The Curious Case of Genny Cream Plus One
Well, to be honest, it wasn’t so much a case as a twelve pack. But is was Genny Cream. Mostly. First, you must understand one thing – I have never really outgrown my affinity for cheap beer. True, things have changed and, Lord willing, Milwaukee’s Best Ice will never again occupy a regular space in my fridge or a prominent place in my heart. That doesn’t mean that a tasty yet economical brew can’t be consumed on a semi-frequent basis,
however.
Genesee Cream Ale is brewed in Rochester. I grew up in Western New York. I fondly remember Genesee’s “Great Outdoors In a Glass” ad campaign of the ’80s. Since I really started getting into “good” beer four or five years ago, prices have steadily crept ever upward. A twelver of Genny Cream now and then has been my way of fighting this trend and keeping my per unit costs for beer a bit more in line with my budget. Plus it goes great with pizza or chicken wings. Genny Cream is served at the original home of the chicken wing, the Anchor Bar in Buffalo, and is always on draught at my favorite bar of all time, Clark’s Ale House in Syracuse.
The opening of a twelve pack of Genny Cream is fairly regular occurrence around here. Not without its brief burst of excitement, but fairly unremarkable for the most part. So imagine the chaos that ensued when an ordinary looking green and gold box was torn open to reveal… eleven Genny Cream Ales and a solitary bottle of Dundee Honey Brown Lager! It wasn’t the snazzy new label with the bee on it, either. The Honey Brown stuck out like a sore thumb, an ugly duckling if you will. Blood rushed to my head and I had difficulty seeing straight. I couldn’t think. I could barely breathe. What to do? I had never seen anything like this. This wasn’t a mixed twelve pack. Well, technically, I suppose it was.
High Falls Brewing, of course, makes both Genny Cream and it’s “upscale” cousin Honey Brown. But this isn’t from some tiny mom-and-pop microbrewer. They are one of the largest brewers in the country and I would suppose their facility is fairly modern and automated. How could something like this happen? Perhaps we will never know. High Falls is starting to give tours to the public for the first time in over 130 years of operation, so maybe I’ll get teh chance to investigate further one day. Regardless, the opening of that twelve pack is not an experience that I will soon forget!
EPILOGUE
I ended up putting the lone Honey Brown in the fridge that night. I drank it the next day. It was pretty good.
That’s what I call a fancy play! That’s be like getting a 12er of UC Light and finding a Saranac! What an amazing world we live in.