Matt Utica Club Pilsener Lager Beer

Brewed by Matt Brewing Company
Style: Pale Lager
Utica, New York USA

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

12oz can-pours a white head and yellow color. Aroma is corn/sweet-grain/light malt. Taste is corn/sweet-grain/light malt, secondary spice (hallertau) hops bitter. Doesn’t work.

Bottle. Pretty much what you’d expect ... straight up American lager. Pale golden, active. Crisp, quite clean. Well balanced. Finish is a snappy malt. Nothing to complain about here. (#4255, 9/13/2011)

Can. Head is initially average sized, fizzy/frothy, white, mostly diminishing. Body is clear light yellow. Aroma is lightly malty (grain, husks), with light notes of DMS and metal. Flavor is lightly to moderately sweet, lightly acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly acidic, lightly to moderately bitter, husky, unclean. Light body, watery texture, fizzy carbonation. I bought this because the can said it was "XX Pure". If there’s one thing I look for in beer, it’s hardcore pureness. Who has time for softcore, it’s 2011 now. This sharpened me up for a bit of the ultraviolent and the old in-out, in-out. Well, it probably would have if I had been able to stomach more than a few sips. It’s XX Pure Swill, baby.

Ahh... Utica Club. Not the most complex or interesting beer in the world, but it gets the job done. $2 for a 12oz can at Monty’s Korner. Pours a straw yellow, moderate carbonation. Unoffensive taste. I’m not going to say it’s miles ahead of Budweiser/Coors/Miller, but it is slightly better. Would drink another if I was in the mood.

Pours a pale lager yellow. Mild head. Has a slight fruity bread aroma. Some mild hops in the taste along with some sourness. It finishes sweet but dry. Not too bad at all.

On tap at Saranac brewery in Utica while killing time. Pours standard lager yellow with no head really. tastes of light hops, light malt, toast, grains. its very standard all around but went well with the silly beerstein cartoons they were showing from the 50’s

We all know there are a lot of beers on the market that are in no way intended to be crafty whatsoever. In fact, the majority of beer sold in America is treated as a commodity rather than something to be appreciated. The Matt Brewery, the makers of the Saranac line of beers, knows this and is unapologetic when it comes to their continued production of Utica Club Pilsener Lager Beer. According to the brewery (and the bottle’s label), it was the first beer served after prohibition in 1933. That’s quite a claim to fame, however, I don’t think the recipe has been changed since then.

This is a beer that has all the makings of a cheap mass-market lager, the difference being Utica Club isn’t nearly as offensive as those other commodity brews. It’s far from being true craft beer, but it’s definitely tolerable. The fact it’s only sold within 90 miles of Utica, New York seems to have given it something of a novelty status and in that aspect it works (sort of).

APPEARANCE AND AROMA

I poured a 12oz bottle into a tall pilsner glass. Judging by its superficial qualities, I’d say Utica Club is not all that different from the major market adjunct lagers we’re all used to by now. It’s a clear, white gold/straw color which is very bubbly at first, but eventually calms down almost completely. It produces a fairly small, fluffy, bright white head which fizzles away and leaves little to no lacing on the glass.

The aroma is also similar to the macro lagers although it does not seem to indicate the presence of any adjuncts. It has a typical grainy and generic "beer scent" but it is mild and easily tolerable. There’s even a touch of sweetness in the nose, although nothing about it is particularly appealing.

TASTE

There’s a certain expectation that comes with drinking a beer like Utica Club. This is a beer whose reputation precedes it (and it’s not a good reputation if you’re not from around these parts). If a complete stranger were to drink this beer they would easily gather from the appearance, aroma and packaging that it’s going to be a very generic beer and they’d be right.

This beer is a pilsner after all and it’s quite obvious on the first sip. What’s interesting is just how bad the beer is not. Up front there is a genuine taste of light hops and a touch of malt sweetness. The body is light, thin, crisp and surprisingly refreshing. There’s even a slight creamy texture not unlike Stella Artois, but there is no presence of rice, corn or other adjuncts. There’s also a noticeable generic, grainy beer taste, although it’s not off-putting the way a lot of the "Big Three" adjunct lagers and "lights" tend to taste.

DRINKABILITY

While I wouldn’t classify this beer as watery per se, it definitely is overtly mild and rather bland overall. This would be quite refreshing as a summer lawnmower brew, but those who want genuine flavor in their brewski might have to reach for it here. If you want a beer that tastes like something you’re used to without the sour notes of a macro lager, then Utica Club is even more drinkable. Otherwise, this beer is best described as tolerable.

I wasn’t able to find an official source on the ABV for Utica Club. From what I can gather it’s somewhere between 3.5 and 4.8% ABV. It certainly doesn’t feel heavy on the system which would make this a perfect session or meal beer.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There’s really no point in harshly criticizing Utica Club Pilsener Lager Beer since it’s brewed, in my theory, for its historic, nostalgic and novelty value alone. I don’t believe it’s purposely intended to be a bad beer, because it isn’t, but let’s just say I’m not buying the hyperbole on the bottle label.

Can at Max and Jess’ tasting. Pours pale gold. White head. Nose and taste of corn and pale malts. Average.