Some of our family recently returned from a trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina and brought some local and regional beer back for us to try. There was a six-pack of Oktoberfest from Wicked Weed out of Asheville and another six-pack of various beers from Lost Colony Brewery, which is located near Manteo. The Wicked Weed was pretty tasty, but the Lost Colony beers have been an experience to say the least. The six-pack we had consisted of a nut brown ale, a red ale, a porter, an IPA, a blonde ale, and something called Flounder Pounder. I’m a bit confused by the packaging and presentation of this beer. Our can had a light purple label on it, but I’ve seen images of it with a maroon label. I’ve also seen both Flounder Pounder and Flounder Pounder Light used as names for the beer. Regardless of its name, it is definitely a light beer.
Prior to drinking it, I didn’t realize it was a light beer, but the description on the side of the can was concerning. We no longer have the can, but I was able to find an image of the label online. It goes as follows:
‘It’s a good drinking beer.’ It tastes like the ones you stole from Dad. The beer you get when you say, ‘give me a beer.’ Stevie the brewer was thinking, Mexican Lager, American Lager, Czech Pilsner when he made this. He was also thinking of softball games, beach blankets, fishing trips and lawn mowing.
Why Would Lost Colony Describe It This Way?
Let’s break that down, because I think it’s a pretty concerning description.
- “It’s a good drinking beer.” – Whether or not a beer is good is very subjective, which as you can probably tell by this point, I don’t think this is enjoyable to drink. Also, because beer is brewed to drink, all beer should be crafted with the intention of being “good to drink,” so having this description on the label is concerning.
- It tastes like the ones you stole from Dad. – I’ll come back to this.
- The beer you get when you say, “give me a beer.” – First of all, rude. You shouldn’t demand that someone give you a beer. You ask for a beer or politely accept one when it’s offered to you. Second, though, I don’t ask for a beer from someone without either knowing what I’m asking for or trusting that the person has good beer tastes. For example, if I know someone typically drinks a light domestic beer like Coors Light or Bud Light, I’m not going to ask for a beer because I don’t like them
- …thinking, Mexican Lager, American Lager, Czech Pilsner when he made this. – I don’t understand trying to make a beer that combines these three varieties. If you’ve ever had these three types of beer, you’ll know that they aren’t similar and don’t really work together. I’m even pretty confident that the percentage of people who like all three of them isn’t that high. I really enjoy Mexican lagers with a squeeze of lime in them, and Yuengling is probably my favorite American macrobrew, but they’re distinct beers that should be enjoyed separately.
- He was also thinking of softball games, beach blankets, fishing trips and lawn mowing. – I think that brewers use these activities as an excuse to make beer that is lacking in flavor. It’s true that when it’s hot out or I’m working in the garden/mowing, I’d want a beer that won’t be heavy in the stomach, but I still want it to be full of flavor and complexity. Give me a sour or a Mexican-style beer, but it needs to taste good.
I Don’t Want My Dad’s Beer
That brings us to the remaining descriptor: It tastes like the ones you stole from Dad. For some people, I’m sure this brings a feeling of nostalgia and is connected to positive memories. If your dad drank craft beer or you like domestic macrobrews, this sentiment probably resonates. But if you are like me, your dad drank pretty cheap, flavorless beer that I hate. His preferred beer was Keystone Light, but if he was feeling fancy, he would buy Miller Lite. He also would occasionally buy a case of Yuengling but to this day thinks it’s too expensive. I’m not writing this to make fun of my dad. In fact, far from it. I already mentioned that my favorite domestic macrobrew is Yuengling, and I’m fiercely proud of it being brewed in my state. I also think that Miller Lite is the best of the light beers. It’s also not like my dad doesn’t like more unique craft beers. He’ll always try beers that I offer him, and for the most part, he likes them, but he simply doesn’t want to spend a lot of money on beer, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
Let’s take it back to the description on the Lost Colony can and stealing beer from Dad. I never did that. While beer was in our house growing up and I knew that I wasn’t to drink one, there was a healthy approach and relationship with it. This meant that it was treated with maturity and not hidden away, so there was never an allure to sneak a beer. In fact, from a young age, my dad would offer me a sip of beer to see what I thought. I can remember being seven or eight and being offered a sip. I always wanted to be just like my dad, so of course I’d want to give it a go. It was likely a Keystone Light or Keystone Ice, and I thought it was disgusting. It was bitter and lacked flavor. I couldn’t figure out why anyone would want to drink it. It’s safe to say that I didn’t accept any more offers to take a sip. I’m actually really thankful that he drank beer I didn’t like. It led to me never wanting to underage drink because I thought all beers tasted like that. It actually took until I was in college and learned about Dogfish Head and the craft beer movement that I was intrigued to try beer again.
Lost Colony Needs to Reconsider Its Marketing…and Its Beer
I understand what Lost Colony was trying to convey by saying Flounder Pounder is like the beer you’d steal from your dad. But I also think that sentiment is lost on a lot of people. If your dad didn’t drink beer you like as an adult, you’re not going to be excited to drink something that claims to be similar to said beer. I also don’t know if it’s wise for an independent brewery to intentionally connect their product with cheap domestic beers. I seek out craft beer because it’s higher quality, but I’m willing to spend more for it. I don’t want to spend more money for a light, tasteless beer just because a craft brewery produced it.
This experience is pretty indicative of my thoughts on the brewery and its beers at large. Their marketing is a bit odd, with labels and artwork that don’t really fit the beer inside the can. The descriptions of the beer often lack details and fail to include information about the hops being used, even in the case of their IPA. Finally, the beers just haven’t worked for us. We’ve tried four of them now, and only the Nut Brown Ale was decent, but there are brown ales from Smuttynose and New Castle. The IPA lacked hoppiness, and the color was way off. And that’s when we learned that all their beers are inspired by English-style brewing techniques, so the IPA isn’t an American-style IPA with Citra, Chinook, or Cascade hops. They’re English hops, and the beer was intentionally brewed to focus on barley notes. I’m not too familiar with English beer beyond the ones that have become popular in the United States, and I’m sure there are fans of this style, but it seems like an odd choice considering the brewery is located at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
I think they’d have better beer and be more successful if they focused on producing beers that Americans are more familiar with. If you look at their beers on Untappd or Beer Advocate, their beers aren’t rated well. One of the most spot-on reviews I saw of the brewery said that it’s a tourist brewery. I think they focus more on vibes and aesthetics than quality. I don’t think we’ll be trying any more of their beers after we get through this six-pack variety.
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