Lowenbrau Oktoberfest ca 1973-75?

[bluespiderweb]

Hey guys, (edit-posted this in the wrong place, maybe here is better?)

I'm the new kid here (or old fart from my viewpoint), who has never recovered from the disappearance of Lowenbrau's Okto from the early 70's. It was the first fantastic beer I had, and remains my all time favorite to this day for an Okto.

Every year I try as many as I can here in PA, looking for the one closest in taste that I remember. This year, Paulaner came closest, and seems as close as I've gotten in years.

Does anyone remember this brew fondly like me, and have you had anything that reminded you of it. I don't know what gave it that distinctive flavor, aroma, and soft mouthfeel, but it was amazing to a kid whose tastebuds had just been woken up and slaked good!

I just read the other post about Bells-they have a similar taste going on, though I haven't had the Okto. Lovely beers, though-the Two Heated and the Third Coast (used as a mixer) were my favorites so far.

Anyway, the Oktoberfest is my favorite style, so I really look forward to Autumn, when my apartment starts looking like a beer distributer. Good thing I have a beautiful and understanding wife!

[steveh]

As I was 13 - 15 in 73 - 75, I only dreamt of tasting good beer, and I wasn't all too versed on just what "good beer" was anyway.

But based on history, any Lowenbrau you were getting in the 'States back then was brewed in Milwaukee by Miller - they owned the franchise rights here in the US, or imported from Switzerland (there are many Lowenbrau breweries of different ownership around Southern Germany and Northern Switzerland - probably even Western Australia).

If you had been lucky enough to find true Lowenbrau, imported from Munich (possibly to Canada), their Oktoberfest was probably more along the lines of Paulaner, Spaten, or Hacker-Pschorr Oktos you can find today -- though it seems like they change from year-to-year too.

Also, don't forget that our sensory perceptions evolve over time - for better and worse, and if you haven't tasted that Lowenbrau in over 30 years, it may be difficult to truly recall its characteristics.

S.

[corkybstewart]

I don't remember when Miller bought Lowenbrau, but in 1978 & 79 a friend of mine bartending at a bar near our college was able to get Munich Lowenbrau in New Mexico. But I think in 73 the real stuff was commonly available still.

[steveh]

Originally posted by corkybstewart
I don't remember when Miller bought Lowenbrau, but in 1978 & 79 a

Miller had the rights to brew Lowenbrau under that name (and used "Munich" as a marketing ploy) until the late 90s or early 00s. Then the rights to Lowenbrau in North America were bought out by LaBatts (IIRC), or one of the other Canadian macros, who retained the rights for only a year or so before Spaten bought Lowenbrau in Munich and started using their export muscle to bring true Lowenbrau (or at least what it had become by that time) into the US.

Any Lowenbrau you were seeing in the late 70s (when I started enjoying beer) was probably made by Miller. No one could import Lowenbrau from Munich but them -- and they chose to attempt brewing it here instead of importing.

S.

Remember: "Here's to good friends, the night is kind of special, the beer we'll pour, must say something more, make it Lowenbrau." Miller's marketing might brought us that one.

[bluespiderweb]

Yeah, Steve, I was thinking about that last night, that my 19 year old taste buds may have perceived things a little differently then compared to my 53 year old buds now!

I did think that Miller was making it back then, but wasn't sure of the history. But, no matter who made it, it was a damn good beer, which left a lasting impression (and spoiled me)!

It was very malty, had the softest mouthfeel, and that distinctive Lowenbrau flavor (which I imagine came from the yeast and hops used???).

Yes, very similar to Paulaner this year to my old tastebuds and foggy memory!

[corkybstewart]

Originally posted by steveh

Any Lowenbrau you were seeing in the late 70s (when I started enjoying beer) was probably made by Miller. No one could import Lowenbrau from Munich but them -- and they chose to attempt brewing it here instead of importing.

No, it was actually imported from Munich, in the heavy cardboard cases all written in German. The bottles were shaped differently, colorful labels. I don't know how he got them, but he got about one per month for a short time. When he quit so did the imported beer.

[steveh]

Originally posted by corkybstewart
No, it was actually imported from Munich, in the heavy cardboard cases all written in German.

Heh, heh, heh -- sounds like he had a "source." Probably a buddy in the Army.

S.

[chazwicke]

Corky is right. Lowenbrau from Munich was once as common here as Heiniken. We drank it frequently. Swiss Lowenbrau has been available too. It was the mid 70s when Miller cut the deal and tried to make consumers think they were still getting the German beer. The only place where the brewery was mentioned was hidden on the bottom of the 6 pack holder. They did this about the same time they tried to co-opt the terms "Lite" and "Light" as their copyrighted property to keep Schlitz and AB from calling their lower calorie beers the same. They claimed they had the right because in the 1950s they bought the Meisterbrau brand and "lite" was one of the MB beers. Miller was playing dirty in those days and I have always held their tactics against them even though their former parent company was Virginia based. (AB and Coors both operate breweries in VA currently.)

[corkybstewart]

The funny thing about that situation was that he was my wife's(then just a girlfriend)ex boyfriend. They got in a fight at the bar one night while I was in the bathroom, we got banned from the bar for a week. Then Mark and I became "friends". Every night after closing time he'd break out one bottle each for each of us, and it was free. Of course he left town one day owing that bar and several of ourr friends thousands of dollars and was never heard from again.

[steveh]

Originally posted by chazwicke
CIt was the mid 70s when Miller cut the deal and tried to make consumers think they were still getting the German beer.

That was the era I was starting to become "beer-conscious." The silly thing is, I guess Miller could have imported the actual Munich brew, but chose to brew on their own. Hard to believe the cost savings was that high.

S.

[chazwicke]

One of the other big players at that time tried importing, I think Wurzburger, to counteract the Lowenbrau thing and publicized the fact that it was authentic German beer. Can't remember which brewer it was. Maybe Pabst?

[corkybstewart]

Beer is incredibly heavy and shipping charges were probably astronomical for a beer that Miller wanted to sell to "Average Joe" for a little more money. If it's too expensive only diehard beer lovers will pay for it and sales volumes stay low. Brew it here, save import taxes and shipping fees, but make everyone think they're getting a good deal on "imported" beer and sales volumes skyrocket.
I probably bought a tanker truck full of the American stuff myself back then. It may not have been real German, but it kind of tasted like it and it was a hell of alot cheaper than Becks or St. Pauli Girl, 2 imports we had access to but could rarely afford.

[steveh]

Originally posted by corkybstewart
...it was a hell of alot cheaper than Becks or St. Pauli Girl, 2 imports we had access to but could rarely afford.

At that time, my mother worked for the local distributor that handled Beck's -- I was able to get cases at wholesale prices. There were certain weekends when I was very popular at college.

As previously stated, the late 70s when I was becoming "beer conscious," though maybe not "*good* beer conscious." That didn't happen until the mid-80s!

S.

[Wit Memo Jeff]

I had some Lowenbrau Oktoberfest earlier this year. It was on sale after season at Corridor in Laurel, MD. It was decent but nothing special, not quite up there with other German Oktoberfests that have been justly praised on this site, although I didn't have any of those left to do a side by side tasting.

I'm pretty sure that when I came of age in 1974, Lowebrau was still imported from Germany.

The Lowenbrau "tonight is kind of special" TV commercials produced one of my favorite lines: "Steak and Lowenbrau? Dolan, you're a genius!"

ps - does anyone remember when, sometime in the late 70s, Wurzburger advertised that it was being imported to the US in large steel containers, and then bottled here? Whatever happend to that? Prior to that time, Wurzburger dark had been one of the first truly great beers I'd ever had.

[MeridianFC]

When I first started drinking beer, this would be around 1980 IIRC, Lowenbrau (light and dark) were the Miller varities though you could find the Swiss version though it cost a fortune. I wan't to say it was $8-9/six which back then was crazy.

The current Munich brewed Lowenbrau available over here is crap plain and simple.