City LaCrosse Lager

Brewed by City Brewery (Melanie Brewing Co)
Style: Pale Lager
La Crosse, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

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Bubbly, yellowish color. Head is thick and soapy smelling. Somewhat sweet. Skunky aftertaste. I will probably only drink when I'm already drunk, but at $6 for 12, how could I have gone wrong?

I was born here, so there's a bit of a sentiment with drinking this. Not that I ever did when I lived there (I moved out when I was 4), but still...Anyway, This is a fairly sweet lager, with a decent enough taste. Easy to drink, especially, I guess, if your fishing, as that is what was on my can.

UPDATED: OCT 8, 2003 Definetely the new swill beer of choice. There is actually a little bit of hop flavor going on. Somewhat dry and crisp, its actually refreshing for the swill that it is. $6.49 for a tweleve of bottles.

The reason why folks keep comparing this to Old Style is because this IS Old Style. In fact, La Crosse Lager is more like the original Old Style than the current Old Style. You see, according to the folks on the City Brewery tour, Old Style used to take about 72 days to make. When Heileman sold the label, the new producers didn't want to wait that long to brew it. So, they made some changes to the recipe. La Crosse Lager is actually the original Old Style recipe. All that said, there's nothing special about it, save very slight bitterness. It is nearly indiscernable from La Crosse Light, so if you are going to drink one of them, go with fewer calories. Can't beat the price while in the La Crosse area.

This is a great tasting American standard lager. It's fully krausened just as Old Style was. In fact, this is a lot like Old Style and that means it's a pretty damn good brew. Nice balance of malt and hops. I'm certain adjuncts are present but this beer doesn't taste corny or cheap. It's very refreshing. Straw color, average head. Cheers!

So I felt the need to class up my list of ratings with the one, and only (as far as I know, anyway), can of beer with a magnificent walleye painting! This lager has above average flavor for the style. In fact, LaCrosse lager is clearly above repulsive status. And, did I mention, there's a damned fish on the can? Holy shit!

UPDATED: MAY 1, 2009 Canned. I want to say something nice about the folks at City Brewery, who worked hard to keep the yeast active at the brewery after Pabst/Stroh’s bought out the Old Style name and closed them down. In fact, this is a pretty decent American lager. Pouring from the can gives a nice fluffy head that remains for most of the drink. The usual straw color is no surprise. Can’t find anything wrong with the taste, which is okay considering its Wisconsin-cheap price. Definitely recommend this as your basic lawnmower beer.
I took this to my brewclub meeting with the current Old Style to see how they stacked up against each other. Even in tiny sample glasses, sitting warming on a picnic table, we had no difficulty picking out this as the better beer (though truthfully, not much better).

Fresh out of the collector series can decorated with a large Walleye swimming in his natural habitat. Bought in the city it was brewed for $9 a case. Quite light, even for a Lager, with a nice yellow-amber color, strong head and a very subtle sweet hoppy character. While quite drinkable, I like to keep this around for guests that lack a discriminating palate and that sacreligiously abandon 3/4 full beers only to be found post-party when they are beyond recessitaion. No beer should be deprived of kidney refinement. Does destiny mean nothing to these people?

UPDATED: MAY 26, 2005 Good color, nice apperance acceptable aroma. Now for the important part: taste is not very complex but refreshing and inoffensive. Slightly watery, but fruity and not full of adjuncts. Actually has a rather classic beer taste. Certainly a big step up from BMC, and at 5.99/15 pk., well worth the money. If you can get this stuff, and you are on a budget, i HIGHLY reccomend it.

Like many aforementioned reviews, I was drawn to by the price. I expected shitty beer, but didn't get it. Nice honey color, initial head that dissipates quickly, goes down smooth. Best combo of price/flavor out there.