Old Style, Old Location

Production of Old Style beer is returning to its ancestral home of La Crosse, Wisconsin. The announcement was made earlier this week, much to the delight of locals and beer traditionalists.

Pabst Brewing Co., who now owns the brand, reached a long-term deal with City Brewing Co. to return production to where it all started beginning in November. Old Style hasn’t been brewed in La Crosse since 1999. It’s currently produced under contract by other brewers in Milwaukee.

Like college conference realignment, beer brands often move from brewery to brewery, with little regard for geography or their traditional home. Rather than try to explain the connection between the various legacy brands, where they’re brewed, and who owns them, just imagine one of the conspiracy boards you see in movies, with tons of familiar logos on it and lots of red thread connecting them all. You’ll get the general idea of it all.

While Old Style was still being produced in Wisconsin, it’s heartening to know that a beer can go home again.

The city of La Crosse has taken notice, too. The brewery will be hosting a series of Old Style-related events in the run-up to its return. Local bars will have the option of participating in a downtown bar crawl featuring Old Style memorabilia and merchandise in September. In addition, the tanks outside the building, known as World’s Largest Six Pack when they had Old Style labels painted on them, are being restored.

So, in an era when most corporate consolidations and organizational restructurings leave you hanging your head, take a moment to appreciate that, occasionally, a decision from on high can make you raise your glass instead.