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Lucky Lager is a mass produced beer, generally sold at a low price, that was originally made by General Brewing Company in San Francisco, California beginning soon after the repeal of Prohibition. General Brewing became Lucky Lager Brewing in 1948 and began building and buying new breweries.
Breweries
Lucky Lager Brewing opened a second brewery in Azusa, California in 1949, and bought smaller breweries in Vancouver, Washington in 1950 and in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1960. Thus, Lucky Lager was made at four breweries during the brand's heyday and was a popular regional Western United States brand. The Salt Lake City brewery was closed in 1967.
Lucky Lager Brewing changed their name back to General Brewing between 1963 and 1969, and then changed the name to Lucky Breweries, Inc. in 1969.
During the late 1960s Lucky Lager's market share faltered among younger drinkers. This led to the ill-fated introduction of King Snedley's Beer. According to some accounts King Snedley's was just Lucky Lager repackaged with a different brand and marketed toward counterculture hipsters. The new brand flopped and was withdrawn from the market.
In 1971, millionaire beer baron Paul Kalmanovitz bought Lucky Lager Brewing and - again - changed the name back to General Brewing Company. The Azusa, CA brewery was closed immediately. The San Francisco brewery was closed in 1978. This left Vancouver, WA as the only location where Lucky Lager was brewed.
After the Vancouver brewery shut down (date?), the Olympia Brewing Company brewery in Tumwater, WA began to produce this lager. On July, 1 2003 this brewery was also closed. Since then, Lucky Lager has been brewed in Irwindale, CA (along with other brands such as Olympia and Rainier brands).
Bottles
Lucky Lager was once famous for its in 11oz stubby bottles featuring a cryptogram puzzle under the cap. Since the closure of the Tumwater brewery, this famous bottle has been discontinued.
Availability
In recent years, the beverage has been hard to find, but is still available in various establishments on the West Coast. Lucky is commonly found all across Vancouver Island. Cumberland, a small island town was named the most "Lucky" city with the most Lucky beer sales located here.
In films
In the film Kalifornia, Lucky Lager was the favourite drink of Brad Pitt's character.
References
- Lucky Lager: Can of the Month reference for most of the history of Lucky Lager
- Tavern Trove reference for the closing date of the SLC brewery
I noticed this beer in the 1970 movie, "Five Easy Pieces". Jack Nicholson drank the old oil can style throughout the movie.
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