Oregon Beer Week: Full Sail 21

Oregon Beer Week: Full Sail 21

Full Sail is one of the “old guard” among Oregon brewers; they were founded in 1987 in Hood River. According to their Wikipedia entry, Full Sail was the first craft brewery in the Pacific Northwest to bottle their beer for retail—something I did not know, actually. In 1989 they won … Continue reading

Oregon Beer Week

Oregon Beer Week

As regular readers are no doubt aware (thanks to my incessant blogging last week on the subject), this past Saturday, February 14th, was the state of Oregon’s 150th birthday—its sesquicentennial. I’m a pretty big fan of this state—I was born and raised here, after all—and given that Oregon is one … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Milwaukee’s Best Ice

American Macro Week 2: Milwaukee’s Best Ice

Milwaukee’s Best is (anecdotally) a decent beer in the American Macro style, better than many of the others. Unfortunately I didn’t get a hold of any to review this week; it’s only sold (at minimum) by the half-case and I was only buying singles. On the other hand, Milwaukee’s Best … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Corona Extra

American Macro Week 2: Corona Extra

The inclusion of Corona (a Mexican beer) might seem strange for a week about American Macro Lagers, but I contend (or at least suspect) that more Corona is actually sold/drank in the United States than in Mexico. Indeed, I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s targeted for the U.S. market directly; … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Bud Light Lime

American Macro Week 2: Bud Light Lime

Bud Light Lime is Anheuser-Busch‘s answer to Miller Chill. Unlike Miller, who claims their Chill is brewed with limes and salt, Bud Light Lime is only stated to have "natural lime flavor." It’s 4.2% alcohol by volume, and (to ruin the surprise) rates higher than Miller Chill on the rating … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Miller Chill

American Macro Week 2: Miller Chill

A revisitation of the American Macro genre wouldn’t be complete without checking out the so-called "chelada" beers being offered. Miller Chill was one of the first in this category, and is brewed with lime and salt. Or it’s at least blended with lime and salt; I’m not entirely sure how … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Bud Ice

American Macro Week 2: Bud Ice

Bud Ice is, of course, the "ice beer" offering from Anheuser-Busch. A-B claims that it’s the first (American) draft beer to be "ice brewed", which I’m not really in a position to verify thoroughly; they claim it was introduced in 1984 which seems early enough to be plausible. This beer … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Landshark Lager

American Macro Week 2: Landshark Lager

Landshark Lager has an interesting pedigree, and probably one I’ll bet you didn’t think you’d see reviewed under the "Macro" category. Not so. Even though it’s marketed by Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville franchise, the beer itself is brewed by—you guessed it—Anheuser-Busch and is in fact brewed to the "American Macro" style. … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Natural Light

American Macro Week 2: Natural Light

I’m probably reviewing Anheuser-Busch‘s "Natural" series backwards; yesterday I reviewed Natural Ice and tonight it’s Natural Light., which was introduced first back in 1977. Oh well. Natural Light is pretty typical for the "light" beer category; it only comes in at 4.2% alcohol by volume, and, well, I picked up … Continue reading

American Macro Week 2: Natural Ice

American Macro Week 2: Natural Ice

Natural Ice is a relative newcomer to the Anheuser-Busch family, introduced in 1995. (Natural Light was introduced in 1977.) Along with the Busch line, the "Natural" beers are part of A-B’s "value priced" category—also called "subpremium-priced." The beer is 5.9% alcohol by volume (which seems to be the trend among … Continue reading