Repair-It

Bob wrote:To be fair, a 50 cent increase on a dollar base price is a 50% increase so I think it is reasonable to have different expectations for quality.

A: 1/2 finger head with little retention on clear straw colored body.

S: typical for the genre is the sweet corn, light malt aroma.

T: this one is one of the best in the genre. Its fuller bodied and it lacks any bitter or sourness that turns me off from these beers.

M: light body and high carbonation.

Overall: refreshing, easy to drink and certain one of the better bargain beers out there.

when you are talking cheap american lagers, look no further than this one for one of the best in the game. no off flavors here, not the least bit sweet, and just good, easy drinking, refreshingly carbonated, yellow beer. not to be over analyzed i dont think, but when the sun is shining and seafood is on the table, this one is hard to beat if you dont want to drink down the fancy beers in the cellar or fridge. really nice head, and it holds on for a long time, especially for the style. the lager yeast is different too, less bready, more compatible with the light hops in here, and working sugars down to a very very dry finishing beverage. tasty, really no complaints for this, especially when compared to its peer group. best when ice cold, right from the can.

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a finger high bright white head that quickly died down but consistently left a thin layer of bubbles covering the surface.
S: There are light to moderate aromas of cracker and grainy malts in the nose along with some notes of corn adjuncts.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has flavors of cracker and grainy malts. There is a very light amount of bitterness and some hints of corn adjuncts.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate to high amount of carbonation. It doesn’t feel thin or watery.
O: This beer is easy to drink and tastes a lot maltier compared to other adjunct lagers (with less noticeable presence of adjuncts). It definitely tastes a lot better compared to other beers in the style.

Poured roughly into a glass, a thick head of creamy white froth will rise above the golden body below. The head retention is surprisingly good, and it leaves some very nice sheets of lace along the side of the glass.

There's a little bit of sulphur in the nose which is not surprising as it's a lager; but there's also a little bit of dimethyl sulfite (cooked corn) which is a little odd. There's just a touch, and after a few sips you'll block it out and not notice it anymore. What hops are there are present in the background, and fairly generic. If pushed I would describe them as leafy and grassy.

There are a little more hops in the flavor though, although they remain at very low levels. I get some floral character, and a tiny bit of spiciness in addition to the continued leafy and grassy notes. Mainly, it offers a sweetish, corn like maltiness. And I'm not suggesting that it's made with corn (I don't believe that's the case), but I think that little bit of DMS suggests it in the flavor of the malt. The bitterness is kept at a fairly low level, along with the hop flavor, but there's just enough there to keep it from becoming sweet; and in comparison to some other American lagers that seem almost completely devoid of hops, this one's got at least some character.

The body is light/medium; and it's got a gently crisp carbonation that helps balance it without leaving you gassy - although I do have to note that I always give it a bit of a rough pour to bring up the head, which then cuts down on the remaining carbonation by a bit. And on that note, I would suggest that this beer only be consumed from a glass. If you drink it from a can or bottle you'll completely miss its subtle nuances, and it will appear as generic "beer".

The drinkability of this beer rests mainly in its accessibility. There's just not enough character to keep you wanting to come back for more, but given limited options there's not really anything to keep you away.

A: Pours a crystal clear pale golden yellow in color with light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a two finger tall foamy white head that reduces to a very thick layer covering the entire surface of the beer. Significant lacing is observed.

S: Light aromas of malts with some adjunct presence - mostly grainy. The beer has a sweet aroma with some very light grassy hop notes.

T: The beer has a malty body with a lot of sweet grainy notes and some very light grassy hop bitterness.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied with high amounts of carbonation.

O: This is a pretty decent American Adjunct Lager, actually one of the better ones I have had recently. I think the beer is very easy to drink and could easily be a session beer. Not overpowering, this beer is definitely better than expected. Better balance than I expected.

You should try a black velvet with narragansett. Pour half a glass of beer, then fill the rest with guiness. The guiness floats on top and they go really well together.

That Black Velvet sounds good. I'll have to try that.