Dearest ACL brethren,
It seems the folks at Men.Style.com have been holding a popularity contest for “blue-collar beers” and my beloved High Life is trailing both Pabst and Yuengling. All I can say is what the fuck! I’m a High Life man and High Life men don’t take this sort of thing lying down (hmmm, unfortunate idiom there). So head over and cast your vote for the High Life.
Vote here – then go back tomorrow and vote again. Forward to your friends and tell them to join the campaign. (ACL has no affiliation with Miller except when they get me drunk.)
i know it’s not made in texas any more, but you can’t tear me away from my LONE STAR!
The only thing I disagree with you on it seems…but all those beers are equally terrible.
Blasphemy!
Blatz is last. And for good reason.
For Cheap beer my heart belongs to Grain Belt Premium. But of those three, Yuengling is the class of the group. Natty Boh is umm weak, but it is a well marketed Baltimore original even if it is not brewed in Charm city any longer.
I have a queezy stomach just thinking about how craptacular MHL is.
Taking on Dennis Hopper is a losing proposition,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snhiofL2Rh4
yuengling is the only choice that made sense. sorry. you shouldn’t like beers based on their advertising
Wish I could help you Mike. I’m a Yuengling man. Sorry.
PBR FTW
When it comes to taste, I’m a Iron City guy (Ive only found one bar in NYC that has it).
But ever since you linked that Errol Morris commercial, I’ve become a proud High Life Patriot.
What’s funny is that I’ve been doing this already the whole week. Make sure to thumbs down Yuengling. I remain neutral on Pabst because it’s given me great memories.
Ice cold High Life is tough to beat at any price. I’m a sucker for the clear bottles. Nothing like watching that gold nectar of the Gods sink, as you chug one on a warm day.
I voted for Pabst, cause that is the shitty beer of choice for me a few years back, but I grew up drinking Schaffer as a teenager, moved up to Miller Genuine Draft and then up to Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and/or Anchor Steam. However, I recently (the last two summers) have been drinking Bud in a can. So Im all over the place. I will finish by quoting the honorable Colonel Adolph Coors, “there is no such thing as a bad beer, some just taste better than others.”
Cheers
I separately voted up High Life earlier. How can anyone try to hold down the champagne of beers?
Interesting anecdote: when Prohibition was repealed, Miller sent an ice-cold case of High Life to the President of the United States.
In my opinion Miller High Life is too “good” to be considered in that list. Similarly Yuengling is practically the Budweiser of Pennsylvania and Delaware – way to high post. It is an outright tragedy that Gennesee was left off the list.
Don’t forget to vote down the other two, as Oscar stated. Doubles your vote, in essence.
2004 called: it wants its Pabst fascination back.
And none of those are true “blue collar” beers. One is a WT (white trash) beer whereas the other two are simply bad beers.
Excuse me while I open a Hamms.
Living in Pittsburgh, this vote leaves me torn. I want to support Iron City, but it is so fucking terrible. I cannot get half an Iron City down without having the worst heart burn. But Yuengling, that is my go to beer. It’s always on special, available everywhere here, and it’s damn good. Plus, America’s oldest brewery? Come on, for a blog based on tradition, that has to count for something….I guess nothing says “I’m not a pussy” like like a beer that is compared to Champagne though…..Cheers!
Good point Jordan — but if you want me to keep pumping out the free content, you will do what’s right. Besides, when has Champagne failed to increase your chances of getting laid? Never, that’s what I thought! ha
ACL
If a beer comes in a cream ale it is clearly as sophisticated as it is delicious. And by delicious I mean cheap. Genesee up.
I’ve already decided that this summer’s theme will be “The High Life”.
I voted Today
meh, not so much a blue collar beer poll but a poll for what white collar fashion editors and douchebag hipsters think a blue collar beer is.
I suspect there are, at most, about five actual blue collar workers reading men.style…so I’ll write in North Coast Brewing Company’s Red Sea or Mendocino Brewing Company’s Red Tail as that’s what blue collar fellows in my neck of the woods drink.If you have never tried their fare do so now.
In Maine you can’t get Yuengling. In NY, it seems to be available everywhere. It’s my new favorite. It tastes alright, great label, heritage, what more could you ask for?
And Michael K, I think they have Iron City at Marshall Stack…
i’m sorry michael, nothing would give me more pleasure than to support your beloved High Life. I myself am a Texas girl and love a Lone Star or Pearl beer.. But you have to give props where props are due… Yuengling however is the nation’s oldest brewery. It’s based in the heartland of Pennsylvania and they have never gone corporate and never sold outside of PA (with the exception of some agreement with Florida)… after 180 years of continuous operation and one of the scariest and coolest historical breweries in the nation to visit, I would think that an Americana purist such as yourself would be able to separate yourself form your personal preferences in order to support such an estimable part of our nation’s history. High Life is also a part of that history, but it is only 106 years old and doesn’t quite have the same aura of independence and individuality. Off my high horse. Good luck to everyone’s throwback beer.
i’m in full agreement. i have been demanding the high life for quite some time now and it is clearly the smoothest brew of the lot. god damnit.
I voted the day it came out. High Life is bar far the best, and the Champagne, its cause it just taste so damn good it might as well be haha, but seriously I do love the stuff
unfortunately there are now more hipsters than men in the world. which means miller has no chance against pabst. i’m confident on this without having bothered to partake in this survey (being canadian and a all).
Ugh. Pabst?! What a bunch of poseurs.
Natty Boh all the way!
sorry dude, when I’m reaching for the cheap stuff, no other beer on that list even comes close to Yuengling.
I’m a beer snob that drinks it regularly. And not because of branding or hipsterfication, or marketing. I don’t even like Pennsylvania.
It’s just plain good value.
Schlitz…or Narragansett…the rest are just pretenders.
High Life is flat piss. A sixer of PBR cans is four dollars at Key Foods. That is the recession special. And if you want to treat yourself, go to the bodega on the corner and get six white Modelo cans. (Tecate is a fine substitute, but the problem with both is importing them from Mexico jumps the price to almost ten USD). Bud tall boys were the way to go until they were bought by InBev and anyone from Pittsburgh knows that it’s all about Irons. Yuengling is a fraternity staple. Dark piss as opposed to flat piss.
PS…
Anyone here a fan of Natty Bo?
high life has some really thoughtful packaging, but the price, generally mild taste, and college-aged memories basically force me to go with yuengling.
Call me a spoiled, Pac-Heights California girl, but what is Yeungling? Did that make it past the Rockies? I’ve never heard the name. Oh wait – is that like Coors was in the 1970s? My parents tell stories round the dinner table of how they’d drive carloads of Coors down to Texas when they were first married, but honestly, I thought this type of urban beer legend was long gone in this new millenium. Apparently, my Sierra Nevada/Anchor Steam palette has a thing or two to learn about crap beer…Please send a bottle of Yu-ling-ling? What’s it called? Is it Asian?
Anyways. I too love the High Life, and like Danielson think it’s actually *too good* to be considered on this list.
For me, truly crap beer connotes 40s of Mickeys swigged at Ocean Beach post-St. Ignatius football at Kezar Stadium on Friday nights. Fog coming in, freezing wind, SFPD knowing what was up and leaving us alone…
Le sigh. As Billy Joel sang: “my sweet romantic teenage nights…”
Upstate, at Hobart College, Miller High Life has become quite the choice beer, and thanks to being my college beer it will probably stick with me the rest of my life.
Prior to the beer store that doesn’t really check ID’s selling 30 High Life cans with a price tag of $12(!), natty ice was the unfortunate, stereotypical drink of choice. I’m pretty sure a Miller truck crashed on rt. 90 somewhere outside of Rochester, and the owners of the store saw the accident, snagged the beer and stocked their fridges. I believe this to be the case because the price is unheard of in New York, and the boxes are always hilariously dirty. Two guys, 6 bucks each; cheap memories.
The deal has since expired (furthering the legitimacy of my theory), but I still drink the “champagne of beer” on a regular basis.
In the NW, it is difficult to beat the price/value ratio for Olympia beer. I would put it ahead of Rainier our other big former regional brewery. While they’ve both been acquired by Pabst, the Pacific Northwest still has some of the best microbreweries in the nation.
Of course, Guinness Stout is the only beer of a working man. Lagers are for girls.
I like Yuengling but it should not be on this list. It’s not a “blue collar beer” like the rest of these choices. It’s good and the price reflects that. You can’t get a 12 Pack of Yuengling for $8 like the rest of these beers (southern-VA prices). High Life (in bottles) or Old Milwaukee (in cans) are my choices.
People have brought up the intersting point of beers and location. For instance, in Northern Cali, I don’t see Yuengling at stores very much.
Pabst is actually great, especially in bottles. Don’t hate just because hipsters in the L.E.S. were drinking it before you.
Miller High Life though, before Errol Morris, before ACL, is still the best beer for the price. Especially considering this damn economy.
Protip: SERVE IT ICE COLD.
Hobart College! I spent some fine weekends in Geneva on frat roadtrips – the guys at the house usually hooked up kegs of Pete’s Wicked or Saranac. But Miller High Life was always the go-to of the blue-collar beers. It’s what we drank at the Sideshow and Castaways.
In Canada, we have a few of our own that I’m choked didn’t make the list (as I’m sure they’re available in New York State). Lucky Lager tops my list. Labatt Blue doesn’t really count, as it’s sold as a premium beer in the US. But it’s a blue-collar go-to here. Nice beery taste.
Dave
My favorite cheap beer is Tecate…I’ll give High Life a top rating for cheap domestic. Pabst is just watery, bitter and gives me a headache.
yuengling is the oldest brewery in america. you can’t argue with that. and if you toured the factory and met Dick Yuengling, you’d never vote for Miller in a thousand years. as much as it’s not, yuengling is all american baby.
All I can say is I’m glad I could vote for more than one. Though it’s a shame I couldn’t write one in for Old Style or Koch’s Golden Anniversary.
Not being particularly blue collar myself I feel as though I should abstain. My blue collar associates and family members demonstrate a mixed sampling.
Picnics and Parties – Yuengling
Fishing and Hunting Trips – High Life
Lawn Mowing – Old Mil / PBR
Watching Baseball – Old Style (personally imported)
I should ad, being from Eastern PA, I never considered Yuengling to be a blue collar beer. Around here it’s more like a Kleenex or Q-Tip. Just the short hand word for beer. We don’t even say “Yuengling” we say Lager, Porter, Chesterfield, Black & Tan or Premium. You won’t stay in business very long without at least 3 on tap.
Dave,
I hate to be the guy to start an irrelevant conversation in the comment section, but you wouldn’t have happened to have been a member of KA would you? I wouldn’t normally ask but you mentioned being from Canada, and KA has a strong Canadian backbone. These days, we often have visitors from Toronto and London (ON). If that is the case, glad to see a Kap reading trad inspired fashion blogs.
Had I stuck with my college beer, I’d still be drinking Beast (aka Milwaukee’s Best).
Sorry brother but this Mpls boy has to stick with Grain Belt. The sign below, which I saw nearly everyday while living in Mpls, is lasting reminder of this superior mid west brew.
http://img106.imageshack.us/img106/9127/grainbeltbeersign.jpg
Ballantine at $17 a case didn’t make the list. Why? It’s brewed by Miller in Milwaukee. It’s dirt cheap. It’s been around since 1843. And it’s pretty damned good. Why didn’t it make the list? Because the editors are morons who can’t dig more than an inch below the surface of anything. Or, beyond a press release so they don’t have to work.
So you’re not bitter Tintin?
Who, me? I’m jovial. Although I do have a thing for Gary Regan Orange bitters but those Ef-Sticks at GQ wouldn’t know anything about those either.
I voted MHL, but I’m a Shiner Bock man.
champagne of beers. enough said. MHL fo life.
I too, am a passionate consumer of the ‘Low’ Life, as I like to call it. All other need to step aside and appreciate the alcoholic deliciousness that the champagne of beers has to offer.
I hate to stir it up on here but I’ve never tasted an North American beer that I’ved liked. We really are spoilt for choice here in London.
P! B! R!
Too many ways to cut this pie to get an even competition going. In my opinion, blue collar beer shouldn’t be limited to one geographic region…so Yeungling is out. You can argue till your blue in the face, but if the working man can’t get your favorite brew in his hometown how can it be universally blue collar? High Life has always been my favorite…sparkling, flavorful, distinctive. But I’ll toss back whatever is free and cold if I’m in a pinch. Let’s be honest though…that’s the only true blue collar beer, isn’t it?
these “lifestyle” posts are getting a lot of responses. cars, airplanes, beers…i feel like i’m in a virtual back alley with hank hill and the gang. YUP!
+1 on tecate. It’s miles better than MHL and PBR.
But really frat boys, now that you gentlemen are all growns up, carrying stylish bags, wearing Japanese Denim etc. etc., go ahead and spring for better beer every now and then. It might make your little face cringe up from the bitterness at first, but you’ll be a better man for it.
To expand on what Damion said, a true blue collar beer is that which is the cheapest. Not to call the working man a cheapskate, but he doens’t concern himself with flavor, ad campaigns or packaging. If it’s on tap a the union hall or is canned and placed on one of those cardboard trays for less than 50 cents a can, that’s all that matters.
I voted for the 18 year old Macallan :-)
Straub
Rainier.
Yeungling is for pussies? Seriously? So you are actually trying to lose everyone that reads this blog from Pennsylvania huh? You’ll lose your life talking that shit in Philadelphia.
Harry — it was a joke…
ACL
PBR seems to have a cult-like following here in Chapel Hill. It’s the only ‘lowbrow’ beer stocked at both Weaver Street Market and Whole Foods sporting it’s $3.99/6-pack t-shirt and jeans appeal amongst the 50+ imports and microbrews.
Boor Richard – I hear of Straub from my friend from central PA, who drinks it on fish camp trips yearly. Sounds squarely in this category. But, b/c it’s not pasteurized, it can’t get the exposure needed to play at the national level.
High. Life.
PBR is for guys who’ll spend $50 on beer & tips at a bar, but complain about a $10 cover for a show with 3 bands. “What? Am I not entertainment enough?”
Harry,
Relax. Have a beer (whichever kind you like).
(And seriously, if people in Philly are really willing to kill someone over their allegiance to a beer, let me never go to Philly).
I love Philly-
You don’t have to obey Stop signs.
You can drive without insurance (or a license)
There’s nothing to spend $ on in center city
The only city where gay men dress poorly
Lottsa places to get a tattoo
Experience “bend your arm shopping” at Boyds
Watch Drug busts in Washington Square Park
Lottsa great places to eat. Just go to 30th Street Station…and get on a train to NYC.
well said.
And you will probably be killed for that.
They kill for much less in Philly, just as Harry said.
Philly is starting to make Detroit look like San Diego these days.
Still drink Yeungling though.
LOL!!! San Diego after a nuclear war….
Old Milwaukee reigns supreme, as it should be. Nothing like a 4 dollar pack of tallboys.
Come check out my facebook fan page for Miller High Life – http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Miller-High-Life/134688335270?ref=ts.
Yuengling.
Been the go to for years.
Milwaukee native says … Schlitz, no Schlitz – Blatz, no Blatz – improvise