"It's the water"....

[FreakofSnow]

That makes my head throb and my stomach churn. Thanks Oly :eek: http://www.icehouse.net/ledvanbrad/olympia/mayfaircvr.jpg

[mr_gyptian]

those 11oz. bottles fueled my college experience.

[KQ]

You're kidding!!!! I didn't know they still made Olympia. I thought it went the way of Rainier and Heidelberg (for all I know they still make that stuff too).

I sez - you drink piss beer, you take your chances. :p

[FreakofSnow]

Originally posted by KQ
You're kidding!!!! I didn't know they still made Olympia. I thought it went the way of Rainier and Heidelberg (for all I know they still make that stuff too).

I sez - you drink piss beer, you take your chances. :p

Yeah, MT thought it was the best thing ever...they have it on tap at the local shit hole (Molly Brown). Way too many.

[STD]

Originally posted by KQ
You're kidding!!!! I didn't know they still made Olympia. I thought it went the way of Rainier


Don't EVEN start talking shit about the Vitamin R.

[Schmear]

It'll still be the water, but that water won't be from here
http://www.theolympian.com/home/specialsections/TumwaterBrewery/20030112/8754.shtml


Olympia Beer has been synonymous with Tumwater for decades.
The slogan "It's the water" and stories of mythical artesians have been part of the lore. The logo is proudly displayed on T-shirts and beer steins, and lights up many a tavern window.

"Olympia has a certain style with the hip-ness and indie music thing," said Mike Elliott, a patron at downtown's Eastside Club Tavern. "Oly kind of fits in with that. It's not bad, especially if it's ice cold."

Oly has been brewed in Tumwater since the 1890s. It will still be available after Miller Brewing Co. closes its Tumwater plant July 1 -- it will just be shipped from a brewery far removed from its South Sound roots.

Other plants making Oly is nothing new. Besides Tumwater, it also is brewed in Texas, California and Ohio.

The label still reads "It's the water." But it's the water of Trenton, Ohio, Irwindale, Calif., and Fort Worth, Texas, depending on which region of the country drinkers tip one back.

Though Oly is brewed at four Miller plants, the Olympia beer franchise -- the trademark, logo and recipe -- is owned by Pabst, which purchased the Olympia Brewery from the founding Schmidt family in 1983 and retained the beer's rights when it sold the brewery to Miller in 1999.

"Our biggest market continues to be the Northwest. Other places would be Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas," said Jim Walter, chief operating officer of San Antonio-based Pabst.

"We'll continue to sell the brand in all of the markets. The Tumwater production will be sourced out to a different brewery, though we don't know where just yet."

Pabst also sells Old Milwaukee, Colt 45, Stroh's, Schlitz, Pabst Blue Ribbon and other brands.

Pabst products accounted for 4.5 percent of all the beer sold in the United States in 2001, trailing only Miller, Coors and Anheuser-Busch in domestic production.

It's quite a feat for a privately held company that no longer operates a single brewery and instead opts to contract with other companies -- chiefly Miller -- to produce its brew.

In Tumwater, Oly made up a small portion of the 1.7 million barrels of beer produced in 2002, Walter said. He declined to say how much Oly is brewed annually.

Pabst adheres to the original recipe as much as possible and Miller brews Oly to Pabst's specifications, he said.

Dark reborn?

Pabst has the recipe for the discontinued Oly Dark safely tucked away.

To the delight of diehard fans, it could make a comeback.

"We have talked about bringing it back. It's not in the immediate plan, but we could look at it at some point in the future," Walter said.

Oly fits into what the beer industry calls the subpremium category, which is in decline.

"Over the past years, the category has gone down anywhere from 4 percent to 7 percent," Walter said. "In certain markets, Olympia has been at about that level and has fallen deeper in other markets."

Oly's peak of popularity was in the 1960s, '70s and early '80s, Walter said.

Sometime before July 1, Tumwater's brewing kettles will be emptied for the last time, there will be no more hops and barley, and the final bottle of beer will roll off the line.

More than 100 years of Olympia brewing history will have its final chapter.

Plenty of South Sound residents will be crying in their beers.

[CaddyDaddy77]

Originally posted by mr_gyptian
those 11oz. bottles fueled my college experience.

For awhile cough...3 ...years... that's all I bought. In the back of our house we had a throne built out of the boxes. College dorm bathroom was wallpapered with 27 cases of labels.

It was beautiful............


110z's of love baby.

[KQ]

Originally posted by STD
Don't EVEN start talking shit about the Vitamin R.


Whatever - don't start with me. My great great Grandfather came over from Germany to be a brewmaster for one of the predecessor breweries to Rainier. So there! Still doesn't make it a good beer. :p

[BakerBoy]

People who drink Oly beer that are not from Oly are strange... quite strange. Then again, Oly locals are really strange, so I guess that says something.

[Viva]

Hey, what ever happened to Lucky Lager? I loved that stuff! How could any college student not appreciate a $4.00 case of 12. It actually wasn't too bad either.

[Mountainman]

Originally posted by Viva
Hey, what ever happened to Lucky Lager? I loved that stuff! How could any college student not appreciate a $4.00 case of 12. It actually wasn't too bad either.

Oh it's still around.....but i think Oly has been cheaper around here lately unless the sales are done.

[Viva]

I did a search...and I don't like what I found...:(


Texas Breweries History: Lucky Lager Beer

Lucky Lager, was one of the many beers made by General Brewing Company located in Tumwater Washington. Lucky lager is now brewed by Pabst Brewing in Texas.

Long aging in ice cold cellars makes Lucky a true Lager beer and is the reason why Lucky has been a favorite since 1934.

[The AD]

When I was a kid in Michigan there was a swim club from the metro Detroit area called the "Oakland Live Y'ers," or OLY for short. They used to have t-shirts with the Olympia beer Oly logo! Bet you wouldn't see that anymore!

[FreakofSnow]

Cheap beer madness!

*side note - PBR *

Derived from the latin Pasbitinus Bluinus Ribbionus, it is a staple of white trash beverage consumption nation wide. As a noun, it is simple, refering to the midly refreshing Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. As an adjective, it is being used to describe the people, actions and possesions of those who drink it most.

noun-"I drank a 24 pack of PBR and my wife drank my other case so I ran her over with my 1983 GMC 1500"

adjective"that guy who ran over his wife with the pickup truck is pretty PBR"

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=PBR

[Duder]

Hey I'm from OLY and proud of it!!
I drink that beer whenever I can, that and Hamm's are my all time favorites.
Whoever says people from Olympia are weirdos probably came for some mundane and lifeless city. Olympia is unique and spawned a whole music scene that was incredible.

[Jumper Bones]

Originally posted by FreakofSnow
...they have it on tap at the local shit hole (Molly Brown).

no smack talk on the Molly Brown! I love that place, miss it so...

if'n ya want a shithole, the Hauf's right next door.

And yup, drank many a Lucky Lager over at the Crystal...I think that stuff's all over Bozeman.

[Jumper Bones]

...and I have fond memories of Ranier Ale, fucked up during my first pilgrimage to Jackson Hole...blasting through the night in my friends 2WD 1975 Chevy fullsize...killer snowstorm NUKING all the way...and the booze cost only 4 bucks for a 6-pack, in West Yellowstone even. Quality! That night, the whole trip actually, was awesome

[KQ]

http://www.rustycans.com/Billy.GIF

[Lumpy]

http://www.askuncleralph.com/buckhorn_beer_can.jpg
Oly isn't sheyat....this is the sheyat...literally.

cheap Beer Sidenotes-

-As of two years ago you could still order an Olympia stubby in the Black Lake (Oly) Olive Garden for a modest 3.50.

-The essense of "Its the Water" was never catptured better than by my 1984 t shirt illustrated with a fisherman urinating in the stream on the Oly Logo.

-Ordered a Buckhorn as a joke in Vegas in the late 80's. Of course they didn't have it, but the guy next to me turned and asked

"You're from Raymond, Wa right?"

Said nope, but the rest of the group was. He was some regional sales manager for Oly and said Pacific County, Wa was basically the only place that kept the Buckhorn label alive.

[Duder]

Lumpy,

Buckhorn eh...sounds good. Wish I could have tried it.
You can still purchase a half-rack of good ol' Olympia Beer in some stores in Seattle. It is rampant in most every bar in Olympia. COme to the great northwest and walk into the 4th Ave Tav. and order up a beer in a stubby bottle or on tap. You won't be let down.

[KQ]

http://i13.ebayimg.com/01/i/01/77/81/3a_1_b.JPG

[interloper]

I was sponsored by Oly in the early 80's. They'd contribute 6 cases of beer after every race. But Brown Derby was my favorite.:D

[AK G-Dog]

Pabst also sells Old Milwaukee, Colt 45, Stroh's, Schlitz, Pabst Blue Ribbon and other brands.

Now that is some good drinkin'!

BTW, The Pioneer Bar in Anchorage sells Oly in the bottle and Rainer in the can. [/spam]

[The AD]

It's a real shame a lot of the old regional breweries have shut down. There were a lot of great ones, but many were bought out by the huge players like Miller, etc. There are still a few good ones out there sprinkled throughout the country.

Here are a few good ones for any of you who have spent time in the Midwest:
http://trayman.net/Images/Waiters/goebel.jpg
http://trayman.net/Images/Script/Leinenkugel.jpg
http://trayman.net/Images/Script/Blatz.jpg
http://trayman.net/Images/Animals/Hamms.jpg
http://trayman.net/Images/Logos/Point%20Blue.jpg

[Viva]

Originally posted by The AD

http://trayman.net/Images/Animals/Hamms.jpg


Hamms was the first beer I ever bought. I was sixteen and I got a can of it at Toshi's Market, Culver City, CA.