Big Flats 1901

There's not a whole heck of a lot of information out there about Big Flats 1901.   It's a fairly new beer that's the private label beer of the store Walgreens.   Interesting enough just for those reasons, it's also cheap enough that it could rival PBR & MHL as far as drinkable cheap beers go.   Big Flats 1901 will cost you $2.99 for a 6 pack.   You can't beat that which is why I rushed to try it..  mostly just for giggles.   The way I feel is this beer can't be any worse than Bud, Miller, or Coors so it's totally worth a chance, and I'm sure most people are going to feel the same.

There's very little actual information about this beer circling the internet at this point.   All I really have to offer is that is it an American Adjunct Lager (obviously) and it has a 4.5% ABV.   Also it's brewed by Genesee Brewing Company, which is better known for Genesee Cream Ale.

The can made me laugh..  "Brewed from only the choicest hops."   "Genuine Brew"  "It's the water that makes it."
Pretty nifty looking can though, in my opinion.

A:   Light straw color with two fingers of white head.  Pours a clear, thinly-hued, light straw body.   A 2 to 3 finger puffy and bubbly white head initially sits on top of the beer but reduces to just a small ring around the glass.

S:  Standard grain and corn is about it.  Faint (understatement) spicy and earthy hops.

T:  Very light and mild taste.   Not a whole heck of a lot to it.   Grains, corn, and spicy hops sum up the flavor very well in my opinion.  Very watery/dry finish to this beer with a hint of bitterness.

M: Low bodied with medium carbonation.   It's crisp and refreshing.

D:  I didn't have a problem putting one down within a minute or too.   The lack of a taste makes it really easy to drink.   I'd challenge someone who doesn't like beer to drink one of these because I don't think they'd be able to say it's disgusting.   I could see stashing a few of these away in the fridge for a warm summer day.

Grade:  One thumb up.   It's not a bad beer by any means.   It's not something you'd seek out, but if you were at Walgreens or in the general area, why not pick it up?   You won't be disappointed.    I'd drink this over Bud, Miller, or Coors.

Labatt Blue

Another trip into the world of American Adjunct Lagers brings us a Buffalo, NY staple, Labatt Blue.   I'll admit I'm not a huge Blue/Blue Light fan for whatever reason.   I'd drink it if it was there, but I never really went out of my way.   Well, I've been down in Orlando for about 4 months now and I have jumped at the opportunity to once again try Blue.   Labatt pushes Blue Light far more and far harder than Blue, and I actually think I may be more partial to Blue which is why I'm doing this review.  Although I'll eventually get around to reviewing the Light variation also.   The only difference between the US version of Blue and the Canadian version is the ABV.   4.7% and 5% respectively.

A:  There's nothing special about the way this beer looks.   It's clear yellow, and there's absolutely no head nor lacing.   Very very little carbonation is present.   It pretty much looks like colored water.

S: Blue has a good smell for an adjunct lager.   It's got slight hop presence and a little bit of corn.   There's also a hint of apple mixed in there.  

T:   Corn and a heavy metallic taste up front.  A bit of sour apple on the finish.  It's a pretty straight forward simple taste.  Extremely average.

M:  Light bodied with slight carbonation to give it some substance so it doesn't feel like water.   Smooth finish.

D:  Blue is a good beer to sit around and drink and drink and drink and drink if that's your thing.  It's easily drinkable and the taste isn't awful.

Grade: One thumb down.   I don't hate Blue, but let's get serious here.   It's not a "good" beer.   It's cheap and easily accessible, especially back in Buffalo.   That's it's savior.   I'm not saying I wouldn't ever drink it.  It's the easy safe choice if you can't decide what to get.   It just won't ever wow you.   It's a good beer to drink if you just want to drink a beer.

Genesee Cream Ale

I had a lot of fun when I pulled a review out of left field and went macro and reviewed Pabst Blue Ribbon. I've been waiting awhile to follow it up with another macro from the same level. In Buffalo, I always looked at Genesee Cream ale and snickered and would walk by. That was until I found out that Genesee Cream Ale was in Orlando, for some odd reason. I figured I just HAD to pick up a 12 pack because of this. Perfect opportunity to do another beer review of a adjunct lager. Despite it being a Cream Ale, it's definitely an adjunct lager. But who am I to tell Genesee they are wrong?

A little history on the "award winning classic."

In the old days, there were ales and there were lagers. Ales were flavorful. Lagers were smooth. And never the twain did meet.

Until Genesee Cream Ale. And then the twain met head on to form an American Original with the flavor of an ale and the smoothness of a lager.
Cream Ale is unique. Then. Now. Always.

* We skillfully warm-ferment Genesee Cream Ale with our own signature top-fermenting yeast.
* During the aging process, every batch of Cream Ale is krausened to achieve an uncommonly smooth character.
* The process results in Cream Ale’s remarkably creamy white head and a body that is far more distinguished than standard American lagers.

5.2 ABV which seems slightly high for your standard macro. No complains by me, I normally find the better tasting beers to hover around the 5.5 ABV area.




A - Standard straw colored macro looking beer here. Very minimal lacing, and what lacing there is, dissipates rather quickly. Very minimal head on the pour that also dissipates quickly. I wasn't really expecting anything different, so I can't say I'm disappointed.

S - Not a very strong scent is present here. Adjunct corn and some malty sweetness pretty much sums it up.

T - Slighly metallic grainy flavor. Slight hop bitterness mixed with adjunct corn flavors. Finish is dry, zesty and clean.

M - Low to medium bodied. Closer to medium than to low. Carbonation is present, but it seems "right." Seems like just enough, not overdone.

D - Very drinkable beer, as most adjunct lagers are.

Grade - One thumb up. It's good for what it is. Genesee Cream Ale is very similar to Pabst Blue Ribbon in my opinion. Both beers are poked fun at, but if you compare them to the standard BMCs, they are clearly better, and even cheaper.

Pabst Blue Ribbon

I felt it would be fun to do a review of this type.  I've never had PBR and I've heard mixed reviews about it for years. People love it, people hate it. Regardless, it's in the high 70s right now, I just got out of work, took a shower, and I'm sitting here sweating. Perfect time for a refreshing beer.
So.. here we are.. American Adjunct Lagers. Some of the finest beers in existence are of this type (HAR HAR) - - Budweiser, Miller High Life, Coors, Corona, Blue, Busch, classic.. tasty beers. Am I right? Pabst should be right up there on this pristine list of American staples.
I'm actually excited to try this beer, and I'm going to try to write a serious review on it.

A: Was actually surprised by the amount of head that accumulated on the pour. 10 seconds later though, as expected, it's all pretty much gone. Rather soapy looking head though. I'm shocked how see-through this beer really is. Pretty much looks like carbonated colored water. The color though is a very light yellow. Very light lacing left behind.

S: A lot of people say PBR reeks of an awful offensive skunky sour smell (I think those are just people trying to knock it.) I don't smell that at all. In fact I don't smell much at all... maybe some hops with a slight bread smell. That's about it.

T: Hoppy bitterness in the front. More hoppy than I thought based on the lack of a smell. The bitter hoppy front gives away to a dry almost wheat-like finish. Not a bad taste at all. Based on some horror stories I was expecting something a lot different. I'm not going to sit here and say it has this huge amazing flavor. It really doesn't. But if you take it for what it's worth and for what it is.. it's actually a pretty good flavor. So if you rate this against a Russian Imperial Stout, Hefeweizen, Tripel, etc.. you'll obviously be disappointed and say it sucks. If you put it against your average American Adjunct Lager, you definitely can't be disappointed with the taste.

M: Very light bodied. It's crisp and refreshing. Everything you could want out of this kind of beer.

D: On a nice warm day, you can get caught up drinking one after another. High drinkability mixed with low alcohol leaves you wanting more.



Grade: I can't find any real flaws with PBR. Obviously it wouldn't be my first choice, but I could definitely see myself having a few of these stocked in the fridge at all times when I just want a quick beer to drink. It's cheap.. (I think I paid $6 for 12pk) and it's decent. Can't really ask for more, can you? I mean for a beer that is so dirt cheap to buy, it's a quality deal. I would take PBR over BMCs any day, no questions asked.

I'm sure most of you guys have had PBR so I would love to get some feed back and some reviews possibly.

My grade.. and take it with a grain of salt.. I'm not telling you to rush out and start pounding PBR because it's such a high quality beer (although I'm sure most of you have had those experiences with it).. my grade is two thumbs up.