A beer-lover's Instagram feed is continuously filled with what's new, what's exciting, what's soon-to-be-released. This is an age of beer unlike any other, fueled by passionate consumers and an extraordinary number of breweries. Still, from time-to-time, it's nice to remember history and wax a bit of nostalgia.
In that spirit, it was a bit of a surprise to see Piels Lager behind the bar and on shelves throughout the New York metro area earlier this spring. Adding a pleasant layer to that surprise was that the beer actually tastes great. Long a staple of Brooklyn's brewing heritage, going back to its founding by brothers Gottfried, Michael, and Wilhelm Piel in the 1880s, Piels grew into a regional powerhouse and by the 1950s, thanks to animated television and memorable radio ads, was a brand many called "their beer."
However, like many beers of the era, there were consistency issues and strong competition from national brands. The brewery closed its doors in the early 1970s and was contract brewed for a time by Stroh's before the licensing was transferred to Pabst. That brewery shed the brand in 2015, and it was purchased by Shannon Degnan and his family.