Penn Quarter Living

Downtown Washington DC/Penn Quarter news and urban commentary

  • About
  • Local Links
  • Condos In PQ
  • Writers
  • Advertising
  • Commenting
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feed
  • Comments

Send Bill To Big Enos Burdette

Posted by Columbo
June 3, 2010

There was no room for the banquet beer at the inn

This Saturday we’ll be attending the third annual Savor craft beer event at the Building Museum.  At the first Savor event three years ago there were probably still some people who thought the craft beer movement was just a fad; but surely even the most doubtful can see the writing on the wall.  When you can walk into three different liquor stores in PQ and find a craft beer local to Hawaii, but not a single Coors banquet beer, something is happening.  Seemingly every city has their own craft breweries these days, a movement we fully support.  Not all the beers are good, of course, but it adds a little something to every vacation to not only eat local foods but to drink local beers.

Craft beers will get their due at Savor this weekend though, so we thought an appreciation of mass-produced beers was in order. 

Appreciation may be too strong of a word, actually.  You see we’re not beer snobs, we don’t think all of the beers offered by the Buds, Millers, or Coors of the world are bad.  Just like the microbrews, some of the mass produced beers are terrible, some are merely ok, and some are great.  Sitting in the sun at a baseball game or on the beach we’ll always reach for a Miller Lite over a local IPA (although at $8 a pop we might not drink anything).  And while this may not be a popular opinion with the Savor crowd, we really like Miller High Life and Coors (Banquet, not the Silver Bullet) for any occasion.  While our fridge may be stocked most often with microbrews like the afore mentioned Kona brewing company’s Wailua Wheat, Dogfish Head, or Troegs, we sometimes get a craving for one of the larger breweries offerings.

In fact if we have any complaint about the mass-market beers, it’s that sometimes they’re too hard to find in our area.  A recent trip to Vail, Colorado made us crave a few of Coors finest, the banquet beer (we’ve also been itching to watch Smokey and the Bandit again).  While in Colorado we thought we’d have a few (or more) Coors and that itch would be scratched.  But Colorado, or Vail at least, had other plans.  We had any number of Colorado microbrews to choose from, and Coors Light was on tap at every bar.  But regular Coors?  The stuff Burt & gang were hauling from Texas to Georgia?  Nowhere to be found.

Our Vail trip was only a long weekend so we suffered through it with a variety of local brews, but our thirst for the banquet beer was never quenched.  No big deal, we thought, we’ll pick up a six pack in PQ and all will be well.  PQ, like Vail, had other plans for us as well.  We mentioned above that we tried three different PQ liquor stores and each of them had a lot of microbrews, a decent amount of Bud, Miller, and Coors Light, but none had the original Coors beer.   Perhaps you’ve heard that we have a Safeway in our neighborhood now?  Well it’s a Safeway without the banquet beer.

We even tried a few bars, although admittedly probably not the ones likely to carry a large selection of mass-market beers.  At Central last week we asked the bartender if they carried Coors.  He shot us a “what are you crazy?” look, even as he poured a Budweiser into a glass for a customer.  While some in PQ might turn their nose up at Budweiser, Miller, or Coors, those beers will always have a place in our fridge.

They might just be behind the Wailua Wheat.

Related posts:

  1. Savor Coming To The Building Museum In May
  2. Savor Returns To The Building Museum In June *Updated*
  3. Beer Enthusiasts Take Over Downtown DC
Share

If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.

Comments
Comment by washingtonydc on June 3, 2010 @ 5:56 pm

You’re in Colorado, one of the finest beer states in the Union–home to Odell, New Belgium, Avery, Oskar Blues, Great Divide, Left Hand, Ska, and Ft Collins Brewing Company, among others–and you’re searching everywhere for an original Coors? I’m sorry, maybe you should have checked 1978. Craving a Coors in Colorado is like using a dial-up modem–sure, it’s quaint and nostalgic, but it doesn’t mean that the experience is worthwhile compared to your other options.

Comment by Chris on June 3, 2010 @ 7:37 pm

While I understand where you’re coming from with craving a particular beer and the disappointment of not finding it. The beers you drink to try to replicated it, will always taste bad since they just remind you of what you could be having. But I’m personally not a huge fan of the mass market breweries I’m more of a strong beer kind of guy, huge fan of Stone, but also I haven’t had a regular Coors in a while since, as you said, all they really carry most places is Coors Lite. Have fun at Savor this weekend, a bit jealous not gonna lie and if you get a chance try Stone’s Cali-Belgique IPA, it’s one of my favorites.

Comment by pqresident on June 3, 2010 @ 8:12 pm

Yuengling is my Coors. they have both kinds at the CityVista Safeway…”regular” and Black & Tan (didn’t see the lite anywhere in the photo).

Comment by Jon on June 3, 2010 @ 9:51 pm

I’m not a huge Coors fan (has to do with the old anti-semetic family), but I did know the back way into the old factory tasting room so I could skip the lame tour and get right down to business. Was always a fun stop when in the Denver area.

Comment by Anonymous on June 3, 2010 @ 10:42 pm

There is something seriously wrong with Safeway when their price for a 6 pack of Budweiser American Ale is more expensive than the corner liquor store’s regular price at 12th and E. Ditto when they have a 30% off all wines sale, and those prices were still higher than prices at places like MacArthur Beverages and Costco. These guys and Giant refused to improve their DC stores until other grocers moved into the city. Now those other grocers like Trader Joe’s and Whole foods are able to provide a staff that is both good at their jobs, customer service and doesn’t act like they don’t want to be there (unlike much of the Safeway staff). At this point I have trouble knowingly over paying for average product and bad service. They lost me, and they don’t seem to be on the verge of changing that anytime soon.

Comment by MB on June 4, 2010 @ 9:20 am

STELLA and HOEGAARDEN all the way! Best beers in the world!

Comment by Jon on June 4, 2010 @ 4:07 pm

I’m with you on STELLA — the Official Beer of the DC Shorts Film Festival — a PQ-based event.

Comment by Chuck on June 4, 2010 @ 10:49 pm

Yeah, tell me why I can get beer from Hawaii on the east coast but no Alaskan Amber Ale?

Comment by Thundarr on June 5, 2010 @ 8:59 am

For the East Coast, Kona is brewed by contract in Portsmouth, N.H., and distributed locally by Capital Eagle. Alaskan Brewing limits its distribution to the western states.

Comment by ShawGuy on June 7, 2010 @ 11:32 am

with all due respect, Stella is usually rated as one of the worst beers in the world, Germans refer to it as EuroBud.

Thundarr is correct, for the East Coast Kona is brewed at the Redhook facilities in NH.

Comment by pqresident on June 7, 2010 @ 11:23 pm

now I see the Yuengling Light…next to the Coors Lite.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

Search

Archives

  • June 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • November 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007
  • July 2007
  • June 2007
  • May 2007
  • April 2007
  • March 2007
  • February 2007
  • January 2007
  • December 2006
  • November 2006
  • October 2006
  • September 2006
  • August 2006
  • July 2006
  • June 2006
  • May 2006
  • April 2006
  • March 2006
  • February 2006
  • Recent Comments

      • Take A 10-question Survey To Tell The Downtown DC BID About Your Vision For Gallery Place-Chinatown
        Terrie Chan said: Chinatown...(more)
      • Penn Quarter CVS In Lansburgh Building Closing This Month (435 8th St NW)
        Natalie said: Oh, CVS, you will be missed by us. Last...(more)
      • Penn Quarter Paul Now Fully Closed (801 Penn Ave NW)
        Jo-Ann neuhaus said: Thank you for being out and reporting on opened and...(more)
      • Residents Meet With DC Council At Roundtable Regarding On-Street Musician Noise
        Joan Eisenstodt said: Woohoo. Sorry I was away...(more)
      • Uniqlo Opening On F St In Two Days (1090 F St NW)
        GalleryPlaceGal said: They are open for 6 months; looking for a larger store...(more)
      • Hen Quarter Restaurant Now Open (750 E St NW)
        TC said: After seeing this posting (thx!) we tried HQ the next day. Have to say...(more)
      • Weschler’s Auctioneers & Appraisers Moving To The Suburbs
        Xena said: This is my old office…we just moved a few...(more)
      • Hen Quarter Plans To Open In Old Austin Grill Space (750 E St NW)
        pqresident said: Thanks @Christina and @Jen for the updates!(more)
      • Hen Quarter Plans To Open In Old Austin Grill Space (750 E St NW)
        Jen said: Yep. They are training the staff all next week...(more)
      • Hen Quarter Plans To Open In Old Austin Grill Space (750 E St NW)
        Christina said: I was told by the crew that was trying to...(more)


Copyright 2006-2023. Penn Quarter Living. All rights reserved.

  • Home
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Local Links
  • Condos In PQ
  • Writers
  • Advertising
  • Commenting
  • Contact Us