Yuengling--The Oldest & Biggest!

Yuengling holds a special place in the hearts of the Brews Brothers as an affordable yet quality beer; so when I heard they are now America's largest brewer, I had to share the news here on our blog!

You may be as surprised as I was, but consider that Budweiser, Miller and Coors have all been purchased by foreign companies and Yuengling's recent expansion into the Ohio market makes them the American beer king!

The next closest is the Boston Beer Co (Sam Adams) who simply brewed less beer than our friends at Yuengling.

Source:
Trade Journal Beer Marketer's Insights http://www.beerinsights.com/
MSNBC http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/17/10175670-brewer-youve-never-heard-of-is-no-1-in-us-depending-how-you-count?chromedomain=usnews

Genesee Brewing Company - Heritage Collection

Genesee

Beer & Ale

Old-Fashioned Goodness

Heritage Collection

Approximately 5% ABV

Warning: The Genesee (Genny) mixed pack does not deserve three separate reviews.

I started with the Cream Ale, expecting it to be the best of the three.  I can't even express this letdown in writing.  Quite simply, it was like drinking the disappointment of Ashton Kutcher replacing Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men...mixed with a cheap beer aftertaste.  At $7.99 for a 12-pack mixer, my expectations were low to begin with, but I remained very open-minded.   It is unfortunate that my hopes of it being "Natty" mixed with cream soda still seem more promising in retrospect. 

I then moved on to the 12 Horse Ale.  I figured there was no sense in letting their surprisingly unfortunate taste ruin more than one night.  It was slightly better than the Cream Ale, but nowhere near convincing me to buy it again.  It is appropriately named "12 Horse Ale" because I equate its taste to licking about 12 horses, conservatively. However, while you're drinking it, if you close your eyes...and think real hard...you can almost imagine 12 different ways you regret ever buying this. 

Finally, we have the one with the plain label, and even more non-descriptive name.  "Genesee Beer."  Unfortunately, this was the best of the three, the only one to surpass the "urine" level of taste.  "One Great Brewery. One Great Taste."  I am telling you this is a lie, consider me your new best friend. 

Not even if this Heritage Collection went on sale at 50% off plus having a coupon for it would I consider buying this again. You have been warned.  A homeless man wouldn't even steal this beer from you if he knew what it tasted like, even if he was guaranteed to never get caught.  In fact, he would probably give you spare change just to take it back, and then go lick a stray dog's face to get "Genny's"  taste out of his mouth.

It seems as though I still have an inexpensive-yet-great-tasting-beer-shaped hole in my heart than can only be filled by the Molson XXX.  Now I may have only had bad things to say about my Genny experience, but if you are not concerned with taste, and only price, this may be for you.  The only real upside is the shape of the bottle.  You can kinda palm the entire thing, so when you get angry at the taste you can easily chuck it in your fury as if it were a softball.  Don't let yourself get that mad, and I am not responsible if you drink this and have that reaction.  You have been warned.

I will not be calling Genny back.

Sorry, nothing to drink here.

Nevertheless, stay thirsty,

-Thirsteve

Left Hand Brewing Company--Milk Stout

Left Hand’s Milk Stout has a purple label with a cow that made me think it was going to be a psychedelic trip through the farmland, but it pours with a dark body and foamy head that were superbly adult.

As I sipped this stout, I was transported, not to an Ohio dairy farm, but the espresso notes took me to a trendy city café. An acoustic guitarist played a smooth, finger-picked melody while cars and pedestrians filled the bustling streets just outside the window. The Milk Stout’s soft carbonation tingled on my tongue and I looked across the room to notice a lovely lady walking in my direction. “Nice stout.” She said as she walked by and I thought to myself, “Yes, this is a nice stout.”

Stay classy,

-Captain Z