Schell's Deer Brand Review

Name: Schell's Deer Brand
Style: Adjunct Lager
ABV: 4.8%

Tonight I have Schell's Deer Brand, a beer which many would consider to be a staple beer of the August Schell Brewing Company. That is, of course, if you don't count Grain Belt which is also brewed by Schell's and is also the same style, which is an adjunct lager.

Deer Brand pours a pale clear yellow with a thin filmy head that fades fast. The visible carbonation is rather mild in appearance and the lacing is non-existent.

The aroma consists primarily of pale malts, flaked corn, yeasts, barley and a mild but noticeable earthiness. Unlike most adjunct lagers, this one doesn't possess a smell which I would consider to be offensive.

The flavor is more or less the same as the nose but with a sweeter taste and greater emphasis on flaked corn and a pretty dry albeit mildly sweet aftertaste. None of the cooked vegetable/adjunct ingredients are blatantly present here. Also the earthiness present in the aroma is nowhere to be seen here.

The palate as a whole is pretty lightweight and the carbonation is fairly moderate in terms of intensity. You'll have a pretty easy time drinking this.

Of all the adjunct lagers out there, this is by far my favorite which is saying alot. It's cheap yet I don't have to worry about that offensive taste that I expect out of other adjunct lagers. Keep in mind, however, that if there is a better selection available, I'm going to overlook this without a second thought. However if you're on a tight budget and/or your selection is limited, then you can't go wrong with this.

Schell's Deer Brand - 7.5/10

Labatt Blue Review

Name: Labatt Blue
Style: American Adjunct/Pale Lager
ABV: 5%

Looks like we have ourselves a beer from our Canadian neighbors. I'm talking about Labatt Blue, courtesy of Labatt Brewing from London, Ontario. Many consider Labatt Blue to be Canada's Miller Lite but one must bear in mind that Labatt is owned by InBev-AB, so it would technically Canada's Budweiser.

I remember Labatt Blue commercials from when I was in middle school with that guy in the bear costume who sounded like John Ratzenberger. To give you an idea what I'm talking about, please refer to the video below...

As you can clearly see, the bar patron is more than happy to receive a Labatt Blue and is pretty calm for someone who just had a beer handed to them by a talking bear. Maybe the taste of Labatt Blue is so good that she forgot he was even a bear? Or maybe she was worried that the bear was gonna rip her face off?

In any case, let's take a look at Canada's Budweiser.

It pours a pale clear yellow color with a soapy head that has surprisingly good retention. The amount of carbonation visible is also pretty high in here as well, something which I'm not too surprised by.

I'm picking up some cereal grains, pale malts, cooked veggies, and some barnyard hay in the nose. As far as smell goes, it's like Budweiser but with a slightly less malt sweetness to it.

In the flavor, there are some cereal grains, pale malts, slight dry hoppiness, and barley. I find the taste to be slightly better than the aroma but the flavor as a whole is pretty mild & dry.

The body is pretty light in terms of weight and the carbonation starts out pretty strong but ends up being somewhere in the moderate range after a few minutes.

This is an example of a beer that tastes a lot better than it smells....but that isn't saying too much because the flavor is quite dry. To sum it up: skunky smell but dry flavor. Needless to say, this is one beer I will not be purchasing again anytime soon.

Labatt Blue - 3.5/10

Miller Lite Review

Using my incredible psychic powers, I can project your current thoughts onto the space below. Don't believe me? Watch this:


"Why are you reviewing this? We've all had it before!!!!!"


Yes, I can safely say the majority of beer drinkers out there have had Miller Lite at least once in their lives even though some of us will not admit to it. EVER. I'll admit to drinking it, even now, if it's the only thing available that is! Whether it's at a softball match, a hockey game or a bonfire; You will never see me turning down beer.

Miller Lite is one of the most widely sold beers in the world, but is out paced by it's distant cousin, Bud Light. Still when it comes to beer, Miller Lite is a heavyweight...at least when it comes to sales.

For me, Miller Lite brings back memories of a simpler time: being a broke college student! Miller Lite was the cheapest beer that we could find in mass quantities. Back then things were simpler, we didn't care about how it tasted, how it was made or what kind of hops (or lack thereof) were used nor did we worry about the crippling amount of student debt we would all incur one day. We cared about one thing when drinking Miller Lite: That it was cheap beer!

Now that it's been a few years since those times and my palette is a bit more refined, I'm going to approach Miller Lite from a critical point of view. Marketing gimmicks aside of course....

Why thank you! I always wanted an unnecessary porthole to help make my drinking experience more enjoyable.

Despite the label on the can that says "Great Pilsner Taste", this isn't a Pilsner and tastes nothing like one. Miller Lite is an American Adjunct Lager with 4.2% ABV

To start off, it pours a very clear and pale yellow color with tons of carbonation. The head is quite fizzy with a bit of foam to it and it finishes rather clean despite some lacing early on.

The nose is rather skunky with cooked corn, cereal grains, yeasts and a bit of malt sweetness thrown in.  The smell gets more offensive the more it warms up, not surprisingly. The flavor is pretty much the same but the flavors aren't as noticeable; This could also be because it's got a very dry aftertaste to it but  much like the flavor, it starts to taste worse the more it warms up.

The body is light and the carbonation is too heavy for it's own good, so not really a surprise there.

Even if you are a casual beer drinker, you know exactly what you are getting when you buy this. Much like Pabst, Miller Lite is best enjoyed straight from the can because if you pour into an open glass, everything about it goes further south than it already is. The difference between PBR and Miller is that PBR only gains a bit of skunkiness after an extended period while Miller tends to gain alot of skunkiness after a short period of time. Drink Miller Lite if it's the only thing there, otherwise seek out other options instead


Miller Lite - 2/10

Pabst Blue Ribbon Review

Name: Pabst Blue Ribbon
Brewed By: Miller Brewing Company
Style: Adjunct Lager
ABV: 4.74%

Where do I even begin with this?

Pabst Blue Ribbon or PBR, has seen a resurgence in recent years thanks to a previously untapped market, Hipsters. Say what you want about Hipsters, but you have to give them credit for bringing back a brand to the forefront of our culture.

But we're here to talk about PBR itself. It was originally brewed in Milwaukee, WI in the 1800's and reached it's peak in sales in the late 1970's. Even though the Pabst Brewing Company technically no longer exists, it is contact brewed out of Los Angeles, CA under a different company. As you may already know, they usually come in their trademark "tallboy" cans; I have yet to see an actual bottle of PBR. You can also find it in pretty much any liquor store and bar in America sitting next to the Schlitz and Old Style.

PBR pours a clear pale yellow color with a high amount of carbonation activity. The head starts out fluffy and soapy but quickly vanishes in just a couple of minutes.

The nose has a pale malts, cooked corn, cereal grains and barley scent. So far it smell pretty much like any typical Adjunct Lager but nowhere near as offensive. Flavor-wise you have your cooked corn, pale malts, lemon zest and some mild grassy notes. The aftertaste is also pretty dry as well.

The body is light and the carbonation is moderate and nowhere near as intense as Budweiser's carbonation, so it does have a crispness to it.

I'll put it to you straight: It is by no means a good beer at all, but if you're short on cash and want something that isn't cheap malt liquor, PBR does the job as long as you don't have high expectations. This beer also tastes better straight from the can and there is a reason for this; Because by pouring it into a glass, you're also getting a whiff of the odors which some would consider to be unpleasant and it ends up distorting your sense of taste. 

Pabst Blue Ribbon -  5/10