​Old Tankard Ale: A Step Back In Time

By Ben Rodgers

Brewed from a 1937 recipe, American-style Old Tankard is a complete opposite of the red, white and blue flagship.

Back in its heyday, Old Tankard was the second-best selling beer from Pabst for about three decades. Although it’s hard to turn down the classic Blue Ribbon, Old Tankard offers a vintage taste that should be more refined than the flagship.

Just a few hours south of the old Pabst brewery in Milwaukee is Chicago, a blues town through and through. One of the Windy City’s lesser known musical exports is the Siegel Schwall Band.

Corky Siegel and Jim Schwall played in the house band at Peppers on the south side during the 60s. It was a gig that provided them the opportunity to play with a throng of great bluesmen, including Buddy Guy and Muddy Waters.

In 1973 Siegel Schwall released “953 West.” The band broke up a year later and wouldn’t reunite until 1987. “953 West” looks quiet on the cover, a black and white drawing of a platform near the Quiet Knight, a venue the group frequented.

Both the beer and the band took some time off. Let’s see how the two hold up now.

Old Tankard starts off with a light kick of hops. It’s at a mild 35 IBUs but with an ale, the small amount of hops commands the overall taste.

“953 West” starts with an almost ragtime piano and backs it up with a slide guitar. It’s not traditional blues by any means. The slide guitar adds some twang, but the instrumentals reek of blues improvisation.

Hardly an overly hoppy brew, Old Tankard doesn’t really have much else in its taste. But back in the 1940s this would be considered bitter. By today’s standards it’s mostly considered a throwback, and not a very good one.

Siegel Schwall has the slick harmonica on “Traitor from Decatur” and switches styles with a horn-heavy track called “Good Woman.” This track is a close resemblance to Leon Redbone with influences of Tin Pan Alley. Both Redbone and Siegel Schwall were most prominent in the 70s, when there was a slight rekindling of Cole Porter and his rags.

Old Tankard leaves little to the imagination. If PBR is on the right hand side, this beer would be on the far left. It’s simple, basic, and not overwhelming but heavy, with a low drinkability.

Tracks on “935 West” so far are bouncing between genres. The first that could be classified as blues end the A Side with “Just another Song about the Country Sung by a City Boy” and “When I’ve Been Drinking.” The latter is slow with an acoustic guitar, vocals and harmonica. It’s nothing fancy, just blues. Anyone wanting to learn harmonica would be well served.

The B Side opens up with “Old Time Shimmy,” which could easily belong on the original Muppet Show. Each track on the record could be influenced by any number of styles. “Off to Denver” is another track which could very well be sung by Redbone.

Halfway through my 16 ounces and the malt is becoming more prominent. The beer is not refreshing but the light piano music certainly is.

If there ever was a track that is signature Siegel Schwall, “Blame it on the Wine” is it: humorous lyrics, blaming it on the wine, with a harmonica that doesn’t overwhelm but compliments the music. Again, not traditional blues but bluesy all the same.

Any type of beer goes down easier with harmonica, thankfully there’s plenty of harmonica on “935 West,” otherwise this beer would be a chore. It’s not a bad brew, but with craft beers becoming more and more relevant, this is a throwback to a bygone era. There isn’t anything in Old Tankard that blows away the taste buds.

At the same time there aren’t many tracks on “935 West” that melt the face the way Guy or Waters do, but it’s a quirky take on blues with hints of country and ragtime. I just wish this beer had some extra hints to make it go down easier.