Forty years ago, Coors Banquet was the gold standard in American beer, iconic and scarce enough to send Snowman and Bandit on one of moviedom’s greatest car chase capers, hauling a truckload of bootleg brews from Texas, where Colorado-brewed Coors legally could be sold, to Georgia, where it could not.

See a “Smoke and the Bandit” clip here.

In today’s craft-dominated landscape, we’re good at making new friends; not so good at keeping the old. That’s often for legitimate reasons. Lack of taste and availability, in most cases. But, perhaps, with the boom in the adult beverage market – craft beers, alcoholic ciders, sugary sodas and root beers – we’ve simply lost touch with our beer roots.

In honor of Coors Banquet’s recent gold medal in the American-Style Lager/Light Lager category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival, here’s a look at a few of the beers we (mostly) left behind:

Gold: Hamm’s – For people in Minnesota in the decades after World War II, Hamm’s was so ubiquitous it became a synonym for beer, which probably led to confusion at picnics. The St. Paul-based brewery, founded in 1865, transitioned through a series of owners in the 20th century and into families that included fellow swill-beers Olympia and Stroh’s. Hamm’s is still brewed and sold, in select markets, by the MillerCoors company.

Silver: Rainier Beer – Better remembered for the motorcycle-rev translation of its name, made famous in a 1970s advertising campaign, than for its recipe, “raiiiiiiiii-nieeeeeeeer-beeeeeeeer” closed its Seattle-based brewery in 1999. The brand was acquired by Pabst, which continues to produce the label.

Bronze: National Bohemian – If you’re of a certain age and you grew up near Baltimore, where “Natty Boh” was brewed and officially embraced as the city’s hometown beer in the 1960s, this brew was likely a go-to. Now owned by Pabst, the brand is experiencing something of a renaissance among younger drinkers who appreciate the heritage cachet – and perhaps even the taste.

Honorable mention: Glacier Bay – Before it was a budget-friendly product line at Home Depot, before it disappeared from beer aisles altogether, Glacier Bay was the budget-friendly swill of choice for many people who didn’t care what they swilled. It was an import from Canada, so we felt a little fancy, and some of the bottles even had a gimmick: a nifty slot in the base you could use to open your next one. If you made it that far.

Honorable mention: Pabst Blue Ribbon – The flagship beer of the king-of-tailgate-beer holding company, Pabst Brewing, is itself a noteworthy entry in our “dad/beer pong” category. If what you’re seeking is an old school, patriotic package and a taste that pairs well with chewing gum – or you’re a hipster on a budget – PBR fits the bill.

For the record: Golden-based Coors Brewing Company has competed in every Great American Beer Festival and taken home 38 medals since the event was founded in 1982. The company’s Banquet lager, brewed since 1873 using high-country barley and Rocky Mountain water from the Clear Creek watershed, beat out more than 55 other entrants to take the category’s top award.