That’s actually one of the best. Available here in PA and New York too
Worst Cheap Beer in America
- Thread starter GON
- Start date
No one has mentioned "Billy Beer" named after president Jimmy Carter's brother during Carter's term as president and wasn't very good beer. As I remember it was brewed by Falls City.
There was also one called Olde Frothingslosh. I think a drank one or two quart cans of it back in the '70's or '80's but don't recall how good/bad it was.
The Story of Miss Olde Frothingslosh, Marsha Phillips
The Story of Miss Olde Frothingslosh, Marsha Phillips By Dan Majors
Some people go their whole lives without finding their niche, their place in the world, where they belonged.
My aunt belonged on a beer can.
Marsha Phillips, 54, a 300-pound-plus resident of Rochester, died on May 26, 2000. But not before making her mark as Miss Olde Frothingslosh, the woman whose largeness was depicted on a specialty beer produced by Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
In 1968, Marsha was married to my uncle, Ed Majors, and they used to baby-sit my brothers and me sometimes. Marsha, a big girl all her life, also was a go-go dancer, billed as “The Blonde Bomber,” who performed in East End places like The Casbah and Lou’s Lounge.
That is how she came to the attention of the people at Pittsburgh Brewing, who were looking for a grand way to promote their novelty beer, Olde Frothingslosh, billed as “the pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom.” It was really just Iron City beer inside, but we all know that it’s what is outside that counts.
Except in the case of Marsha. What counted with her was what was inside. A wonderful, big-hearted woman with a sense of humor that couldn’t be measured in fluid ounces, Marsha shared a hearty, heady laugh with everyone by donning a bathing suit and posing for pictures that the brewery put on cans, calendars and posters.
She received $800 for what was expected to be a one-time holiday promotion. But the cans were a huge hit, especially with beer can collectors who were quick to embrace the uniqueness — they tell me she was the first real person to appear on a beer can — and the humor.
Each can told a bit of the Miss Olde Frothingslosh story.
“She’s from a small town outside Pittsburgh,” the can declared. “It’s considerably smaller since she left.”
Another can in another color told of her appearance in a parade.
“Only one problem … Miss Frothingslosh’s float … had to detour a few blocks because of the Seventh Street Bridge weight limit.
“But Miss Frothingslosh kept her chins up and waved happily to the surging crowd.”
The beer itself had always been offered to Western Pennsylvania with a chuckle. First produced in the 1950s, Olde Frothingslosh was a splash from the creative juices of disc jockey Rege Cordic of KDKA Radio. The novelty beer was produced every Christmas, and the public drank it up.
My aunt came into the picture in 1968, when the brewery thought of tweaking the promotion with a campaign built around a fictional woman they called “Fatima Yechbergh,” winner of a make-believe beauty contest.
My aunt was Fatima Yechbergh — and all the guys loved her. Especially the beer can collectors.
Unbeknownst to many of us, there is a dedicated segment of society that holds beer cans close to its heart. For members of the Beer Can Collectors of America, their passion doesn’t end once they’ve drained the last drop from a can.
Will Hartlep of Mt. Lebanon, is a past president and charter member of the Olde Frothingslosh chapter of the BCCA, founded in 1973. The chapter has 128 members and is one of a hundred across the United States. Hartlep recalled how the original brown Miss Olde Frothingslosh cans were “a hot item” when they debuted.
“We used to run ads in trade magazines, offering to trade those cans for original cone-top beer cans, and we’d get responses from all across the country,” he said.
The response was enough for Pittsburgh Brewing to continue reissuing the cans every year. They would usually send Marsha a complimentary case of beer — which she never drank — but for the most part, her contribution by then seemed complete.
She and my uncle divorced and she went to work as a cashier at the Conway railroad yards. She also did time as a plus-size clothing model, a wig model, a real estate agent and a designer of floral arrangements. In 1979, she married Norman Phillips, but she always maintained a friendship with her ex-husband. In fact, she maintained lasting friendships with everyone she met.
In 1976, Marsha was the guest of honor at the BCCA’s national bicentennial convention in Philadelphia. Hartlep said she was “the hit of the party. Everyone wanted to meet her. They stood in line for hours to get her to autograph their cans.”
Phillips recounted how the crush of the beer can collectors became so intense that the convention had to provide security for Marsha, “big burly bodyguards” just to protect her.
Like most everything about life, Marsha laughed about it.
Later, in the early ’80s, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. decided to update the promotion. They paid Marsha another $1,000 and had another photo shoot, this time in color. Marsha also agreed to three personal appearances, including one at Station Square. People — admittedly, most of them beer can collectors — turned out in adoring droves.
“All beer can collectors would instantly recognize her,” Hartlep said. “I’m not so sure the average person on the street would.”
But Marsha was happy with that.
In the ’90s, Marsha’s health began to decline. She suffered from heart disease, diabetes and post-polio syndrome. She was bed-ridden for a time and had to have kidney dialysis for the last couple years of her life. But she continued to be upbeat and called and corresponded with her friends, family and fans. “She had the most beautiful handwriting,” Phillips said. “People loved getting notes from her.”
“She was absolutely delightful,” Hartlep said. “There was a beautiful girl inside that big woman.”
And the cans remain popular. Hartlep said that while few collectors might have the complete set of Olde Frothingslosh cans, “most people who collect have at least a few.” So a piece of my aunt — an important piece — can be kept by everyone.
There was also one called Olde Frothingslosh. I think a drank one or two quart cans of it back in the '70's or '80's but don't recall how good/bad it was.
The Story of Miss Olde Frothingslosh, Marsha Phillips
Some people go their whole lives without finding their niche, their place in the world, where they belonged.
My aunt belonged on a beer can.
Marsha Phillips, 54, a 300-pound-plus resident of Rochester, died on May 26, 2000. But not before making her mark as Miss Olde Frothingslosh, the woman whose largeness was depicted on a specialty beer produced by Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
In 1968, Marsha was married to my uncle, Ed Majors, and they used to baby-sit my brothers and me sometimes. Marsha, a big girl all her life, also was a go-go dancer, billed as “The Blonde Bomber,” who performed in East End places like The Casbah and Lou’s Lounge.
Except in the case of Marsha. What counted with her was what was inside. A wonderful, big-hearted woman with a sense of humor that couldn’t be measured in fluid ounces, Marsha shared a hearty, heady laugh with everyone by donning a bathing suit and posing for pictures that the brewery put on cans, calendars and posters.
She received $800 for what was expected to be a one-time holiday promotion. But the cans were a huge hit, especially with beer can collectors who were quick to embrace the uniqueness — they tell me she was the first real person to appear on a beer can — and the humor.
Each can told a bit of the Miss Olde Frothingslosh story.
“She’s from a small town outside Pittsburgh,” the can declared. “It’s considerably smaller since she left.”
Another can in another color told of her appearance in a parade.
“Only one problem … Miss Frothingslosh’s float … had to detour a few blocks because of the Seventh Street Bridge weight limit.
“But Miss Frothingslosh kept her chins up and waved happily to the surging crowd.”
The beer itself had always been offered to Western Pennsylvania with a chuckle. First produced in the 1950s, Olde Frothingslosh was a splash from the creative juices of disc jockey Rege Cordic of KDKA Radio. The novelty beer was produced every Christmas, and the public drank it up.
My aunt came into the picture in 1968, when the brewery thought of tweaking the promotion with a campaign built around a fictional woman they called “Fatima Yechbergh,” winner of a make-believe beauty contest.
My aunt was Fatima Yechbergh — and all the guys loved her. Especially the beer can collectors.
Unbeknownst to many of us, there is a dedicated segment of society that holds beer cans close to its heart. For members of the Beer Can Collectors of America, their passion doesn’t end once they’ve drained the last drop from a can.
Will Hartlep of Mt. Lebanon, is a past president and charter member of the Olde Frothingslosh chapter of the BCCA, founded in 1973. The chapter has 128 members and is one of a hundred across the United States. Hartlep recalled how the original brown Miss Olde Frothingslosh cans were “a hot item” when they debuted.
“We used to run ads in trade magazines, offering to trade those cans for original cone-top beer cans, and we’d get responses from all across the country,” he said.
The response was enough for Pittsburgh Brewing to continue reissuing the cans every year. They would usually send Marsha a complimentary case of beer — which she never drank — but for the most part, her contribution by then seemed complete.
She and my uncle divorced and she went to work as a cashier at the Conway railroad yards. She also did time as a plus-size clothing model, a wig model, a real estate agent and a designer of floral arrangements. In 1979, she married Norman Phillips, but she always maintained a friendship with her ex-husband. In fact, she maintained lasting friendships with everyone she met.
In 1976, Marsha was the guest of honor at the BCCA’s national bicentennial convention in Philadelphia. Hartlep said she was “the hit of the party. Everyone wanted to meet her. They stood in line for hours to get her to autograph their cans.”
Phillips recounted how the crush of the beer can collectors became so intense that the convention had to provide security for Marsha, “big burly bodyguards” just to protect her.
Like most everything about life, Marsha laughed about it.
Later, in the early ’80s, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. decided to update the promotion. They paid Marsha another $1,000 and had another photo shoot, this time in color. Marsha also agreed to three personal appearances, including one at Station Square. People — admittedly, most of them beer can collectors — turned out in adoring droves.
“All beer can collectors would instantly recognize her,” Hartlep said. “I’m not so sure the average person on the street would.”
But Marsha was happy with that.
In the ’90s, Marsha’s health began to decline. She suffered from heart disease, diabetes and post-polio syndrome. She was bed-ridden for a time and had to have kidney dialysis for the last couple years of her life. But she continued to be upbeat and called and corresponded with her friends, family and fans. “She had the most beautiful handwriting,” Phillips said. “People loved getting notes from her.”
“She was absolutely delightful,” Hartlep said. “There was a beautiful girl inside that big woman.”
And the cans remain popular. Hartlep said that while few collectors might have the complete set of Olde Frothingslosh cans, “most people who collect have at least a few.” So a piece of my aunt — an important piece — can be kept by everyone.
Last edited:
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
FM59,
Can't post all that about "Olde Frothingslosh" without a picture.....
Can't post all that about "Olde Frothingslosh" without a picture.....
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
I saw in an old car mag Billy's pickup had a tapper spout in the dash. Some years later, there was a dance contest, or similar, where the winner got either a six-pack or case of Billy Beer and second place got 2 of the same.No one has mentioned "Billy Beer" named after president Jimmy Carter's brother during Carter's term as president and wasn't very good beer. As I remember it was brewed by Falls City.
There was also one called Olde Frothingslosh. I think a drank one or two quart cans of it back in the '70's or '80's but don't recall how good/bad it was.
The Story of Miss Olde Frothingslosh, Marsha Phillips
The Story of Miss Olde Frothingslosh, Marsha Phillips By Dan Majors
Some people go their whole lives without finding their niche, their place in the world, where they belonged.
My aunt belonged on a beer can.
Marsha Phillips, 54, a 300-pound-plus resident of Rochester, died on May 26, 2000. But not before making her mark as Miss Olde Frothingslosh, the woman whose largeness was depicted on a specialty beer produced by Pittsburgh Brewing Co.
In 1968, Marsha was married to my uncle, Ed Majors, and they used to baby-sit my brothers and me sometimes. Marsha, a big girl all her life, also was a go-go dancer, billed as “The Blonde Bomber,” who performed in East End places like The Casbah and Lou’s Lounge.
That is how she came to the attention of the people at Pittsburgh Brewing, who were looking for a grand way to promote their novelty beer, Olde Frothingslosh, billed as “the pale stale ale with the foam on the bottom.” It was really just Iron City beer inside, but we all know that it’s what is outside that counts.
Except in the case of Marsha. What counted with her was what was inside. A wonderful, big-hearted woman with a sense of humor that couldn’t be measured in fluid ounces, Marsha shared a hearty, heady laugh with everyone by donning a bathing suit and posing for pictures that the brewery put on cans, calendars and posters.
She received $800 for what was expected to be a one-time holiday promotion. But the cans were a huge hit, especially with beer can collectors who were quick to embrace the uniqueness — they tell me she was the first real person to appear on a beer can — and the humor.
Each can told a bit of the Miss Olde Frothingslosh story.
“She’s from a small town outside Pittsburgh,” the can declared. “It’s considerably smaller since she left.”
Another can in another color told of her appearance in a parade.
“Only one problem … Miss Frothingslosh’s float … had to detour a few blocks because of the Seventh Street Bridge weight limit.
“But Miss Frothingslosh kept her chins up and waved happily to the surging crowd.”
The beer itself had always been offered to Western Pennsylvania with a chuckle. First produced in the 1950s, Olde Frothingslosh was a splash from the creative juices of disc jockey Rege Cordic of KDKA Radio. The novelty beer was produced every Christmas, and the public drank it up.
My aunt came into the picture in 1968, when the brewery thought of tweaking the promotion with a campaign built around a fictional woman they called “Fatima Yechbergh,” winner of a make-believe beauty contest.
My aunt was Fatima Yechbergh — and all the guys loved her. Especially the beer can collectors.
Unbeknownst to many of us, there is a dedicated segment of society that holds beer cans close to its heart. For members of the Beer Can Collectors of America, their passion doesn’t end once they’ve drained the last drop from a can.
Will Hartlep of Mt. Lebanon, is a past president and charter member of the Olde Frothingslosh chapter of the BCCA, founded in 1973. The chapter has 128 members and is one of a hundred across the United States. Hartlep recalled how the original brown Miss Olde Frothingslosh cans were “a hot item” when they debuted.
“We used to run ads in trade magazines, offering to trade those cans for original cone-top beer cans, and we’d get responses from all across the country,” he said.
The response was enough for Pittsburgh Brewing to continue reissuing the cans every year. They would usually send Marsha a complimentary case of beer — which she never drank — but for the most part, her contribution by then seemed complete.
She and my uncle divorced and she went to work as a cashier at the Conway railroad yards. She also did time as a plus-size clothing model, a wig model, a real estate agent and a designer of floral arrangements. In 1979, she married Norman Phillips, but she always maintained a friendship with her ex-husband. In fact, she maintained lasting friendships with everyone she met.
In 1976, Marsha was the guest of honor at the BCCA’s national bicentennial convention in Philadelphia. Hartlep said she was “the hit of the party. Everyone wanted to meet her. They stood in line for hours to get her to autograph their cans.”
Phillips recounted how the crush of the beer can collectors became so intense that the convention had to provide security for Marsha, “big burly bodyguards” just to protect her.
Like most everything about life, Marsha laughed about it.
Later, in the early ’80s, Pittsburgh Brewing Co. decided to update the promotion. They paid Marsha another $1,000 and had another photo shoot, this time in color. Marsha also agreed to three personal appearances, including one at Station Square. People — admittedly, most of them beer can collectors — turned out in adoring droves.
“All beer can collectors would instantly recognize her,” Hartlep said. “I’m not so sure the average person on the street would.”
But Marsha was happy with that.
In the ’90s, Marsha’s health began to decline. She suffered from heart disease, diabetes and post-polio syndrome. She was bed-ridden for a time and had to have kidney dialysis for the last couple years of her life. But she continued to be upbeat and called and corresponded with her friends, family and fans. “She had the most beautiful handwriting,” Phillips said. “People loved getting notes from her.”
“She was absolutely delightful,” Hartlep said. “There was a beautiful girl inside that big woman.”
And the cans remain popular. Hartlep said that while few collectors might have the complete set of Olde Frothingslosh cans, “most people who collect have at least a few.” So a piece of my aunt — an important piece — can be kept by everyone.
BlackLabel -white can the only beer that hurt my throat when i drankit
When my stepson was in college he always said he and his buddies drank Nattie Lights. I felt bad for him so I’d send him a few bucks to buy respectable beer but all they did was buy more Natural Light. I stopped feeling bad for him. Let him buy his own nastiness.
I bought one of these as a joke once. Didn't try it. It had a gimmick but was initially made by decent contract brewers like Anderson Valley Brewing and Mendocino Brewing.
GON
$150 Site Donor 2025
Seeing that you are likely a Cheesehead, had the opportunity to tour Wisconsin's oldest brewery(2nd oldest in the USA) before it was bought out by a Canadian entrepreneur. Learned a lot about the brewery business for bottle bear. The brewery, in Monroe, WI formerly known as the Joseph Huber Brewing Company.
What I learned was non craft brewers are not sexy, it is just a processor able to make any beer that some beer company wants. When you say interchangeable... makes total sense. A beer made at a Bush plant likely can be made at a Molson Coors plant without any hassle. That can't be said for many liquors/ wines.
Ive been to that brewery, before it got bought out too. Cool place.
You are right that macro brewers are not sexy and that they can and do brew the beer all over the country and it tastes the same. Thats even more impressive when you consider the fact that with lighter beers, they cant mask any inconsistencies and imperfections with the flavor of the beer.
I love craft beer but theres also a lot of things about macro beers that can be equally impressive, not to mention many of them are much more affordable and highly crushable.
I currently live in Columbus, OH and we have many great craft breweries here. Every time I do a trip back home to Wisconsin, I come home with a trunk full of local craft beer and much of it New Glarus. However, I also often drink macro beers such as Miller High Life, Stag and Busch Light. I also love Guinness. Ive personally never understood those who look down their noses at macro beers but hey, to each their own.
Not exactly. It takes a lot of skill to make a light tasting beer, as it was noted that it's very difficult to mask flaws with strong primary flavors. A lot of craft brewers couldn't make it without there being some sort of problem. I've experienced some interesting things including a special beer that a brewmaster made and said he was kind of experimenting and ended up with something a little darker and stronger than he'd originally planned, but it worked out OK.
The big brewers can and have made one-off beers that were similar to craft beers, only using tanks 5 to 20 times the size of the craft brewers' equipment. Before they closed it to public tours, I went on the tour of the Anheuser-Busch brewery in Fairfield, California. I for one took it easy with a single alcoholic beverage tasting, but some were asking for seconds, on top of the coupon for another one at the bar. Not bad for $5. But on the tour I saw some of the stuff they were brewing and packaging there, including some of the really expensive craft beers that Anheuser-Busch bought out.
I've also been on the self-guided tour at the new Russian River Brewing location in Windsor, California. It supposedly had about triple the capacity of their older production brewery in Santa Rosa, but even then it was nothing compared to one of A-B's smallest breweries.
And they've also been on a buying spree.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/dini...er-busch-craft-beer-top-sales-0809-story.html
I've had a chance to talk to a few brewers at what one might consider small scale or craft breweries. None that I've met have anything bad to say about Coors, Budweiser, or Miller. They respect that they've got crazy good brewing skills to make that much beer, so consistently, and without any noticeable flaws that might get masked with stronger flavors. One said that the big breweries basically would score perfectly with some German beer test. Another told me about the one-off beers that they've made on occasional to show that they can make something as flavorful as any craft brewer. At one of the A-B tours there was a special event where the brewmaster came out (I think at 4 PM) and offered small samples to anyone of drinking age. It was supposedly something that all A-B breweries did with their brewery managers all gathering at the same time to taste the latest batch of Budweiser, and to check that it was consistent across all breweries.
Still - we've got a lot of small scale breweries in my area. Pyramid used to have a production brewery in Berkeley. The building is still there but it sat mostly empty for a while. The Austrian company Trumer Pils also licenses their name to a brewery but they only make a single type of beer. There are a couple of places that are really popular such as Fieldwork and Gilman Brewing. The latter is at the location of a former auto repair shop and they've incorporated automotive themes into their decor and product. I'm not sure if I want to drink a beer called "Antifreeze" although "5W30" doesn't sound like it'll kill me. These are places that don't distribute in bottles or cans, but may sell some kegs to restaurants and bars.
Let me start with something that has always confused me- Pabst Blue Ribbon. I like this beer, always have. But god love them for being proud of being the best beer in 1893 at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Captain Pabst was so proud that he put blue ribbons on every bottle of beer. Still to this day they are proud enough to put that accomplishment on every can.
I dont think any other company boasts proudly such an obscure award from over 120 yrs ago.
Pabst Annual Board Meeting:
New Board Member: "Shall we enter Pabst Beer into the 2021 Beer Exposition "?
Eldest Board Member: "Nay. We won in 1893."
I dont think any other company boasts proudly such an obscure award from over 120 yrs ago.
Pabst Annual Board Meeting:
New Board Member: "Shall we enter Pabst Beer into the 2021 Beer Exposition "?
Eldest Board Member: "Nay. We won in 1893."
manicrodder
$50 site donor 2022
My usual brew.
Never bet the farm. Or the ribbon. Always been my motto.
Why isn't Stag Beer on this list?
My best friend’s mom used to drink a PBR every afternoon while she prepared dinner for the family. When I was a kid I had never seen a woman drink beer from a bottle like that. Once I became of age to drink beer, I think back and wonder why she drank THAT.
Yeah, Ive always kind of rolled my eyes at people who are craft beer snops and look down their nose at macro brews. I personally like it all and its just a matter of what Im in the mood for. I love good pilsner or weiss beer during summer, Oktoberfest in the fall, stout during the winter months and good IPA just about any time of year. Theres just too many great beers out there to limit yourself to just 1 style of beer.
Generally speaking, the larger the facility, the more industrial process control is wound into it, and the greater capability they have. So really any large industrial brewer can produce ANY common beer style they so choose, except maybe for some of the spontaneously fermented styles like lambic. And even there, I'm not sure. But they could make anyone's ale or lager without a hiccup, as their facility has the temperature control and other ability to do things very, very precisely. That's part of how they consistently brew such light lagers year in, and year out. Brewing something like SNPA would be trivial by comparison.
Same thing with distilleries- a still is a still, and the larger scale distilleries tend to have more capable equipment and finer control. There's no reason a whiskey distillery can't make vodka, rum, brandy, etc... except maybe gin, because gin requires a botanical "head" where the alcohol vapors go through botanical ingredients.
I'm not so up on wineries, but I'm pretty sure they're similar to breweries, except a bit simpler, as there isn't all the mashing/lautering business to worry about.
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