National Premium beer may be restored to old glory

By Andy Palm
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer

In a city where craft beers flavor dozens of neighborhoods and Guinness offers more than 260 years of Irish brewing, Tim Miller thinks there’s room for one more establishment.

Miller shelled out $1,200 to buy the rights to National Premium at an auction in New York and has begun work to showcase the retro brew in Charm City.

“I bought the trademark because it was available, it was honestly kind of a shock,” said Miller. “I  had a history with the beer. My Dad would drink it, his friends would come over to the house and they would be drinking it.

“So once I got older I would drink it as well; so, I had a lot of familiarity with it,” he explained. “Thought it was pretty cool that I had this unique opportunity to bring it back to life, and here we are.”

The only issue has been actually making the beer. As a real estate agent in Easton, 50 miles from Baltimore on Maryland’s eastern shore, Miller admittedly has no prior brewing experience. To solve that problem, Miller went to Tim Kelly, a man who has spent his life as a brewer in Baltimore and used to make National Premium when he worked for Carling Brewery in the 1980s.

Kelly, who currently lives in Baltimore County, may be the linchpin in getting National Premium back to its former glory, Miller said.

Kelly said he was skeptical of the reboot at first, noting that he would not help if Miller was in it just for the clout of owning a beer company. Those suspicions quickly vanished once the two met in person, and it moved very quickly from there.

“I didn’t waste any time,” said Kelly. “I told him I didn’t have any time for bulls***t. If he wasn’t taking this serious[ly], and just wanted to walk around and say he owned a beer company, I wasn’t going to be a part of it.”

  As it stands now, most of the products made by National Premium are produced at the Wild Goose brewery, in Easton. However, there are products made in Baltimore right now, the men said. At the Oliver Brewing Co., which is located on Shannon Drive in Baltimore, they produce one of National Premiums beers called Snow Goose. Although there is only one beer made in the city right now, the men are looking to expand.

“Absolutely,” Miller responded when asked about routing the beer in Baltimore, “We’d love to be right there in the heart of Canton, right on Brewers hill.” 

Brewers hill is a popular neighborhood in Southeast Baltimore, and previously the home of National Premium when it originally started. This area is marked by the iconic orange neon “Mr. Boh” sign that illuminates over Canton square.

To Miller, Canton represents the future for Baltimore. A good place for small businesses to flourish. Miller said he would like to open more than just a brewery in Canton, sharing his vision of a tap room and museum as well. Miller said the relationship between Baltimore and National Premium beer is historic and many Marylanders may find it intriguing.

One question that National Premium is going to quickly have answered is what kind of demand there will be for another small market beer. Bartender Joe Lamirande said the market for local beers may already be too saturated.

Lamirande, 39, has been a journeyman bartender ever since he was 20 years old, and has worked in bars around the country, mainly in Detroit and around Baltimore. He now works at a restaurant in Westminster and has had a lot of experience with selling the many different beers the world has to offer.

“I don’t know man, it’s a tough scene right now,” Lamirande said, as he wiped down his empty bar. “Now, more than ever, there’s just so much to choose from. Especially around here with Flying Dog and Heavy Seas. I feel like you have to stick out. What can you do to get people to choose your beer over others on a consistent basis?”

Lamirande understands the fierce competition. The micro-brewing scene in Maryland is at an all-time high, making it increasingly difficult to stick out. In this rat race, Miller said he has focused on marketing two things: nostalgia and simplicity.

Miller said that nostalgia is a selling point that not many new breweries can use. So, focusing on the retro aspect of the beer is vital for National Premium to bring old customers back, he said. Those who drank the beer when it was originally brewed, can now enjoy the beverage again.

The second selling point is simplicity itself, Miller said. When asked about how to compete with micro brewing companies in today’s beer landscape, Miller said, “We aren’t one of them, we’re just a regular domestic beer, a domestic Maryland beer.”

A lot of small beer companies have a heavy focus on bringing in new and exotic beers. National Premium will focus on what they feel works best, and that is simplistic, original brews, the men said.

When asked where National Premium could be in five years, Miller mentioned Stella Artois as a company he wishes to emulate but emphasized his need for originality. The goal is to be a top Maryland beer, he said.

“At the end of the day we want to be a powerhouse,” he said. “The powerhouse. The Maryland powerhouse beer.”