And now... a glimmer of hope...

Long ages ago, when I was assisting my can-collecting nephew, we went to an old dumping ground my dad called "Sowtown".  A little research years later told me it was the former site of a platted town called Centerville that died as quickly as it was born when the railroad decided to put its depot a few miles southeast in Monroeville.  Or perhaps, as my memories are no longer clear, it might have been a dump we discovered in the wild area of Pokagon State Park.  In either event we found a can that was almost unidentifiable.  It was fragile and about 95% rust.  But we had discovered the "magic" of boric acid solution, and took it back to see what could be salvaged.  What we saw- barely- once looked like what you see above.  Its value was negligible- its condition on the lower end of the "poor" category- but I fell in love nonetheless.  I always did have a thing for rusty, "antiquey" cans.

I was hooked then and there on Drewrys, though it would be years later when I could drink it legally.  Soon after I found a cork "big D" cap in my dad's 1937 Chevy upholstery.  But you remember the 1990's- Budweiser marched over everything and everyone like the Wehrmacht over Eastern Europe, and Drewrys became another on the long list of "Hey, remember that beer" brands.

So the other day, I hit something I couldn't believe on eBay, and today it came home.

That's right, a little Drewrys Draft "shortie", formerly the holder of 12 ounces of South Bend's most refreshing beer.  And since I have another cap coming, I was going to wait and post this sometime this weekend.  But then I did a little research, and was knocked over by this bit of news:

Though Drewrys labeled beer has been non-existent  since it was last produced in 1997, Drewrys was purchased in 2011 by Chicago-based entrepreneur, Francis Manzo. The city of South Bend will be the site of launch for the rebranded beer as this was the location for Drewrys largest operation. Production is slated for 2013.

WHAAAAT?

I quickly found the website for the reborn company, and learned that it's TRUE!!!  Sometime this year- and I signed up for the newsletter and liked them on Facebook so that I can get some as soon as possible.  To be sure, it will NOT be the original recipe- diligent searching came up with a verdict of "recipe lost", which we will blame on Pittsburgh Brewing, since they had the rights last (though they never brewed it).  However, they have looked at notes and consulted experts to come up with as close as they can to the original flavor.  Also, they hope to be able to produce it in South Bend as soon as feasible.  It seems that for now it will be brewed in the last location it was brewed- Evansville- and will be mainly marketed to the South Bend area.

South Bend is just under 2 hours away.  I can't wait!