PBR vs. Micro Brew Swill

PBR has been part of my life since the 1950’s. Back then, I remember the TV commercials in glorious B&W during the Friday Night Fights. In the early 1980’s when I was part of a management team at a major retailer, PBR was the company’s “un-official” beer after long hours on the job. Where I lived, determined availability. In Michigan and NY, it was difficult to find. The mountain west provided 99 cent, 24 0z Tall Boys, in abundance. But then, upon moving to PDX, PBR became nirvana. It is the norm of bar beers, signs and taps are abundant, and it is inexpensive. A cold PBR is one of god’s treasures, a compliment to a burger or a slice of pizza. It is clean, real beer, with no perfume scent or lingering after taste of flowers, feet, or honey!

Micro Brews on the other hand, are also everywhere. Something about them…. un-dissolved yeast, flavorings like “cherry wheat”, etc just make me sick. I get headaches, like drinking a Hamm’s or Olympia beer at 10,000 feet. I want beer that tastes like beer, not bread. Of course the “beer snobs”, like their wine counterparts, look down their patrician noses at PBR, as they pay 100% more to drink their swill. “Oyo, numb nuts, try filtering that crud!” I laugh at this city’s call to glory as “Beer City USA”, a label which could not possibly measure number of brew pubs or beer sold vs. population. Regardless, it is a “Yuppie” measure of success, like a $300,000 studio condo or a BMW. Swill is still swill.