Ionizer Lager
Lightning Brewery

Ionizer LagerIonizer Lager
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From:
Lightning Brewery
 
California, United States
Style:
Malt Liquor
ABV:
8.3%
Score:
80
Avg:
3.42 | pDev: 13.45%
Reviews:
16
Ratings:
27
Status:
Active
Rated:
Feb 23, 2016
Added:
Jul 09, 2008
Wants:
  12
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.03 by robear from Wisconsin

Feb 23, 2016
 
Rated: 2.77 by GatorCoop from California

Mar 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.95 by retry4z from California

Jan 22, 2015
 
Rated: 3.35 by fox227 from California

Jan 05, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Oct 21, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by Irrationalist from California

Aug 10, 2012
 
Rated: 4.25 by jdmandel from California

Jul 08, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by yokken from Minnesota

Mar 18, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by hpthebull from California

Feb 18, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by LKFH from California

Jan 06, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by codynevels from California

Nov 17, 2011
Photo of d4114
Reviewed by d4114 from California

3.83/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Golden yellow with a 3 finger white head

Malty sweetness, getting the corn coming through pretty strong. Not getting any hops.

Nice full flavor. You don't get the corn as much as in the smell. Mostly a sweet malt flavor with a nice creaminess to it. There is some bitterness to it which is nice.

Feel is fine but the the carbonation is a little low.

Overall this is a little on the sweet side for me but it is more or less what i'm looking for in a high abv lager. Its refreshing and not that heavy but has tons of flavor.
Jul 11, 2011
Photo of AgentZero
Reviewed by AgentZero from Illinois

2.35/5  rDev -31.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
After a lot of time and effort in putting together the complete 2004-2011 Dark Lord vertical plus all four variants, of course we change plans and have a malt liquor tasting. Beer advocacy, my ass.

A - Hazy amber color with a small head. Some bubbles with minimal action.

S - Macro lager sweetness and bad chemicals. Smells bad. I'm sure this will be bad.

T - It's sweet, mostly like corn syrup. God, is this what we're coming to? Next time I'll just mix corn syrup with some alcohol and call it a day. If you like sweet stuff, maybe this is your thing. If you like beer, I hope you don't like this.

M - Medium bodied, moderate carbonation.

O - Ugh, whatever, I don't know why we kept doing this. This is okay for a malt liquor, meaning is just plain sucks instead of royally sucking.
Jul 07, 2011
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

3.18/5  rDev -7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
First Annual(?) Chicago Malt Liquor Tasting. Bottle courtesy of Shane (Hophead84). Jason thought this was the worst beer of the event, while I actually kind of liked it - go figure.

A - A finger of white foam quickly settles to a thin ring and some bubbles on-top. Transparent dark peach body.

S - Grain, sweet malt, honey, sugar, corn, maybe even some light floral hopping.

T - Again, sweet malt, sugar, corn, fruity notes. Largely inoffensive with no off flavors.

M - Medium body, moderate carbonation, and a slightly grainy texture. Alcohol is reasonably well-hidden even though this is on the lower end of the malt liquor spectrum.

D - I found this surprisingly enjoyable. It wasn't as good as the Dogfish or Midnight Sun offerings, but it was a passable high-gravity lager.
Jun 19, 2011
Photo of aknight
Reviewed by aknight from California

3.34/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Poured from a 22oz bomber into a Bruery tulip. This is a beautiful looking beer, a real honey amber color. No head to speak of which is my only quibble with its appearance, this is an otherwise gorgeous looking beer.

The beer smells sweet. It kind of has a boozy sweetness to the smell not too far different from a malt liquor. Not the most exciting smell.

Taste is pleasant. Syrupy sweet, strong notes of honey and maybe a touch of lemon zest. The beer is mostly sweet with just the tiniest bit of bitterness hiding under the sweetness somewhere. Blink and you'll miss the bitterness.

Moutfeel is pleasant. The beer has a syrupy sort of mouthfeel. Not overly viscous but the carbonation is light which no doubt adds to my perception of sweet and syrupyness.

Overall this is a decent beer. For an American style lager it's pretty good. I don't know that I would drink this again over any of the thousands of amazing ales that are out there. Come to think of it, I can't imagine why I would drink this beer again. I like the beer, don't get me wrong, it's just not exciting so there is no reason to come back. This may be a good craft brew for people just getting into craft brews or transitioning from American style lagers.
Apr 09, 2011
Photo of Dijeriduster
Reviewed by Dijeriduster from California

2.95/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
On tap at Small Bar in SD

A - Light lager colour with a finger or so of crisp white head. Fairly clear with just a hint of chill haze.

S - Almost approaches a malt liquor smell with a hint of more sophisticated yeast coming thru.

T - Pretty much what you'd expect in an imperial lager. Starts bready and almost sour from the yeast and alcohol combo. Finishes slightly syrupy with a lingering alcohol and lager yeast taste.

M - Thinnish as a lager should be but has a distinct syrupy feel on the tongue.

O - An interesting study in imperial beers. Really, this would be much better with a lower ABV and more attention to taste vs. gimmick. Worth trying but not really worth having a spare bottle. Might age it a little but the style isn't known for getting any better...
Apr 07, 2011
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

3.49/5  rDev +2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Looks and tastes like unfiltered apple juice. Amber and cloudy.

Very malty in a perfumey, fruity way. Aroma rather alcoholic. Very strong flavors and strong alcohol taste. Quite sweet, like hard candy in unusual flavors. Orange and a hint of peel. Odd hoppiness takes it out of the dimension of industrial malt liquors. Very bitter aftertaste.

Not what you'd want a tankard of, but it's an interesting glass of something strong and sweet, minus the Belgian musk of a golden ale.
Feb 20, 2011
Photo of portlandjeff
Reviewed by portlandjeff from Oregon

2.71/5  rDev -20.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A: Pours a hazy honey-amber with no head and very minimal visible carbonation. Barely-there ring of bubbles forms on the edge of the glass and quickly dissipates.

S: Sweet, followed my macro-lager corny middle and ending with strange chemical bitterness. Not a good start.

T: "Better Beer Through Science" should not be on this bottle. If anything, this beer is proof that making good beer is more of an art than a science. While I'm usually capable of pulling out various flavor notes from a beer, the best I can do with this one is to say that it doesn't taste dissimilar from something you'd buy in a 24 ounce can at 7-11. I like a good lager, so it's not that I'm trying to judge this beer by ale standards, it's just not that good. To be fair, compared to the 24 ounce macro malt liquors, some of the harsh edges and heat have been smoothed out in this beer, but the general flavor profile doesn't seem to be improved. Weird and sweet up front, chemical bitterness in the back, and no flavor or aroma from the hops.

M: Mouthfeel isn't horrible. It's not too thin, and not too thick and sticky. The biggest fault is the low carbonation which leaves the experience underwhelming.

D: This is a drinkable beer compared to cheap convenience store malt liquor, but not drinkable compared to any well conceived craft. I'd imagine this could be a good "gateway beer" if you were trying to convert a homeless person with a winning scratcher to something better, but it's not going to win anyone over who already appreciates the finer things.
Nov 25, 2010
Photo of regspeir
Reviewed by regspeir from Pennsylvania

3.12/5  rDev -8.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
22 oz. bottle (acquired in a trade) into a standard pint glass.
Poured a light yellow-orange with a smallish head that dissipated completely. There was little or no lacing. Nose was caramel, lemon, pale malt and corn. Taste was boozy and sweet with elements of lemon, honey, caramel, and grains. Carbonation was light and it felt thin, though sticky. WHile a bit too sweet and thin for me to drink much of this, it wasn't awful. I admit I wasn't expecting much here, so it is not a shock that it wasn't as bad as I expected. Like most, a malt liquor was last tried in high school when friends wanted to get drunk and could care less why or how and certainly didn't care about anything tasting good.
Sep 09, 2010
Photo of vacax
Reviewed by vacax from California

3.79/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Ionizer pours a rich, dark gold color, bordering on copper. Less than a finger of off-white head fizzles away too quickly. Aroma has an ambiguous malt sweetness to it, a bit rough with some of the corn that makes up 20% of the malt bill coming through.

Pleasant, crisp malt comes through on the taste, tinged by a bit of a metallic flavor, moderately bitter, alcohol comes through on the finish along with a fairly pleasant cookie malt flavor. Despite a couple flaws, the finish is quite clean, which for a malt liquor is very desirable, it lends drinkability. More than light body, but not too much more, carbonation is moderate, much lower than typical lager, which is not bad, in fact probably better balance of body and bubbles than most lagers.

As far as this beer goes, it is a good example of a craft malt liquor, or as Lightning is calling it "Pre-Prohibition Style" but basically anything over 8% with a substantial amount of adjuncts is a malt liquor in my book. In which case, this is on the better side of most, but I wouldn't exactly call this a tasty beverage either.
Jul 02, 2010
Ionizer Lager from Lightning Brewery
Beer rating: 80 out of 100 with 27 ratings