Northern Reserve Golden Lager

Northern Reserve Golden Lager

Price: Approximately 45 cents a can ($4.99 + tax for a 12 pack)

Aroma:

Mostly malty, small hop note, pretty thin

Appearance:

Light gold, very clear

Style:

American Adjunct Lager

Flavor:

The best way to describe the taste is to liken it to audio. It's like the treble and bass are turned way down, and the mids are blasted. It starts bland, hits hard in the middle with very effervescent malty/corny/sweet flavor, and finishes very weak. For some reason there's a woody taste...leaves me with more questions than answers. On the plus side, you can't really taste the can.

Mouthfeel:

The carbonation bites but is very light

A Word On The Warm:

Unsurprisingly enough warmth doesn't bring much else to the palette...although I almost enjoy it better warm. It tastes the same, but the warmth smoothes out the odd flavor misfires.

Comments:

This is again a Minnesota beer, and of course it's from Cold Springs. I'm beginning to think nothing good comes from there. Every beer I have ever tried from there is horrible...always lacking in something. I'm sure they mean well but yikes. I have to believe Northern, Blue Diamond, and Cold Springs breweries are related, because the beers from that area share so many similarities...and that's not a good thing. I couldn't resist the price and new off the bat it would fit this experiment. I can't say I hated it, but I definitely did not like it.

Recommendation:

I might recommend it to someone who doesn't discriminate among beers and is on a budget, but that's about it. Otherwise just pass on by, forget the price and buy something you know...your taste buds will thank you.

Conclusion:

Northern Reserve...Reserve room for something better.