One surprise I had was with my mother, a fairly dedicate Coors Light drinker. (I’ve been working on my parents for years. I have much success with my father, but not so with my mother.) While visiting us here in Washington, we took them to Scuttlebutt’s (a favorite place for food and beer). Mom tried their hefeweizen, and their blonde ale, but didn’t really appreciate either of them. Furtunately, Scuttlebutt’s doesn’t carry Coors Light. But, my mother did try their Triple 7, a sort of “tip of the hat” to a certainbig airplane manufactured nearby. I was really surprised, because it weighs in at nearly 9% ABV! Go mom! Too bad for her it’s only a seasonal.

As it regards music, 99% of the time, I will prefer the original artist’s rendition, even if I heard the cover first. Case in point: “Right or Wrong” by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Heard the song first recorded by George Strait (in the 80’s?), but when I was getting into old western swing, I stumbled across the tune by Bob Wills. Bob Wills is still the king.

Hey, if someone who drinks Bud all of the time tries an American Ale, then maybe they’ll be tempted to try other beers that they may have never considered otherwise. I don’t see it as an altogether bad thing because the ‘teens’ are likely not going to be exposed to the ‘classics’ unless unless they have an older mentor to show them the way.

So, I think in a way the macro brewers are actually undermining their own efforts because by exposing ‘new’ styles to the otherwise uninformed, those same people my seek out the real-deal and never look back!

That’s a good thought about Mendocino too.

Okay enough of that, back onto beer. I see Menocino as a brewery that just makes cheap versions of beers. I haven’t had a good beer by them. I kind of feel bad saying that because they are a lot smaller than the InBev/AB and Miller’s of this world world. But what I really hate is Miller’s campaign with the whole 3 hops at 3 different times in brewing. They act like no one does that. The very first beer I learned to brew (American IPA) called for 3 different hops at 3 different times. It’s not a new thing.

I am actually surprised thought that InBev/AB seem to be one of the only major breweries that is trying to hit the craft brew market. They put out the American Ale and Shock Top and then buy up or buy into craft breweries like Redhook.