Green Valley Brewing Wild Hop Lager

Brewed by Anheuser-Busch InBev
Style: Premium Lager
St. Louis, Missouri USA

12oz. bottle. Very lightly aroma of corn syrup sweetness, a certain fresh grassiness and traces of light malt. Clear, pale amber color with an off-white, creamy head. Flavor profile is a bit strange, some sweetness that seems vegetative in an odd way combined with a hint of grassy hop character and a rather unsavory finish that seems chemical in nature, in contrast to its organic labeling. Very lightly astringent bitterness towards the background at the end. Body is light-medium, mouthfeel is unusually coating for a lager style. Not that enjoyable, and I certainly don’t recommend it. I do have an admitted bias against A-B but this rating doesn’t take that into account much. I truly found it not much to my liking. Good thing I only had the one bottle.

Bottle code 06272 FH55

Pours with a light amber body, well-carbonated, under a white head that retains yet finishes as a thick skin. Hop character fades as this beer warms (which I found odd), but initially it is fresh, leafy and sharply pungent. Later whiffs find dry, cracked grain with the hops fading to uric notes. A mild flavor with bittersweet character does nothing to bowl me over. Thin with a sugary finish, hints of alcohol and a gassy bloat.

Like many others have mentioned, I too was effectively duped into buying this organic brew from "Green Valley Brewing, Fairfield, CA". A/B’s underhanded marketing tactics pulled the wool over my eyes. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind purchasing from "the Big 3" on occasion, and I usually know exactly what I’m getting into. But this type of guerilla-marketing is a cruel attempt to steal market-share away from "the little guys". It’s a shadey way of raking in cash from the unsuspecting buyer who may otherwise have limited faith in Anheuser-Busch branding. Shame on you. Overall "1".

On tap at Barleys in Knoxville. A golden pour with a hint of red. A nice thick white head. A taste of malt and a slight off taste of almost like sulphur. A very dry finish. A tad of hops but not much. Not a bad beer but not real good either. This was my rating as I had it. Had no idea it was an AB product. I was surprised.

12 oz bottle from Blue Max in Burnsville, MN (Oct 2006) consumed a bit above fridge temperature from a Corsendonk glass. They did a good job of hiding the macro ownership of this beer; I didn’t know until I opened this page that it was a Bud "premium" product, so I’m going to try to taste it as if I didn’t know that......pours fairly nicely, with a big frothy near-white head atop the bubbly, brassy body which at first glance seems a touch cloudy but no, it’s just the bubbling, it gets quite clear and thin-appearing after 5 minutes....aroma of faint rather cooked smelling hops, light pale malt, a bit worty....sweetish on the tongue, faint grapy sourness, pretty dull though a touch of smoky/toasty character shows up near the end....moderate to full body, light fizzy carbonation, dry finish. Probably the best beer I’ve had from these guys.

Now, if Budweiser was made like this beer, I’d drink it. It’s obviously an all-malt lager, with nice straw maltiness (although not dry) some slight hop aroma in the nose. It’s definitely not hoppy, but there is a very slight bitterness in the back to balance the malt. I honestly enjoyed this beer. I think this beer suffers in perception from its association with AB.

Had difficulty locating the listing here. Was very surprised to find this was an AB beer. It was nice and smooth. Enjoyed it at a tasting. Not convinced about the advantages of organic beers but this was quite nice.

Sample from a bottle at Binny’s "Fall Festival of BEERS." Surprsingly mild on hops. Some wheaty malts, golden color.

Bottle... Clear, golden lager with a small, frothy, white head. Decent retention. Earthy, hop nose with a dash of white pepper. Perfectly balanced flavor, but watery. Light to medium-bodied and fizzy. Short, crisp, clean finish.