Red Beans & Advice for Monday, July 31

Thoughts on zero alcohol beers

When I was a child, my father introduced me to hockey. We lived close enough to Canada to get Hockey Night In Canada broadcasts, which he liked to watch when my parents did not have plans on Saturday night. My mother, not a big fan of the sport, encouraged me to keep him company.

HNIC, as devotees called it, prompted me to look for radio broadcasts of hockey games, since I could surreptitiously listen past bedtime. I found I could pull in the Boston Bruins at night on WBZ.

The Bruins’ sponsors included Schaefer Beer. Its catchy slogan was, “Schaefer is the one beer to have, when you’re having more than one.” Because my parents were moderate drinkers, I wasn’t sure why someone would make a beer choice with the expectation of having more than one beer.

When I got older, I realized it was a euphemism for a light (or as Miller spelled it, Lite) beer. Fast forward to the current beer market, which is quickly gaining brands of which you can have more than one, because they have zero alcohol.