Beer of the Week: St. Pauly Shore

From the Beer Writer: You never know what will one day transcend everyday life to become iconic. Widespread recognition was certainly the aim of whatever advertising team designed the logo for St. Pauli Girl beer when they sketched out a buxom, dirndl-clad blonde toting a half-dozen frost-headed steins. It was hardly inventive; a pedestrian yet effective visual playing toward the male beer-drinker: attractive woman, check…beer, check…nod to German tradition, check. It’s no surprise the beer’s artwork is more famous than the beer and, indeed, iconic. Anyone could have seen it coming. The same can’t be said for a certain off-center MTV veejay who rose to fame in the early nineties. Weird as the day is long, stocked with a self-produced vernacular and lacking both fear and a sense of personal space, Pauly Shore endeared himself to a nation of teens and twenty-somethings who tuned in daily to see him wax nonsensical and interject his uniquely laidback brand of sketch into the lives of unexpecting passersby. Even if you didn’t want to like him, it was hard not to find him entertaining. Dude was iconic…and now he’s iconic again thanks to the team at Escondido brewpub Plan 9 Alehouse, who’ve inserted his image into can art reminiscent of St. Pauli Girl’s for this week’s featured beer: St. Pauly Shore. A traditional kölsch with a medium-light body and mild honey-like sweetness, it arrives just in time for a late-spring warmup. So bust out your best headband, hippy bling and Doc Martens, don a jorts-and-bike-shorts combo and bare that midriff, at which point you’ll be ready to enjoy this parody beer to the fullest. Extra points if you do all of the above during a visit to Plan 9. Now that would be “totally Pauly”…buuuuuh-dee!

From the Brewer: “St. Pauly Shore is a crisp and clean Kölsch-style ale brewed as traditional as we could manage. In a world of craft beer dominated by loads of adjuncts, double dry-hops, and all things pastry, this beer holds true to its roots and the Reinheitsgebot. Brewed with Bohemian floor-malted pilsner, and touches of Saphir and Hallertau Blanc hops, this beer is bright and delicate. A standout homage to things past, St. Pauly Shore is as nostalgic and delicious as its namesake.”—Chris Riley, Head Alchemist, Plan 9 Alehouse