Beer Drinking Texan

chevbrock · Feb 15, 2008

I have a character in my novel who is a 20-year old Texan. In the novel I have him drinking Budweiser (I think I chose Bud because I like the dog!)

In Oz, the popular beers vary from state to state, so I thought I had better check this fact before cementing it in.

Would it be likely that my character would drink Bud? Or is he more likely to drink another brand?

Thanks heaps for your help in advance.

Sarpedon · Feb 15, 2008

Bud is the most popular brand of beer in the USA. Texas is the most generic state there is (I mean that the inhabitants thereof consider themselves "real" americans, and any deviation from the norm is considered communistic). Its a good choice. That or Miller. Pabst is a Milwaukee company. Coors, no. who drinks coors anymore. Is stroh's even in business anymore?

And have they brought the dog back? I thought he was gone a decade ago.

In the usa, I think beer taste varies more by social class and personal taste than by region. With a caveat that each state will have one or more local beers that are available, which are appreciated by those who like smaller brews and by those who are old enough to remember the days before all beer everywhere tasted the same. For Minnesota, our most popular local beer is Schell's, for Maryland its Sprechers, for Pennsylvania its Yuengling. Alas, I don't know what texas's is. However, a young man with generic tastes would likely drink bud or miller.

And note: 20 is below the legal drinking age in the USA. This does not mean that you CAN'T portray a 20 year old drinker, but note that he can't drink in liscensed drinking establishments.

johnnysannie · Feb 15, 2008

I'm not a Texan but I have spent a lot of time in East Texas and across the border in Louisiana, that region know as the Ark-La-Tex and I would say that some folks prefer Lone Star Beer just because of the name!

chevbrock · Feb 15, 2008

Thanks guys for your lightning-fast replies! All great help! Very much appreciated.

The dog is still gone, as far as I know.

Sarpedon · Feb 15, 2008

I'm sorry! Sprecher is Eastern Wisconsin. Yeungling is good for both Pennsylvania and Maryland!

chevbrock · Feb 15, 2008

Thanks Sar! All great information!

I did suspect that 21 would be legal drinking age in Texas. I waited until he got to Australia before he went out for a drink.

WildScribe · Feb 15, 2008

My dad is a Texan who drinks (or drank, anyway) Bud.

talkwrite · Feb 15, 2008

I live in Houston and two local (state) beers are
Lone Star and
Shiner- my favorite.
Texans are pretty proud of anything local and the print and electronic advertising plays up Texans being very egocentric about this. For example we have an ad on television about picante sauce that is from NY and the characters threaten to hang the guy who serves it.
Yes Bud is served here. Order a Pabst and you will raise eyebrows and people may inch away from you.
Just the way things are around these parts.

HeronW · Feb 15, 2008

Depending on his tastes, he may drink the local stuff, or hit up specialties from microbreweries, or even foriegn beer like Killian's Red, Heineken, etc.

III · Feb 15, 2008

Bud is always a safe bet, but if you wanted to give it a more local feel you could have him drink Lone Star. It's cheaper than Bud and LOTS of "real Texans" only drink Lone Star. And if you want to get really authentic, Lone Star is kept in cases in the garage. Not in a refrigerator in the garage, just in the garage, and it's drunk straight from the can at room temperature, generally an entire case at a time.

Yes, I lived in Texas when I was 20 and I drank alot of beer.

chevbrock · Feb 15, 2008

Thanks everyone for the advice. I think he will stay drinking bud. Reason being is that the only time I mention an actual brand of beer, he is in Australia, and while it is possible to find a pub that will give you a bottle of Bud, I've never seen a bottle of Lone Star in a pub anywhere.

He needs to drink American beer because he pays out on Aussie beer.

III, that sounds like how poms drink their beer!

Soccer Mom · Feb 15, 2008

Pabst? :shudders: no self repsecting Texan would drink that. Shiner Bock. Now that's a Texan beer. Lone Star. Bud. Miller's. Tecate. Dos Equis.

Plain old generic Bud will do just dandy.

FinbarReilly · Feb 15, 2008

If he's just 20, odds are pretty good that he's going to drink Pabst (aka The Beast, because it combines cheap with quantity) or Lone Star (based on the responses); unless he has some income, and better than the usual 20-yr-olds, he's going to go cheap. In that regard, Bud is a bit on the pricey side...

FR

chevbrock · Feb 15, 2008

Thanks Finbar and soccer mom! By sounds of it, he's definitely not the type to drink Pabst!

Money is not an issue, so he would drink what he likes. Anything not made on the mainland costs a bomb, anyway (yep, even Tassie beer is expensive!)

WriteKnight · Mar 16, 2008

Shiner Bock.

Trust me. I grew up in Houston, live in Northern California, and I STILL buy Shiner Bock.

chevbrock · Mar 16, 2008

Thanks, Knight. He's in Australia while he's drinking it. I've never seen Shiner Bock on sale in pubs over here. Bud, unfortunately, is.

WriteKnight · Mar 17, 2008

Ah, well if you want to make him a Texan, then you can point out the fact that he CAN'T get Shiner Bock, and has to make do with some other generic American Beer, like .... (shudder... Bud.) Just to throw in a little more Texanna - you could have him long for his favorite ice cream

BLUE BELL

Yeah... Blue Bell ice cream, from the little creamery in Brenham... just down the road from Shiner. (Of course, 'down the road' in Texas is much the same as it is in Oz - I've been to Sydney.)

For the record, Blue Bell Ice Cream's motto is "We eat all we can, and sell all the rest." - Their ice cream is often seasonal. "Peaches 'n Cream" only when the peaches are in season for instance. They are the people who first threw a batch of Oreos into their vanilla ice cream - they invented 'cookies 'n cream'.

Blue Bell Ice Cream - damn, if I could only get some in Northern California.

DWSTXS · Mar 17, 2008

I'm 50 years old, and was born in Texas, and have lived here all my life. I drink beer too.

Right now, the popularity, in order, is Corona, Corona Lite, Miller or Miller Lite, Budweiser, Coors, Sam Adams, Dos Eqquis

When I grew up, the age limit was 18.
Also, realistically speaking, there are so many 18-20 year old kids out there drinking beer, with their fake ID's, in licensed establishments, that they might as well lower the age back down to 18 for all the good it's doing.

WriteKnight · Mar 17, 2008

Yup, all of those are the most popular National Brands available in Texas. I thought the question implied a brand that was Native to Texas, as there are native brands in the particular parts of Australia.

DWSTXS · Mar 17, 2008

WriteKnight said:
Yup, all of those are the most popular National Brands available in Texas. I thought the question implied a brand that was Native to Texas, as there are native brands in the particular parts of Australia.

No, the question didn't imply that the beer should have been native to Texas, or even brewed in Texas. It just asked what it would be most lilkely that he would drink.

The ones I mentioned are the most likely to be drank, because they are more prevalent here.

For that matter, the MC could have a fondness for a beer that is very hard to find in Texas, and that could be a foible of the character. Every time he wants a beer, he asks for a so-an-so, only to be told, most of the time that it's not available.

Just because an MC likes something, doesn't mean that they should always get it. It could be more interesting when the MC doesn't get what they desire.

WriteKnight · Mar 17, 2008

I took the comment

n Oz, the popular beers vary from state to state

To mean that the original poster was looking for a brand that was particular to Texas, since the character was a Texan, as differentiated from other parts of the Nation.

That is what I inferred. Whether on not it was implied is open to debate. The beers you cited are likely to be popular in other states as well, which certainly would not make it noteable for a Texan to order them... only an American - and not necessarily even that. It seems as if the Original Posters intent was to tie the drink of choice for the main character PARTICULARLY to Texas. But perhaps I missed their intent.

(And yes, I was drinking when the legal age was eighteen too!)

talkwrite · Mar 18, 2008

Why don't you two settle in two old rocking chairs out in the Hill country overlooking the Guadalupe river with an ice cold Shiner for each of you and settle this peacefully? I'll buy.

IceCreamEmpress · Mar 18, 2008

chevbrock said:
He needs to drink American beer because he pays out on Aussie beer.

What does this mean?

DWSTXS · Mar 18, 2008

I'll take a Shiner. Bring it on. Send me the rocking chair too while you're at it.

WriteKnight · Mar 18, 2008

I'm a 'glider' man myself - porch swings have long been a tradition in my family.

All in good fun.

I'll be back in Houston to work on a project next month, get to hang with the ole' man. He turned 85 last week... still mowing his own damn lawn! Anybody familiar with the heat and humidity of Houston can appreciate that!

And he'd rather sit in the evening shade with a good cigar, and a shot of Scotch!

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