WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE BEER?

 

Although I no longer consume much of it, I've been loyal to various brands of beer during my life, not craft beers, really, but traditional ones sold in the supermarket.

As a kid raised on the outskirts of Seattle, I thought of Rainier as my favorite, although I was too young to purchase any.

Olympia, named after Washington's capital, but actually brewed in Tumwater, was another common one.  Kids in my high school referred to it as Oly.

Grandpa and Grandma Barton in '81
Playing Piano and Wood Saw

For years I thought Lucky Lager was a reference to the local timber industry and spelled "logger." My paternal grandparents bought me a six-pack when we visited in 1981.  On that occasion Grandma Barton played the piano accompanied by Grandpa Barton on a saw he used as a musical instrument. (Grandfather actually was a logger during the bygone era when he would cut down a single Douglas Fir, carve his initials in the trunk with an axe, then drag it to the river by horse so it could float down to the sawmill and be credited to him.)

When I came to Brownsville in the mid-60's I found myself in the zocalo of Matamoros at the Texas Bar ordering "una Bohemia," which became my favorite for years, taking a case in my trunk whenever I visited.

A few years later, Negra Modelo became my beverage of choice.

Mexican beers were better, not cheaper, and you had to pay deposit on the bottles.  In those days, H.E.B. sold a six pack of Falstaff for .89 or a quart of Busch for .39 if you wanted something cheap.

I'm proud that I've never wasted money on any product called Light or Lite, "diet beers" as we called them when they were first marketed.

Why would I ever spend money on a Bud Light or Miller Lite when I can buy real Budweiser or Miller High Life for the same money?  Why be fooled by advertising?