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thehefnerMan, I still never have posted the rest of my road trip photos from January, have I? You still have yet to hear the rest of my Vegas adventure! One of these days, man.
In the meantime, here, have photos of the world's largest six pack in La Crosse, WI, taken on my way to Winnipeg in July.
And yes, they really are filled with beer.
From ROAD TRIP USA: The biggest sight to see in La Crosse is the World’s Largest Six-Pack, right on the GRR on the south side of downtown. La Crosse–based Heileman was widely recognized around the upper Midwest for its “Old Style” brand beer, and its brewery was famous for its giant fermentation tanks painted to look like the world’s largest six-pack. Alas, a few years ago Heileman’s brewery was bought out by Miller, which immediately whitewashed over what had long been a cherished local landmark. Then a local company took over the brewery, and brought back the big Six Pack, which when full holds enough beer to fill 7 million real-life six-packs.
I wanted to take a photo of the sign, but a family was in the way, so I decided to take a photo of them taking a photo.
The site, WorldsLargestThings.com, expands upon the six pack: Luckily, people DO realize what they've got when it comes to World's Largest Things and their preservation. The World's Largest Six-Pack had been painted over since the original painters/proprietors G. Heileman Brewing Company went out of business. Needless to say, it was horribly disappointing to travelers like me who make World's Largest Things the compass points. So, when I visited over Thanksgiving 2003, I found out the facility had re-established itself as the City Brewery, which was the original name when it first opened in 1858 and had restored the Six-Pack to it's full potential.
Unfortunately, the new tanks aren't quite as authentic as the originals - instead of investing in a new paint job, the brewery folks opted to have large vinyls constructed with the logo. And, they only covered the facing tanks - a walk around the back reveals the same old over-painted tanks that I've been gazing at in disappointment for years (as a passer-by...). I realize that this was the most immediate and cost-effective way to ressurect the World's Largest Six-Pack, but I feel I'm not alone when I say it's a sad reproduction of the original dedication and attention to detail of the first Six-Pack graphic treatment.
Since the tanks are actually part of the brewery, they do hold beer, and the six-pack is actually a full six-pack. And, in the gift shop, you can get a pressure packed T-Shirt formed in the shape of a beer can, next door to a bar serving from the brewery's extra-large store.
From an attentive web-surfing tour guide from the brewery: "...if you want another statistic about the six pack... Starting the day you were born, if you were to drink a 12oz. cup of beer, on the hour, every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you'd have to live to be about 120 years old to finish just one of the World's Largest Six Pack cans. ...as a tour guide at the brewery, I take pride in the accuracy and beauty of the City Brewery. After all... "We don't aim to make the most beer, only the best.""
All I can add to this is to say that the whole block smells like an empty beer can that's been sitting out in the sun for a few hours.
And as a bonus, just across the giant six pack is a photo of the King of Beer:
In the meantime, here, have photos of the world's largest six pack in La Crosse, WI, taken on my way to Winnipeg in July.
And yes, they really are filled with beer.
From ROAD TRIP USA: The biggest sight to see in La Crosse is the World’s Largest Six-Pack, right on the GRR on the south side of downtown. La Crosse–based Heileman was widely recognized around the upper Midwest for its “Old Style” brand beer, and its brewery was famous for its giant fermentation tanks painted to look like the world’s largest six-pack. Alas, a few years ago Heileman’s brewery was bought out by Miller, which immediately whitewashed over what had long been a cherished local landmark. Then a local company took over the brewery, and brought back the big Six Pack, which when full holds enough beer to fill 7 million real-life six-packs.
I wanted to take a photo of the sign, but a family was in the way, so I decided to take a photo of them taking a photo.
The site, WorldsLargestThings.com, expands upon the six pack: Luckily, people DO realize what they've got when it comes to World's Largest Things and their preservation. The World's Largest Six-Pack had been painted over since the original painters/proprietors G. Heileman Brewing Company went out of business. Needless to say, it was horribly disappointing to travelers like me who make World's Largest Things the compass points. So, when I visited over Thanksgiving 2003, I found out the facility had re-established itself as the City Brewery, which was the original name when it first opened in 1858 and had restored the Six-Pack to it's full potential.
Unfortunately, the new tanks aren't quite as authentic as the originals - instead of investing in a new paint job, the brewery folks opted to have large vinyls constructed with the logo. And, they only covered the facing tanks - a walk around the back reveals the same old over-painted tanks that I've been gazing at in disappointment for years (as a passer-by...). I realize that this was the most immediate and cost-effective way to ressurect the World's Largest Six-Pack, but I feel I'm not alone when I say it's a sad reproduction of the original dedication and attention to detail of the first Six-Pack graphic treatment.
Since the tanks are actually part of the brewery, they do hold beer, and the six-pack is actually a full six-pack. And, in the gift shop, you can get a pressure packed T-Shirt formed in the shape of a beer can, next door to a bar serving from the brewery's extra-large store.
From an attentive web-surfing tour guide from the brewery: "...if you want another statistic about the six pack... Starting the day you were born, if you were to drink a 12oz. cup of beer, on the hour, every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, you'd have to live to be about 120 years old to finish just one of the World's Largest Six Pack cans. ...as a tour guide at the brewery, I take pride in the accuracy and beauty of the City Brewery. After all... "We don't aim to make the most beer, only the best.""
All I can add to this is to say that the whole block smells like an empty beer can that's been sitting out in the sun for a few hours.
And as a bonus, just across the giant six pack is a photo of the King of Beer:
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no subject
Date: 2009-09-06 10:57 pm (UTC)Speaking of that show - you should come with me to see it at Signature in the winter.
no subject
Date: 2009-09-07 03:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-09-08 02:15 pm (UTC)