National drugstore chain Walgreens has gotten into the beer business. Starting in December, the Illinois-based retailer began offering a house brand called Big Flats 1901, noted for its affordability: 50 cents a can, or $2.99 for a six pack.
“In this tough economy, consumers are looking for value,” a Walgreens spokesman told the Chicago Tribune. Big Flats is manufactured by City Winery, which also makes house brands of alcohol for Trader Joe’s and Costco.
Walgreens has been stocking stores as alcohol licenses are approved, according to a report in the Chicago Tribune. The beer is currently available at about 4,600 of the chain’s 7,655 stores.
The blog at Time calls it “the craziest thing to happen to drinking since Four Loko” and continues “In a wise marketing decision, Walgreen’s acknowledged that it wouldn’t be selling cans for their quality, so it decided to define its new brew by something else: being dirt cheap.”
Other reviews around the web seem to concur with The Beeronaut who says “this can has a skunk odor when opened, which I thought would not happen in a can,” and Screaming Reviews says it’s worse than The Beast.
As I have become an expert on shitty beer due to the economy, I’ll be posting my tasting notes soon. I expect it to be on par with the value that Walgreens has bestowed upon it.
Also more at The Week.
And The Onion’s take on Big Flats.