer infidelity because I like to play the field too.

[DBAHO]

Jim,

 

Another Beer question here, when I was in Malaysia a few months ago, I had a very nice Belgium Beer called a Leffe Beer I think. You could get it in 3 kinds, a Leffe Blond which was the light beer, the Leffe Bruges which was a bit heavier, and a darker Leffe which was very heavy. Just wondering if you had ever tried it bf, one of the foreign beers I've ever had, almost tasted like a creamy soda I thought.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Jim,

 

Another Beer question here, when I was in Malaysia a few months ago, I had a very nice Belgium Beer called a Leffe Beer I think. You could get it in 3 kinds, a Leffe Blond which was the light beer, the Leffe Bruges which was a bit heavier, and a darker Leffe which was very heavy. Just wondering if you had ever tried it bf, one of the foreign beers I've ever had, almost tasted like a creamy soda I thought. 

Ah, Belgian beer. Belgium is the Disneyland of beer styles, DHABO, with a couple hundred recognized STYLES (not just brands) to its credit.

 

We do get Leffe in the states, and I have had a couple of their offerings. Their brews are "Abbey Style" beers – in the tradition of the great monastic beers but not brewed by monks (There are only 6 actual brewing monastaries left in the world; all but 1 are in Belgium and the other is a short hop away in the Netherlands). As Abbey beers, they are high in alcohol (6-9% or so), use pedigreed ale yeasts that grant unique flavor profiles on the beers (fruity to earthy to sour to phenolic, etc.) and use ingredients like brown sugar, candy sugar, etc., to up the alcohol without making the beer overly heavy in body.

 

I've had the Leffe golden and the triple (probably my favorite Belgian style after wits and gueze-lambics). I'm not aware of a Leffe "Bruges". Bruges is a historic Belgian brewing town, with over 30 breweries before WWI but, sadly, only a couple now. It sounds like what you are describing might be their 'bruin' - or brown ale. I haven't had Leffe's version but I know they make one. The style is quite different than English browns (malty-sweet) or American browns (Brit-inspired but usually with west coast hop assertiveness). It's often earthy or malty or sweet, but the sweetness is from fruity esters (fermentation products), not malt sugar. The country versions tend to have a refreshing sourness to them, often placed in their own category the "Flemmish Browns). The sourness is often due to a bit of bacterial contamination and co-fermentation. In the states, you'll lose your job in the brewery if you let in an infection like that, but in a lot of classic Belgian styles it's part of the flavor profile.

 

Keep drinking the good stuff!

[Texsox]

Jim,

Would you consider a beer of the month program? Perhaps taking us amatuers on a beer drinking tour de'force? Sort of an on-line beer tasting, recognizing that we are from all corners of the globe.

[FlaSoxxJim]

Jim,

Would you consider a beer of the month program? Perhaps taking us amatuers on a beer drinking tour de'force? Sort of an on-line beer tasting, recognizing that we are from all corners of the globe.

I was actually excited about doing something like that when the 'blog' feature was added to this site and I planned a weekly Flaxx Beer Blog oe something. Just as quickly, the feature died and so I never bothered.

 

I have hosted a benefit beer tasting for my institution and it was well received. They had done wine tastings and we were looking to get people to see that the best beers can be just as complex and subtle and elegant as any wine. In that event we tasted I think 12 styles (*hic*), but they were just 2 oz servings. I was restricted in the progression of styles because of the need to conserve taste buds by going lighter/low alcohol at first, and then getting darker and/or stronger through the evening.

 

Any time someone comes over or invites me to a party, it usually becomes a beer tasting exploration usually, too.

 

For SoxTalk, maybe we could do a seasonal deal - hitting summer beers, festbiers, winter warmers, etc., as appropriate?

 

Or maybe we can do it based on the Sox' road schedule while they're on road trips. For example, everyone could try to get some Bert Grant's beers to enjoy while we hopefully make short work of the M's over the weekend. Mmm, getting thirsty. I think I'll stop off and get some Grants tonight. For those playing along, they make a light wheat (the only American wheat I really like), a celtic ale (decent), a scottish ale (maltier, stronger, and better), a 'Perfect Porter' that is less stout-like and closer to a trad porter (but with west coast hops), an India pale ale (hoppy, but not as hoppy as the historic style), and a really really good russian imperial stout (rich, thick, sweet, alcoholic). If I'm lucky, I can find 2 or 3 of the above at any given time here in the beer wasteland.

[Texsox]

Or maybe we can do it based on the Sox' road schedule while they're on road trips.  For example, everyone could try to get some Bert Grant's beers to enjoy while we hopefully make short work of the M's over the weekend.  Mmm, getting thirsty.  I think I'll stop off and get some Grants tonight.  For those playing along, they make a light wheat (the only American wheat I really like), a celtic ale (decent), a scottish ale (maltier, stronger, and better), a 'Perfect Porter' that is less stout-like and closer to a trad porter (but with west coast hops), an India pale ale (hoppy, but not as hoppy as the historic style), and a really really good russian imperial stout (rich, thick, sweet, alcoholic).  If I'm lucky, I can find 2 or 3 of the above at any given time here in the beer wasteland.

I like that last idea. I am going to have to search out better beer stores. A good friend of mine just closed up his liquor store. He would order in anything for me.

 

I will start a thread and pin it.

[DBAHO]

Ah, Belgian beer.  Belgium is the Disneyland of beer styles, DHABO, with a couple hundred recognized STYLES (not just brands) to its credit.

 

We do get Leffe in the states, and I have had a couple of their offerings.  Their brews are "Abbey Style" beers – in the tradition of the great monastic beers but not brewed by monks (There are only 6 actual brewing monastaries left in the world; all but 1 are in Belgium and the other is a short hop away in the Netherlands).  As Abbey beers, they are high in alcohol (6-9% or so), use pedigreed ale yeasts that grant unique flavor profiles on the beers (fruity to earthy to sour to phenolic, etc.) and use ingredients like brown sugar, candy sugar, etc., to up the alcohol without making the beer overly heavy in body.

 

I've had the Leffe golden and the triple (probably my favorite Belgian style after wits and gueze-lambics).  I'm not aware of a Leffe "Bruges".  Bruges is a historic Belgian brewing town, with over 30 breweries before WWI but, sadly, only a couple now.  It sounds like what you are describing might be their 'bruin' - or brown ale.  I haven't had Leffe's version but I know they make one.  The style is quite different than English browns (malty-sweet) or American browns (Brit-inspired but usually with west coast hop assertiveness).  It's often earthy or malty or sweet, but the sweetness is from fruity esters (fermentation products), not malt sugar.  The country versions tend to have a refreshing sourness to them, often placed in their own category the "Flemmish Browns).  The sourness is often due to a bit of bacterial contamination and co-fermentation.  In the states, you'll lose your job in the brewery if you let in an infection like that, but in a lot of classic Belgian styles it's part of the flavor profile.

 

Keep drinking the good stuff! 

I had the Leffe golden and the Leffe bruges while I was over there, probably preferred the golden a bit more but they were both very nice. My dad is currently over in Malaysia and he extremely enjoyed the beer and wanted me to find some more info on it for him, it was recommended to us by his boss. Thanx for the info.