Hook and Ladder Lighter

This is not a well-reviewed beer, but I actually kinda liked it. Here’s why: The look is a clear, brilliant golden color. A decent finger of Italian Ice head. Some heavy carbonation. Doesn’t look bad. The smell is actually of some real barley in a lagerish malt. A nice, biscuity sweetness. Ever-so-slight pilsnery hop. Again, surprisingly solid. The malt is biscuity sweet, and tastes like all-barley. As it warms, the taste doesn’t deteriorate. It’s a surprisingly solid lager; good for summer. A little sweet, a tad bitter. The feel is smooth, with only an itsy-bitsy bite (a nibble?) on the way down. Not chunky, not really watery. Maybe it’s just the context in which I had it, but this is a refreshing, "respectable" summer beer. I wasn’t expecting much but was surprised nicely. Not incredible, but highly drinkable.

12oz bottle-pours a foamy tight white head and yellow color. Aroma is husky, corn. Taste is seltzer, some husky, corn, spice hops.

Bottle. Body is a clear and light gold with fizzy carbonation and a little bit of a fizzy and quickly dying head. Aromas weak and malty with a bit of honey and cream. Flavor is completely pointless. A bit of watery creamed corn with little else to offer. This is pretty bland and weak. I’ll pass on a second!

I will never understand the appeal of a Light beer brewed for the sake of lesser calories and equally lesser taste. Light beers, aka table beers or mild ales are nothing new, but they were brewed to a lower ABV and gravity with the goal of great taste. That way all members of the family could enjoy a glass together, even children; it was a social affair as natural and normal as one’s morning cup of joe. Caloric intake was obviously not a concern. I would dare say it wouldn’t have even been a twinkling of a whisper of an idea. Table beers and mild beers were a refreshing beer packed with flavor and low alcohol so that imbibing could be an enjoyable pleasure during social events, work, and family functions to name a few. Unfortunately, I feel this tradition is on the verge of extinction, threatened by a sea of lack-luster, fizzy, mass-produced, and dumbed down light beers, lagers especially, which unamazingly all taste the same. Uniformity for the sake of profiteering which compromises and threatens the richness of diversity is a tragic insult to everyone’s ability to independently explore and discover the limitless flavors of life, particularly beer. Hopefully the Hook & Ladder Lighter will be the exception to this bastion of boorish conformity.

She pours a clear light straw with some brighter golden hues which settle in quickly underneath a thick white blanket. Generous carbonation leaves a splattering of bubbles throughout her head and clinging to the sides of my glass while her nose reaches out to me. Sweet cereal grains with a touch of honey and lemon esters and a minimalistic finish. I try to look for more, but there is nothing to find; her nose has spoken. My first quaff is generous since I fear I shall have to work harder to find her palate. A clean body with light to medium weight. All of her flavor centers in the middle of my tongue, hitting fast and not hanging around for the after-dinner show. Faint lemon zest leads into a touch of lemon skin bitterness while soft grains give her a bit of a creamy mouthfeel. Is that a touch of lemon in the finish? No discernable honey, each quaff is clean, easy, and light with white wonder bread and lemon esters.

I will never get tired of trying a typical American Standard Lager in the hopes that I will occasionally stumble across a real gem amidst the rubble. The Hook & Ladder Lighter came to the show, and that was about it. Outstanding in no particular way, she quickly fades into the background along with the rest of her standardized brethren.

12 oz. bottle. The pour is clear and yellow, almost food coloring like. The head is thin, white, and wispy and disappears almost immediately. The aroma ia metal and corn and the flavor is light and watery with hints of corn, grains, and malt. Relatively clean for the style.

From the Jug at the GABF, Colorado Convention Center 11/10/2007 Golden coloured and hoppy with some dryness in a lasting pale malt finish.

Overall Impression: Just like the Golden Ale, I see this one all over the place in the NE, and while it is a tad better then its Macros counterparts, it’s really just a boring Light Lager.