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About The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 15, 1981)
'Atrp&jrn m-u^ By Tom Solomon Battalion Reporter The “national beer of Texas" and its U.S. relatives are facing some stiff international competi tion these days. Import beers make up about 25 percent of all beer sales in Bryan-College Starion, area li quor store managers agree. “Domestic beers still sell the most, but import beers are get ting more popular all the time," Robert Heath, owner of the Ice house in Bryan, said. The Ice house sells 60 of the more than 200 imported beers available in the United States. “Heineken is still number one," Heath said. This popular beer from Holland was on the market long before any other import beer was well- established in the United States. The Canadian import Moose- head is the second best seller, not so much because of its taste, but because of its “The Moose Is Loose" advertising campaign, he said. “After Heineken, (competi tion) is pretty close," Heath said. He listed St. Pauli Girl from Germany, Duvel Ale from Bel gium, and the Australian Fos ter's Lager as the third, fourth, and fifth biggest sellers at the Icehouse. Mike Saul, manager of Coach's Liquor in College Sta tion, gave a similiar listing for his store's best sellers. He said Moosehead and Heineken are the most popular of the 43 im ports Coach's sells, followed by Carta Blanca from Mexico, Fos ter's Lager, and another Mex ican import, Dos Equis. Other popular import beers in Bryan-College Station are Swiss Lowenbrau; Grolsh, another Dutch import; and Mexican beers Bohemia and Tecate. “Tecate is the number one canned import beer in the Un ited States," Heath said. “It's known as the 'poor man's mar- garita.'" Tecate is traditionally served with a wedge of lime, like a margarita. “You squeeze the juice out on top of the can and let it trickle in as you drink," Heath said. Those with more bizarre taste can experiment with several more obscure import beers. Among these stranger offerings are Krakus, a Polish beer; Sap poro and Kirin, two beers from Japan; and an Italian beer, Moretti. While not as popular as the more established imports, these beers do find customers. "People will come in and try out something they've never had before, just for the variety," Heath said. Sampling all the import beers available doesn't necessarily call for a fat wallet, but import buyers should be prepared to spend 40 to 60 percent more than they do for American beers. While the popular American beers like Miller and Schlitz cost around two and a half dollars per six-pack, imports can range from $2.95 a six-pack for the Mexican beer Corona to $6.89 a When American beers seem too domes tically boring, imported beers from Au- Photo by Brian Tate stralia to belgium offer a new experience for your taste buds. six-pack for Lorimer's, a Scottish beer. At one area liquor store, Moosehead costs $3.99 a six- ack and Foster's Lager sells for 19, while a four-bottle pack of the Irish Guiness Stout costs $3.52. Heath said there are two groups of people who are will ing to pay the extra amount to get imported beer. There are those who buy import beer be cause they enjoy the different taste, and another group that's "into image." “They think they're in a cer tain upper class because they drink imported beer," Heath said. Mike Saul agrees. "Drinking imports is a step up," he said. “It's a status symbol, like wear ing good boots." Some people who drink im port beers for the status they im part are being fooled, though. Many of the bottled imports they drink with pride aren't the same as the original foreign ver sions that have the same label. "Most of them aren't the same here as in the country they came from," Saul said. "(The import versions) have to be in accord ance with American laws. A lot of them aren't as strong as the original beers they claim to be— Foster's is a lot stronger over there (Australia) than it is here." Import beers do come in varying strengths and tastes. While some like Moosehead are very similar to American beers because they are brewed in much the same way, many im port beers have tastes not found in the United States because of the different brewing techni ques used in other countries. A lot of people who drink Lowenbrau think they are drinking the original German beer when they are actually drinking a beer brewed right here in Texas, in Fort Worth, Heath said. "You can tell the difference between foreign Lowenbrau and American Lowenbrau from which way the Lion faces (on the beer bottle's label)," Heath said. On foreign Lowenbrau beer bot tles, the Lion faces right, while on the American version of the beer the lion on the label faces left. Some import beers are popu lar as novelties. People like to collect the sometimes elaborate bottles they come in, like the bottle for Carlsberg "Elephant" malt liquor, which features a picture of an elephant. Other novelties include the Foster's Lager 24-ounce can. The most widely sold beers are lager beers, Jim Pillans, gen eral manager of Brazos Bever ages, said. Brazos Beverages is a local wholesale beer distributor ship. The word lager is derived from the German word bgern, meaning to stock or store. Dur ing the storage time after the beer's ingredients are fer mented, the taste characteristics of the beer develops. Lager beers, which are 3-4 percent alcohol content by volume are light to dark amber in color. Most American beers are pils ner beers, a type of lager beer that is lighter and drier than other lagers, Pillans said. Ales are slightly dark, with up to 6 percent alcohol content by volume. They are more tart in taste, as they are brewed at a higher temperature with more hops. Hops are the blossoms of the flowering hop plant that give beer the bitter taste. Duvel Ale from Belgium and the Scottish Belhaven are two ales that are locally popular. Stout beers are very dark, with 5-7 percent alcohol con tent. They are heavy, and also are brewed with a high hops content. Guiness from Ireland is the most popular stout in Bryan- College Station. British and Irish beers like Guiness Stout are generally heavier, Heath said. Guiness is so heavy and thick that many people drink it “half-and-half," mixed with another, lighter beer. Whether your beer preference be light or stout, you'll find something to suit your taste among the many imports avail able. Bottoms up! 10% Discount With Current Student I.D. 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