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Life & Arts Blogs
 
Ode to cheap beer
By Sara Foss
Thursday, June 5, 2008
I was attending some fancy journalism function last week when I heard the news. As things were winding down, two television journalists stood up, saying they needed to leave early so they could put the evening’s newscast together. The big story? FX Matt Brewing Co. was burning. “Save the beer, gentlemen,” someone remarked, as they rushed out the door. FX Matt Brewing Co., based in Utica, is best known for the Saranac line of beers, which one of my friends described as “the cheapest good beer,” and another friend recently started buying in response to the skyrocketing cost of Sam Adams. I like Saranac, too. It’s rich and flavorful and refreshing. I recently sampled their new beer, the Pomegranate Wheat, and was impressed. But you know what Matt Brewing Co. beer I really love? Utica Club. I’d never heard of Utica Club until a few years ago, when I interviewed Nick Matt, the owner of FX Matt Brewing Co., about the growth in popularity of craft beers such as Saranac. Matt told me that today his company is best-known for making Saranac, but in 1985, when the first Saranac beer, the amber, was introduced, Saranac sales only accounted for about 1 percent of the company’s sales. Back then, one of the Brewing Co.’s most popular products was Utica Club, a cheap pilsner-lager that has the distinction of being the first beer sold after Prohibition. In general, cheap beer makes me wrinkle my nose. I try never to drink it, though of course I will, if push comes to shove. For instance, while visiting the cats of a vacationing friend, I wondered if my friend had any beer in his refrigerator. There were some cans of Milwaukee’s Best in there, and I decided that, yes, I really wanted a beer and took one out of the fridge. I didn’t think my friend would miss it, since Milwaukee’s Best is pretty much the second worst beer in the world, and so I wrinkled my nose and drank it. The world’s worst beer, in my opinion, is Pabst Blue Ribbon, which I simply cannot drink anymore. It was the cheap beer of choice during college, and if there was some kind of beer emergency you could call The Feve, a downtown bar/coffee shop in Oberlin, Ohio, and ask them to deliver. These types of calls were usually made at a point in the evening where there was little need for more beer, little money, and a consensus that P.B.R. would suffice. I think being an adult means never drinking P.B.R. again, and so imagine my shock a couple years ago when my friend Nachie actually ordered Pabst Blue Ribbon while we were hanging out at a bar in New York City. “Why are you drinking that?” I asked. “Oh, it’s great,” Nachie said. “I love this stuff.” I looked at him skeptically, but he seemed to really believe what he was saying. Soon after, I read an article in the New York Times Magazine on the surprising resurgence of P.B.R. In 2002, sales of the beer, which had been declining since the 1970s jumped 5.3 percent. It had become the cheap beer of choice for young hipsters in Seattle and Portland, Ore., and now hipsters in Chicago and New York City were also drinking it. Some speculated that P.B.R.’s newfound popularity with hipsters could actually be attributed to the lack of marketing support for the beer. “Long-neglected P.B.R. had no image,” the article proclaimed. “It was just there.” It was then that I realized Nachie was part of a disturbing National Trend. Utica Club, I suppose, is a lot like P.B.R., except that I like it. I don’t keep Utica Club at home, and I seldom drink it, but occasionally I have what I think of as a Utica Club evening. The most recent occurred last month, following a press banquet where I ran into an old friend from college. After the banquet, I joined him and some other journalists from Syracuse at Elda’s, a nice-ish bar on Lark Street in Albany, where I had a Newcastle. It was getting late; some people were ready to turn in. A small group of us, however, decided we weren’t quite ready to call it a night. Immediately, I decided we should go to the Palais Royale, Albany’s most idiosyncratic watering hole, and drink Utica Club. “You’ll love it,” I promised. After a few rounds, we agreed — Utica Club is great. FX Matt Brewing Co. is proud of its Saranac line of beers, and justifiably so. I was relieved to learn that the fire didn’t damage the brewery’s bottling and brewing operations, and that there should be plenty of Saranac on tap this summer. But what about Utica Club? I wondered. For some reason, Utica Club never gets mentioned. It’s like there’s an unspoken assumption that if Utica Club disappeared, few people would miss it. But I know I would. There are some nights when Utica Club just hits the spot. Got a favorite beer? Mine changes with some regularity. Now that it’s summer, I’ll go with Sam Adam’s Summer Ale. Sometimes I go with Magic Hat #9. And a special treat is the Scottish beer Kelpie Seaweed Ale, which costs $12 at Mahar’s in Albany, but is worth every penny.
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December 3, 2008
4:17 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
It appears we share a similar taste in beers! (Well, not the Utica Club.) The staple beer at my apartment is Guinness. To me, it is the perfect beer for any season. I do love the Saranac as well though. My favorite has to be the Black Forest. Mmm! Oh, and I too recently tried their Pomegranate Wheat. I'm not a huge fan of 'fruity' beers, but I did like this one. The fruit taste was not as strong as say... a Sam Adams Cherry Wheat. It was subtle, not overpowering. I can appreciate that.
Cheers!
R.
8:37 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
Sara,
I first tried Magic Hat #9 last year when I visited MacGregor's Grill & Tap Room in Canandaigua. The place has over 70 beers on tap - mostly micro brews. I certainly enjoyed the taste of it.
I'll be going back there this weekend and I plan to try a few more different beers, including Brooklyn IPA, Hook & Ladder Golden, and Dogfish Head Aprihop, which are currently on special according to their Web site.
noon [ Suggest removal ]
I have been hooked on Long Trail's Blackberry Wheat for several years now. It's light, refreshing, with a hint of Blackberry. Not too sweet, not too generic. I highly recommend it. It's been a seasonal beer since its birth, but due to its popularity has been added to their year-round selections. I'm also a fan of Sam's Summer and Magic Hat #9. I haven't found a decent cheap beer that I love, but a friend swears by Gennessee Cream Ale...
2:55 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
You can keep your UC and PBR. As a charter member of the Electric City Quaffers, I stick with Silver Bullets and never worry about vampires.
4:02 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
i wholeheartedly stand by my PBR. it's $2, and it's made of beer. there are many times when a good beer is the way to go (i'm a big fan of the brooklyn pennant pale ale and guinness), but when you want to drink beer for $2: pbr.
4:15 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
I stand by Utica Club. Although even Utica Club has its limits. I met a friend last night who informed me that the Lark Tavern has Utica Club on tap, and I said, "You know what? I really want Sam Adam's Summer Ale." I just wasn't in a UC mood.
7:44 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
Wow, I've never even heard of Utica Club, but I had my share of PBR in grad school (also the cheap beer of choice for hipsters in Chapel Hill). It's generally the only beer I'll deign to drink from a can, though I can't remember the last time I had one.
Despite living in the Boston area, I'm not a huge fan of any Sam Adams beer. But a lot of my other favorite breweries are in New England: Magic Hat, Geary's, Wachusett, Redhook, and Smuttynose.
8:56 a.m. [ Suggest removal ]
My pints of Coors Light are only $2 where I go. The PBR is $1 a mug. They can't give that stuff away.
12:34 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
My favorite beer in the whole wide world was a mistake at the Redhook Brewery in Portsmouth, NH. Apparently some guy pushed the wrong button and Piper was born! A nice dark on the sweeter side beer. Alas, they only sold it that one summer. My second favorite beer is Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA. Hard to find, but worth the search!
2:58 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
Wow, with a name like that, I'd have to grab a bottle and use it as a conversation piece.
9:58 p.m. [ Suggest removal ]
what the heck..PBR??? this has become a new favorite of my husbands....I don't know why, but I guess I'll just be glad that it's cheap :) I'm loving Harpoon IPA and Smuttynose IPA-YUM!