Genesee Cream Ale
Genesee Brewing Co. / Dundee Brewing Co.

Genesee Cream AleGenesee Cream Ale
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From:
Genesee Brewing Co. / Dundee Brewing Co.
 
New York, United States
Style:
Cream Ale
Ranked #153
ABV:
5.1%
Score:
71
Ranked #27,931
Avg:
3.08 | pDev: 20.13%
Reviews:
632
Ratings:
1,544
Status:
Active
Rated:
Today at 12:11 AM
Added:
Oct 17, 2001
Wants:
  40
Gots:
  251
"Genny" Cream Ale.

Smooth like a lager. Crisp like an ale. Cream ale was one of the first beer styles created in america and ours has been the style standard since 1960. Our cream ale has won numerous awards throughout the years and remains just as smooth and flavorful as it's always been. Cream ale, a true American original.
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Ratings by WellRested518:
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Reviewed by WellRested518 from New York

3.3/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
A- Translucent yellow with a crown that clings to the glass for dear life.

S- Corn & cereal grains. The slightly fuesil alcohol tinge leads to an impression of Grapenuts & Molasses.

T- Grapenuts & a slight hop tinge... it's realy quite sweet in the middle.

F- Creamy initially with a slightly crisp finish. The aftertaste is a bit like stale cornflakes.

O- You can't diss a classic. This beer is as American as it gets... very much an iconic beer that's worth experiencing.
Sep 28, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of bullwinkle88
Reviewed by bullwinkle88 from Isle of Man

3.34/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
The standard of domestic beers. It’s a cream ale but it’s not terribly creamy. Just a balanced beer. Very good. Reminiscent of a Miller genuine draft without the sweetness. I’ve been looking for a beer like this and I’m pleased to say I’ve found it. Also dirt cheap. I’d buy it again regardless but that’s a nice plus.
Today at 12:11 AM
 
Rated: 3.23 by tjhuot from Minnesota

Jan 25, 2024
Photo of datstankadank
Reviewed by datstankadank from New Jersey

3.45/5  rDev +12%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours a fine golden color, direct pour creates a thick white head that lasts quite a while. Smells fruity, almost wild yeast but not funky. Moderate lacing, good corn husk flavor like a white tortilla chip. Slightly sweet. Grassy hops are present on the finish. Good beer.
Jan 08, 2024
Photo of Davidstan
Rated by Davidstan from Alabama

3.48/5  rDev +13%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Based on the price I really like this cream ale. Good carbonation, body is thin but expected and finish is clean
Dec 28, 2023
Photo of harangatang
Reviewed by harangatang from Canada (BC)

3.72/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Looks like a pale lager with head retention. Biscuity aroma and a moderately sweet flavour to match. Above average body.

A decent alternative to an adjunct lager if a bit more flavour is needed. You can taste the malt in this, and it's cheap. The inflation buster.
Oct 10, 2023
Photo of BriantheBeerHound
Reviewed by BriantheBeerHound from Oklahoma

3.32/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Look: Deep gold, closer to most american pale ales than a lager. Despite "cream" being in the name, the bubbles are very fat, and the head dissipates almost instantly.
Smell: Grainy and slightly sweet. Just a slight hint of citrus and hops, surprisingly. Very clean, not what I expected for a cheap beer.
Taste: Hard to explain. Has a corny sweetness to it, but finishes dry. Basically no hop bitterness, but not cloying either. Not bad!
Feel: by far my favorite part of this beer. The bubbly effervescence I saw really doesn't have much bite. It has a medium to lighter body, and a very smooth finish. Goes down very easy.
Overall: I've had 3 or 4 cream ales, and weirdly enough this is the cheapest and also my favorite. The only rub is I rarely find it fresh in my area. If I remember, these have a Julian date code on them. If I find it fresh, I will buy a 30 rack and have 1-2 a night just like any other "daily driver" beers.
Sep 01, 2023
Photo of JohnLeMay
Rated by JohnLeMay from New Jersey

5/5  rDev +62.3%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Clean, crisp taste, refreshing, not heavy.
Aug 27, 2023
 
Rated: 3.42 by TwilightBeerCareer from Illinois

Jul 03, 2023
Photo of JZH1000
Reviewed by JZH1000 from Colorado

2.78/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
Poured from a 24oz can

On a hard pour 3 fingers of fizzy head formed, but retention isn't fantastic, as within under 5 minutes I could fill the glass to almost the brim. Body is highly carbonated, amd a clear deep gold color. Lacing tries to form, but sags back down.

Aroma is rough. Comes off as a fruity cheap lager, so an ale imitating a lager, but still cheap. Fruity brightness that nears a pukey tartness. Not too noticeable while drinking however.

Flavor is fine, a bit of that cheap brightness is present, bit there is still a crisp lager like pale maltiness that I appreciate. Kind of tastes like steel reserve, but less boozy.

Feel is actually decent. Light and crisp feeling for a 5.1% ABV ale. Easy drinking with a definite dryness. Aroma doesn't get in the way too much.

Overall, this is definitely a cheap beer, but the history behind the old pre-prohibition breweries has always intrigued me. This beer isn't something super special, but it's a slightly below average cheap, pale beer that I can check off my list. Historic beer that is a decent cheap choice IF you can find it.
Jun 22, 2023
Photo of 1009
Reviewed by 1009 from Massachusetts

2.53/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.75
I remember seeing this in my college liquor store when I very new to beer and being like, "That probably tastes like complete piss." I wasn't that far off. It certainly isn't a 'good' beer, but it has its spots and plays the role of a cheep, reliable beer very well. A night at the Sevens Ale House on Beacon Hill is never complete without firing up a Genny Cream. More than a few times I have left that place examining the tables and seeing a solid Genny pyramid had been constructed. A true sign of a great night. In a world of over priced, heavy and over stimulated beer, sometimes you just need to polish off a few $4 Genny Creams and put a smile on your face.
May 25, 2023
 
Rated: 5 by Thullraven from Texas

May 23, 2023
 
Rated: 3.9 by Wilkolaczek94 from Connecticut

May 14, 2023
 
Rated: 3.54 by NYR-Zuuuuc from Connecticut

Apr 23, 2023
 
Rated: 3.21 by Lucnifter from California

Apr 19, 2023
 
Photo of stevoj
Reviewed by stevoj from Idaho

3.25/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Draft at Genny Brew House. Clear golden, thin creamy head, lively carbonation. Biscuity aroma, grainy, white bread. Taste is grainy, malty, crackers. Creamy feel. High school all over again.
Feb 14, 2023
 
Rated: 3.65 by Cal4403 from Oklahoma

Feb 09, 2023
Photo of dano213
Reviewed by dano213 from Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev +14.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
24oz can purchased from the fridge as a single for $1.99. There is a code on the bottom of the can: J062 11 10:37. A quick Google search for genesee date code led me to I found an old thread in BA Beer Talk called ""Genesee production code." It explains that J would correspond to October (10th letter or the alphabet and 10th month), 06 is the 6th day of the month, and 2 is 2022. The first 1 in 11 means Rochester, NY brewery and the second 1 in 11 is production line #1. So if this was canned on October 6, 2022 then that means that it is just over 3 1/2 months old.

Look: It has a medium gold color, perfectly clear. There was a nice frothy eggshell-colored head that dissipated very quickly to almost nothing. I'm not sure why the head disappears so quickly. Tiny bubbles are consistently rising up the glass at a slow to moderate rate, almost like Champagne.

Smell: This is a bit of a "beer-smelling" beer. It doesn't have such strong or complex aromas. I get a sweet, biscuity malt note that is also very doughy. There is a subtle floral note also. Over time, I pick up a bit more of an earthy hop character. There is a sweet fruity note on the nose that kind of comes off a bit like apple juice or white grape juice (not in a Nelson Sauvin way at all, this is a totally different way).

Taste: This is really not bad. It is pretty highly carbonated and it is also pretty easy to drink. I wouldn't call it watery, but it is pretty light in flavor overall. However, it doesn't taste like it's been watered down or lacking in body for its size. The flavors are pretty simple - again, it has that beer-flavored taste It has a mild to moderate bitterness on the finish that is crisp and refreshing. The knock on this beer is that it is not super flavorful and it is not complex and a bit uninteresting. That could also be what you want to drink sometimes, so it could also be a positive.

Feel: For a 5.1% ABV cream ale, this has a decent body that is somewhere in between light and medium. It is highly carbonated, as most cream ales are.

Overall: As a University of Rochester alumnus, where Genesee beer was pervasive during my college experience, I was compelled to drink and review this. It goes without saying that an appreciation of beer (or anything else that is an acquired taste, for that matter) is lost on most college students. The old joke for a college student is true: There are two types of beer - free and cheap. While Genesee beer was and still is pretty cheap, I don't think that it was so popular with most UR students...either that, or they just drank whatever was available and didn't care. This is my first review of a cream ale and it is my second Genesee Brewing Co. review (Genesee Ruby Red Kolsch was the first). I would say that for me, it's not so much that this is surprisingly good (because it's not so good) but I would say that it is surprisingly not so bad. I had no trouble drinking the entire 24oz can in just a few minutes. It was easy to drink, relatively light, crisp, and refreshing. This would be super crushable on a hot day; a nice lawnmower beer.
Jan 24, 2023
Photo of jzeilinger
Reviewed by jzeilinger from Pennsylvania

3.37/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
Canned on: A112 13 02:03 (whatever that translates too - hey, if you can't give a straight up date, confuse the heck out of your customer base... rolling eyes).

This review is written in memory of Albert Hinton, this was his favorite beer.

A - Light gold colored pour with light carbonation and a moderately dense bright white lacing.

S - Delicate sweet honey grain malt with a cream aroma. (Go figure, right?)

T - Dry cereal grain corn malt from start to finish with some cream presence, and ends on the sweeter side with a slight bit of earthiness. Leaves a lingering corn sweetness on the palate.

M - Medium body with gentle carbonation.

O - Not a beer I would seek out but considering the circumstances this is a very special beer I will never forget.
Nov 15, 2022
Genesee Cream Ale from Genesee Brewing Co. / Dundee Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 71 out of 100 with 1544 ratings