December 7, 2010

A Bud By Any Other Name . . .

In a conversation with a co-worker, the topic turned to beer (shocking, I know) and the changes to his drinking habits since he arrived in Oregon. He brought up the idea that his 'fallback option' at bars completely evolved since he had been used to "Bud, Bud Light, Coors, something else" as his draft options from college on up. The first available non-macro was now his baseline when only a few years ago, his options were purely macro-brewed lager.

I remember having the same kind of thought when I touched on the Fat Tire stranglehold in Orange County, but as we kept talking, he termed Mirror Pond Pale Ale as 'the Budweiser of Oregon' since it was now his 'All-Things-Being-Equal-I'll-Have-That' pick with a given draft list. I liked that terminology - what IS the Budweiser of Oregon?

Because, if we could take the stigma out of Budweiser for just a second, you need:
  • A near-ubiquitous run in the immediate market (we're talking bars and non-official drinking locations like bowling alleys and restaurants, not brewpubs)
  • Immediate name-recognition by beer lovers and neophytes alike
  • You can have several without issue (abv and flavor both allow for that)
  • It's not a beer that divides opinion - ordering a pitcher for the table would work out fine
Frankly, you'd be hard-pressed to find something better that Mirror Pond to fit the bill. Is there another one I'm missing? Or a different fallback option that you gravitate toward?

No comments:

Post a Comment