• Ben Garbarek
• On February 22, 2013

If you live north of the Mason-Dixon Line, chances are the weather still stinks. But instead of listening to the overgrown rodent we call a “groundhog” for our meteorological forecasts, we can turn to an equally non-scientific sign that spring is just around the corner: pitchers and catchers are reporting to spring training.

If you’re a Cubs fan, that means it’s time to start drinking Heileman’s Old Style. Brewed in Milwaukee, it’s the official beer of the Chicago Cubs. Drinking anything else in the Friendly Confines of Wrigley Field feels sacrilegious.

That’s not to say this is a finely crafted brew. A 24-pack costs a little bit less than Bud Light, but just because you’re drinking cheap doesn’t mean you’re drinking a watered down excuse for a beer.

Old Style has a very clean taste for a beer of this price. It starts off like a traditional cheap lager, but has a smooth finish that doesn’t make you dash for the bowl of pretzels to get that flavor out of your mouth.  Unlike other beers, Old Style is “kraeusened.” According to my friend Wikipedia, it’s an old German style of brewing that Gottlieb Heileman used to do back in 1902 that cleans up the flavor of the beer. As much as this might sound like a marketing ploy, you can sense how the flavor is cleaned up when you crack open an Old Style.

So fear not, spring is around the corner. There’s always “next year” for Cubs fans and gratefully that means there’s always Old Style as well.