Pabst and The King

The InBud deal is bringing some strange stuff to the surface. Pabst felt the need to release a statement yesterday that initially read like this:

In response to the many inquires we have received regarding the acquisition of Anheuser Busch by InBev: No doubt, the AB-InBev combination will create a formidable competitor. And it is true, Pabst Brewing Company will be the last of the famous iconic U.S. brewers to be fully independent and American-owned.

As a Pennsylvanian, Yuengling is pretty iconic to me, but I'll admit that's a parochial attitude. Still..."In response to the many inquiries"? Hoo boy.

Then, of all people, Michael "Eulogy" Naessens released a statement on the deal...since he's Belgian and a CPA. Who knew? I had to chuckle over this bit, though:

“Budweiser was the king of beers when the U.S. beer market was an absolute monarchy and people had little choice. Now it’s more like a constitutional monarchy, with craft beers leading the revolution.” says Naessens.

Hail to The King, baby!

Rex! Speak! Good boy.

Got an e-mail from Michael Naessens, self-styled "King of Philadelphia Craft Beer." Seems he's laboring under some misapprehensions about what a blog is, even though he writes one himself at myspace (no, I'm not going to link to it; Google it, like I did):

"...you should have contacted me first to explain if you took issue by the way. I believe as a reporter that is proper technique, but we all make mistakes, the important thing is craft beer thrives."

See, Michael, I'm not reporting. It's a blog. I'm making comments on what I see around me, what I hear, what I taste. If I wanted to get your spin on it, I would have contacted you. But the whole idea of a blog is to put out my spin on things.

Michael's interesting spin on things is that "King of Philadelphia Craft Beer" actually means something more like "champion," as in someone who champions craft beer in Philadelphia. You know...if he'd said that, I would have found it much less ludicrous, so much so that I probably wouldn't have written anything. But..."king?"

Still, he did say further along that he would "not respond ever again to negative actions with a negative response, no matter what happens." So we've got that to look forward to.

Which is actually a pretty great thing, if he's serious. Because Eulogy is a cool place, and has a lot of very good beer that Naessens has introduced to a whole new crowd of drinkers, not "the usual suspects." I think Beneluxx Broad Axe will probably be pretty neat, too. And if Naessens could just take that coolness, and neatness, and thriving business, and be happy with it, the craft beer scene in Philadelphia would be better off for it. We don't need the constant snarky comparisons with Monk's. Get on with your business, make with the coolness, serve good beer and enjoy life.

Michael, if you're reading (and now I know you are...), that's called praise. Here's more, from my January "Best of 2006" Buzz on my website:

Most surprising Philly area bar I was in this year: Eulogy. After giving Eulogy the shit for years -- and from my experiences, they deserved it -- I had a great time there this year, on three different occasions. Good beer selection, reasonable prices, great service, and yes, excellent frites. Impressive. With Triumph opening across the street in early spring, and a local constellation of beer spots that includes the Khyber, Brownie's, Race Street Cafe, City Tavern, and the Society Hill Hotel...it might even be worth parking in Old City. Cheers, Michael!

Like the man said: the important thing is craft beer thrives. At every establishment.

King of the Philadelphia Craft Beer Scene

Did you read that title? Let me say it again:

"King of the Philadelphia Craft Beer Scene"

Seems like it should be someone pretty significant. Probably someone who has the admiration of their peers. Got any guesses?

Well, it's evidently Michael Naessens, owner of Eulogy Belgian Tavern. That's what a Eulogy ad in a City Paper ad insert for the recent Philadelphia Craft Beer Festival says. "Michael Naessens may only be a Belgian Knight or [sic] the Chevalerie du Fourquet des Brasseurs in Belgium, BUT he is the King of the Philadelphia Craft Beer Scene." No kidding.

I like Eulogy. It's a nice place, and I got great service and beer the last couple of times I was there. I recommend it to friends headed for Old City, and likely will continue to do so.

But "King of Philadelphia Craft Beer Scene"? In a city like this, full of excellent bars with great beer selections and microbreweries with delicious fresh local favorites...I don't think there can be one king. It might be well for Naessens to recall that Philly is where Americans decided that they had no use for a king...and where Tom Paine argued that monarchy was a fraud.

Eulogy might be better served by less grandiloquent claims. But given that the same ad claims that Naessens himself, clad "in a knight's outfit," appears in a photo of what is obviously a desk ornament-sized suit of armor on a wooden base...that doesn't seem likely.