Sam is Dead in PDX
Good luck trying to find some Sam Adams Boston Lager in Portland. It's been a long time since I've bothered to look for any--I need it for symbolic purposes for a little party that begins this afternoon--and I had no idea what a rarity it has become. The five sixers that constitute the usual stock at my local Fred Meyer* were long raided, and shoppers could not bring themselves to snag that last sixer of Sam Adams Light. There were a few Rebel IPAs left--but as symbolism goes, "west-coast style IPA" doesn't really get it done.
So off I went to Plaid Pantry**. Apparently they don't stock it at all. (Thirty brands of local beer, a few mass markets, but nothing from Boston Cincinnati. Then to Zupan's***. Nyet. Finally a hail Mary to Belmont Station, one of Portland's best bottle shops--and success! Ordering maven Chris Ormand had the good sense to make sure some Boston Lager was on the shelves for just such an occasion. I think there's something instructive in this story, but I'm not entirely sure what it is. Just that, I suppose, a beer I thought was absolutely ubiquitous turns out not to be. Good thing Jim Koch has that cider thing to fall back on. Had I wanted a sixer of Angry Orchard, I could have gotten that anywhere.
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*Fred Meyer ("Freddy's" to locals) is an old local supermarket chain. It's owned by Kroger, but Fred Meyer was beloved to locals, and the home office--also in Cincinnati--made the wise decision to leave the name. The stores are giant and have hundreds of beers and ciders for sale.
**Plaid Pantry is a local convenience-store chain
***Zupan's is a local high-end food market chain. Also a huge selection of beer. That we have so many weird local businesses is probably also instructive, but we'll leave that rumination for later.
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| Great beer selection; no Boston Lager. (source) |
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*Fred Meyer ("Freddy's" to locals) is an old local supermarket chain. It's owned by Kroger, but Fred Meyer was beloved to locals, and the home office--also in Cincinnati--made the wise decision to leave the name. The stores are giant and have hundreds of beers and ciders for sale.
**Plaid Pantry is a local convenience-store chain
***Zupan's is a local high-end food market chain. Also a huge selection of beer. That we have so many weird local businesses is probably also instructive, but we'll leave that rumination for later.