Walgreens diving into beer and winemaking business - 50 cents per can

[The Straight Story]

Walgreens diving into beer and winemaking business

Walgreen Co. isn't just selling alcohol again. They're also making it.

The Deerfield-based drugstore chain has quietly rolled out a private-label brew called Big Flats 1901, which is in more than 4,600 of the chain's 7,655 U.S. locations. Walgreens has been stocking Chicago-area stores as alcohol licenses are approved.

If the name isn't enough to tempt you, the price might be: about 50 cents per can. Prices will vary by market, and the beer will be available in states where private-label alcohol is legal.

"In this tough economy, consumers are looking for value and ways to make their money go (further)," a Walgreens spokesman said in an e-mail. "Big Flats 1901 offers our customers a premium lager at a great price."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-talk-walgreens-beer-0127-20110126,0,5078339.story

[eShirl]

1. wondering what their definition of "a premium lager" is

[notadmblnd]

2. ohhh, I wonder what kind of box it will come in?

[Le Taz Hot]

4. LOL! n/t

[LuvNewcastle]

3. I've got some Big Flats beer.

I like to try different beers and I saw it on sale when I was in Walgreens a few weeks ago. It's a pretty typical American beer, not a bad value for the price. I don't usually drink beer out of a can, but it was all right.

[mucifer]

5. walgreens creeps me out. I'm a pediatric hospice nurse. They have bought

all of the pediatric home health infusion agencies in Chicago. They seem to also have bought out most of the outpatient pharmacies in major hospitals in Chicago. So when people go to the most convenient place to fill prescriptions when the first leave the hospitals they go into the walgreens system.

[surrealAmerican]

6. What a poor choice of name for a beer.

They would have been better off just calling it "walgreens beer".

[Erose999]

11. Anything with "flat" in it just doesn't sound appetizing, does it? Apparently its made by Gennesse

Gennessee makes the "Dundee" line of beers, which I like pretty well, and then they make some cheap swill unfit for consumption, human or otherwise.

Apparently the folks at RateBeer.com hate it (no surprise) but it scored 7/100 which is surprisingly good for American macro-swill:

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/big-flats-1901-premium-american-lager/135439/

[MattBaggins]

7. Reminds me of when I returned to America from Germany

I had spent 6 years drinking hearty beer that always came from a tap or a bottle. I went to a friends house and when he offered me a beer I accepted. It's a good thing we were outside because I without paying attention; raised the can to my lips and took a sip of the Genny Cream Ale he had given me. I instantly proceeded to lean forward and spit the beer out. I did not do this on purpose to be rude, it was instinctive; the beer hit my tongue and my tongue decided to eject it.

[eShirl]

8. it's like seltzer water that has been briefly shown a photograph of a beer

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. So is 7-11, I believe. This was in the news not long ago.

[delightfulstar]

10. I've tried it...

It's not bad - similar to a Bud, Miller High Life, or regular Coors. However, I tend to be more of an ale girl, myself, especially IPAs, so it's a little light for my palate.