Offering up ancient beer

[Travel by the Pint]

Yes, ancient. Well, 2+ decades-old ancient.

My father gave me a case of Schlitz today. It had been his father's, and my dad has been storing it since his father died in the mid-'80s. I have no idea when my grandpa bought them.

My plan is to do a bit of photography, then empty and wash the bottles to integrate them into my own bottling supplies. But before I empty them, would any one be interested in a taste or inspection?

As I said, they are very old, and quite possibly pre-date Stroh's purchase in 1982. And they have definitely not been stored properly.

-Sally

[Rob Martin]

Wow! 20 yr old Shitz! That is impressive.

I once drank 2 year old Schaefer, Schlitz, Blatz, Old Style something-or-other and it made me ill. I am kind of psychotically interested to see how it tastes, but am leary in the same way a young teen wants to watch his/hers first horror movie.

[Bill]

While I'm not willing to travel to drink 20 year old Schlitz, I'd love to hear if it still holds its own!

[Travel by the Pint]

I know!

It should probably go straight down the drain, but opportunities like this are rare.

[Matt]

Like the age-old story of the man who first dared to eat an oyster, this could go very well for you... but I doubt it. :)

Matt

[JMcG]

OK, it's spring '69 and my buddies and I took a trip to the Ozarks to celebrate HS graduation (I know, I know, I'm an old fart). We stopped in Fort Scott to score some beer and all we could find was Schlitz. We had a great time, really on our own for the first time on a real road trip with good guys who were real close and headed different ways after the summer. Anyway, I still remember the taste of that beer (malty and sort of funky from the aluminum can) but it tasted like "freedom" at the time.
I've tried the new Schlitz and its nothing like that beer. This probably won't either, but, hell, I'll try it just to see.
jim

[sam]

My son just finished his first EMT school. He's always looking for practice. Let me know when you're gonna drink that stuff and I'll have him stop by.

[Travel by the Pint]

Yeah, right!

If you re-read my post, I said my plan is to photograph, then empty and clean the bottles. But I thought there might be a beer historian in the bunch who would welcome the opportunity to examine some of the characters of this old standard (color, aroma, etc.) before it gets dumped. I had no plans to drink the stuff.

I'll let interested parties know when the photography is done. We can crack open a bottle or two then.

-Sally

[BourbonDrinker]

Let me know when you find some bourbon that's been sitting in you basement for 20 years. I'll dispose of that for you!

[Travel by the Pint]

Let me know when you find some bourbon that's been sitting in you basement for 20 years. I'll dispose of that for you!

Done!