This might displace coffee milk as the state drink.

You shut your mouth! I was going to bring a gallon of autocrat back with me, but the damn airport police said no deal (all I had was a carry on, nothing checked).

I'm normally a beer purist (do NOT fruit the beer) but for Del's I think I could make an exception. Have you tried it? Is it good?

Ayite den... never been a fan of 'Gansett. Of course my limited experience encompassed less than a case, total. I left RI at 17.

Their lager isn't terrible on draught, they have a pretty good Summer Ale, and now they tempt us with the god's nectar that is Del's.

Had one last night. Just to try it, because otherwise a shandy is relegated to 90 degree sunshine drinking.

To quote someone who is like a wise man: "nothing serious".

Actually, it was as good as most any shandy you might drink. Maybe better than most, but I'm not an expert on the genre.

Definitely has that Del's twang, but I was drinking it with that expectation in mind.

I've only seen it on tap, and it's OK.

Again, the novelty is probably the best part.

Some youngish guy from another industry now owns the label and has stepped it up to a near-craft brewery. Ya can't please everyone and much of it is not for me, but I will try most of it cuz I hope they succeed.

I will always smile when recalling black and white TV commercials for Gansett on Red Sox telecasts (usually just the first game of Sunday double headers). They were a series of cartoons with voices by Elaine May and Mike Nichols I believe. Very funny stuff, talking early to mid maybe late 60's. And Curt Gowdy saying "Hi neighbor, have a Gansett!"

Specifically German lagers and pilsners. The pilsners are great summer beers in and of themselves. Light, crisp, and not filling at all.

I have also found that I do not like the gimmicky sh*t. Hopped up beers, such as IPA's, taste like barf to me. Not a fan of fruit or other things in the beer either (like chocolate). The Germans got it right in their simplicity. Use just what is needed and make sure it's quality sh*t.

I damn sure miss a big green and yellow cup of Del's lemonade on a hot day, though...

I disagree, Tim. In a month or two the Paulaner Oktoberfest Wiesn will hit the shelves again.

Get a case of it. Hell, get two... you'll be glad you did. The Ayinger Oktoberfest Marzen is very good, too. TG turned me on to that one. Spaten comes in green bottles and it's still tasty.

The Paulaner Wiesn is the best, though. Hands down. Oh, and the Weihenstephaner Oktoberfestbier. Oh... and the Hofbrau marzen.

I've had that, I liked it very much..

I've had several or most of those and can't stand them out of the bottle. They change dramatically before they get here. On tap at the yardhouse or the saucer they are fine. To each their own. that's not to say all are crappy, just you take your chances with them. Sometimes they are good sometimes they are awful.

I agree. I don't know of a beer that doesn't taste better on tap. I had a keg party a couple years ago with the Spaten Oktoberfest and every person who drank beer was like "Dude, this beer rocks, what is it?"

Had to rent a tap... Euro kegs have different tops, so my tap didn't fit. I actually like the design of their taps better, too.

I'm going to ask Scottie if he can get me a keg of the wiesn!

Basically almost all of the German beer we get here is old and transport damaged. Kegs hold up much better.

IPAs and hops aren't a gimmick, it's just a style you don't like. Hops have a preservative effect, IPA was originally developed by the British with large amounts of hops so the casks could make the long sea crossings from England to India (hence the name) and still be somewhat drinkable.

the BEST pilsner I have ever had outside of Germany (and I'm talking small village stuff, not mass produced Munich crap) is the Schell Pils, from the Schell brewery in New Ulm, MN.

German flavor bomb.

They don't sell east of that pesky river.

Might just have to make a visit to my customer out there sometime soon...

I like laguanitas but not their pills. And pilsner urquel (sp?) is skunked crap by the time it gets here.

I went through a pilsner kick while getting my wife off of bud light and coors light. WTF was I thinking? The other day I had to go to three convienience stores to find something she will drink (ended up being shclafly hefe) because she now thinks bud/miller/coors is crap.

She is 100% correct.