Are you a Growler?
By Colin Burch
For Weekly Surge
Gordon Biersch, our newbie brewpub at The Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, now has growlers.
Growlers are take-home jugs of beer, not surly barflies.
The Gordon Biersch growler is different from what you will find at Quigley's Pint and Plate in Pawleys Island and Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery in Myrtle Beach.
The Gordon Biersch growler is a full two liters in size, roughly 67.6 ounces, compared with the usual 64-ounce jug. The first growler - filled - will cost you $30. Refills are $15. That's for 3.6 ounces more than Quigley's growlers, which are $11 and then $8 for refills, and a nickel less on each count at Liberty.
Pete Velez, the chief brewer at our local Gordon Biersch, told me that the chain's policy won't allow the bartenders and servers to fill other types of growlers. If you want to growl with GB, you gotta get that GB growler.
Liberty Porter on the way
Eric Lamb, our man in the brew room at Liberty Steakhouse and Brewery in Myrtle Beach, will soon have a porter on tap for us.
A porter is a dark beer, heavier in body, sometimes with a smoky or coffee-like flavor.
It is also Lamb's favorite; he called it "a good, full-bodied, malty beer, which is my preference."
"I've always considered my porter my masterpiece, even in the summer," he said.
Coming soon to the Liberty taps.
Bottle Bargains
The local discount clubs are selling an appealing Samuel Adams Summer Styles variety packs.
The packs hold 24 bottles, including four each of these Samuel Adams brews: Boston Lager, Light, Summer Ale, Cherry Wheat, Hefeweizen, and Pale Ale.
Prices earlier this week:
• $21.06 at Sam's Club, 1946 10th Avenue North, Myrtle Beach.
• $20.85 at Costco, 1021 Oak Forest Lane, Myrtle Beach.
If you want just Sam Adams Summer Ale, I found a 12 pack at the Kroger at the corner of U.S. 17 and Lake Arrowhead Road for $15.99, on special for $12.99.
I have no idea why the Sam Adams White Ale was excluded from the Summer Styles pack, but I found a 12 pack at the Food Lion in Northwood Plaza, corner of Kings Highway and 79th Avenue North, for $13.49.
A friend had told me that he had seen the Magic Hat summer variety 12-pack at Food Lion. I found an empty slot labeled for Magic Hat, $13.49. Let's hope it doesn't stay sold out.
Mexican Brew Room
Speaking of variety packs, I also saw a Beers of Mexico 24-pack at Costco. It contains six each of Dos Equis Lager, Dos Equis Amber, Tecate, and Sol. Price: $20.99.
The timing for such a Mexican brew pack couldn't be better.
In the United States, the best-selling Mexican beer is Corona Extra, by a long-shot, according to a recent Associated Press article. But the major Mex beers Modelo, Tecate, and Pacifico have reported sales growth during the past five years, the news agency reported, and Dos Equis - with a double presence in the Costco variety pack - has just launched a mega stateside marketing campaign.
"Corona, Modelo, Sol, Dos Equis - these aren't the world's great lagers ... they're more for what you associate them with," Christina Perrozi, a beer sommelier in Santa Monica, Calif., told the AP. "If you associate yourself hanging out on a beach and crossing your legs and relaxing, then you want to associate your beer with hanging out on a beach and crossing your legs and relaxing."
That explains beer marketing versus beer quality, no?
Contact Colin Burch - the Beerman - at beerpour@yahoo.com or visit his beer blog at http://maltyhops.blogspot.com