Anyone else miss the sun? I swear it still exists somewhere, but it’s been so long I’ve all but forgotten what it even looks like! If you told me with enough confidence that it was a purple square in the sky, I just might believe you.
So what are we going to do about it?? The obvious answer is probably to have a drink, and we could make a few recommendations to you, but maybe you want a healthier option. Again, we could tout some of the various health benefits that have been foisted onto beer over the years, but let’s go for some more obviously healthy options. Like exercise. Like yoga!
Brewery Yoga with Kelly is back this Saturday morning, Dec. 7, starting at 10 a.m.! This one-hour vinyasa yoga is open to the public prior to regular taproom hours and only costs a donation to the local non-profit of Kelly’s choice, this month being Great Tails Animal Rescue. Suggested donation amount is $15, but individuals are welcome to pay what they can.

This will be the start of a new monthly routine for us. So mark your calendars for the first Saturday of the month, dust off your yoga mats (or simply roll up your well-used yoga mats), and come early to Klockow for a refreshing and healthy start to the day. THEN have a beer.
We’re starting things off slow this month, but stay tuned because it’s gonna be a busy one! We of course have our second Sunday Board Games and Records Day coming up this weekend, which sounds like an amazing way to spend a day given the weather lately. Honestly, take a look outside and tell me with a straight face you’d rather do something out in the dreary cold than to hang out with friends, playing a game while kicking back a couple pints and listening to random vinyl records. Can’t be done. So, yeah, see ya’ll this Sunday.
And of course there’s the next installment of Ditty Wish Ventures to do a GAME SHOW! Always the second Thursday of the month, for December she’ll be doing her vision of the $10,000 Pyramid, where contestants will be paired up with Klockow staff to win fabulous prizes (ie, free pints). Which is why we’re also dubbing it the $10,000 Beer-amid. That’s from 6 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12. Come see the ridiculousness!

Ok, What Is That?
American Light Lager. We’ve all had one. Even if you don’t know it, you’ve had one. Pretty sure red-blooded American babies have one as their second bottle ever.
But you may ask, “what are you even talking about? Isn’t this section about things most customers haven’t even heard of? We all know what an American Light Lager is.” Surely, and I would have guessed that too. At one time at least. But let’s just say it’s happened too many times where a customer, dragged into the taproom by his craft-beer buddy, has asked for whatever is closest to a Bud Light. And once I’ve said, “oh good, we have an American Light Lager on tap,” I didn’t see a knowing grin. No, surprisingly often, I see a blank-stare shrug and then “Ok, can I try it?” as a response. At least at that point they try it, like it, and then order it. So let’s take a second to talk a bit about what they are!
The birth of the “American Lager” goes back a long ways, so for convenience we’ll start at the beginning of the big-beer era: the founding of Anheuser-Busch. In the mid-1800s, A.B. was one of many regional breweries, but was beginning to make a big splash that no-one could’ve seen coming. Most breweries were making heavier, maltier beers, but many of the German immigrants, especially those who moved to warmer climates like around St. Louis, Missouri, found that it was more enjoyable to drink some of the light, crisp lagers of their home country. By 1876 when they released their flagship, a scaled-back version of an old-country golden lager called Budweiser, it was the beginning of the end of the regional breweries that had peppered the landscape, paving the way for the big national players. Americans had fallen in love with this simple, German-influenced, golden lagers, and they couldn’t get enough of them. In the United States, the style had all but taken over, with Budweiser being the single most sold beer. Before we knew it, you could say “beer-flavored beer” and people knew what you were talking about. They meant a Budweiser.
And it stayed this way for a long time. Other breweries competed for dominance, such as Coors and Miller, but the beer style remained the same. That was, until 1973, when Miller Lite hit the scene, an even lighter, crisper, version of the beer we all knew and loved. All we needed to hear was John Madden say “tastes great, less filling,” and there was a new major beer style. The idea was that it wasn’t a “diet” beer, even though it had less calories, but that it was just a “light” beer, so you could have more of them. Very similar to its predecessor, the American Light Lager is defined by having lower alcohol content, a light, almost watery body, no hop character, and a very simple aroma and palate mostly characterized by corn, rice, and other grains. They’re light straw colored. And at most you’re going to get a touch of apple sweetness. But short of someone attempting to give a description on what these beers taste like, no one actually cares about any of that. What fans of the style typically care about is that they’re cold, they’re crushable, they’re plentiful, and just plain taste good. They’re simple and crisp for a reason, and that reason is we’re drinking them while watching the game and not at an organized beer tasting.

If you want one at Klockow, you can either ask for whatever is closest to Mich Golden, or you can be more direct and ask for a Stranger Ranger! It is our answer to all those customers who were maybe brought here by their beer-connoisseur buddies but just want something familiar, or to the folks who know they’re going out to eat and just want something light, or for anyone who wants just one more so a low ABV crisp lager simply hits the spot. Have it on tap or take home a four-pack!

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Thanks for checking out our humble little brewery! As long as you keep coming by, we’ll do our part by making the best damn beer possible and serving it in our always inviting atmosphere.

The Klockow Staff

Beer drops this past week:

Local, etc. -

Unwined Up North - Grand Rapids
Locker Room - Coleraine
Pokegama Plaza Liquor - Grand Rapids
Dutch Room & Mad Dog’s Pizza - Grand Rapids
SuperOne Liquor - Grand Rapids

McGregor -

Mark’s Bar - McGregor
Willey’s Sports Shop & Spirits - McGregor

Duluth, etc. -

Woodland Liquors - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Duluth
SuperOne Liquor - Pike Lake
27 Liquors - Duluth
Duluth Tap Exchange - Duluth
7 West - Superior
Dovetail Cafe & Marketplace - Duluth

South, etc. -

Scandia Olde Towne Liquor - Scandia
Northbound Liquor - Cambridge