Lawnmower Lager
Caldera Brewing Company

Spikester from Oregon

3.96/5  rDev +17.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Pours clear gold with one finger of fluffy white head. Minor lacing. Aroma is slightly corny, some bread from the yeast. Taste is malty and just a hint of hop bitterness. Clean and full bodied for the style. Moderate carbonation. Clean, sweet, and some mild bitterness in the finish. Served a bit warmer than the style calls for. Still prefer Full Sail Session beer for mowing lawns but if Caldera were to can this beer I would drink some on a hot day by the pool or mowing the yard. I like the fact that it is 3.9% abv. Good beer for such a low alcohol content. Really a "light lager". And in that category it is a winner. I paid $3.09 for a bomber which is too expensive for lawnmower beer. Let's see if they can this brew. I would buy it over the macros if it was about $5.99 a sixer.
Update 4/12/2014: Bought this in a six pack of cans. Paid $6.49 minus 10% senior discount.
So Caldera must have read my review! So this canned version is even better then the bottled bomber version. I poured this about 10 minutes ago and it still has a cap of head. Good amount of lace for the style. Best lawnmower beer in the USA!

Apr 08, 2010

BeerAdvocate from Massachusetts

4/5  rDev +18.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Review from BeerAdvocate Magazine Issue #42 (Jul 2010):

YES! More craft brewers need to adjunct their beer. The lacing has staying power, though the haze on the yellow is distracting. This lager packs a yeasty, grassy aroma. Crisp and a bit slick, obvious light body. Fresh- cut grass and nutty yeast coat the palate; hops are fresh with ample bitterness and a good amount of flavor, which brings this beer up a few notches. The maltiness is a bit light, but right where it's supposed to be. Flavor overrides cleanliness. Very drinkable as well.

Jan 11, 2011

woodychandler from Pennsylvania

4.06/5  rDev +20.5%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.25

Oh, man, the graphics on the CAN are sweet! I wish that I could share them with you. One of the unexpected pleasures of The CANQuest (tm) is how much better the graphics translate onto aluminum than paper labels. Funny, colorful, collectible and sharp all are adjectives which immediately come to mind. I had this at Garage in PHL, but they do not allow off-license sales so I had to score another for review.

From the CAN: "Go Biking [-] Go Rafting [-] Go Cut Some [-] Go Skiing [-] Go Fishing [-] Go Snowboarding"; "This Lager was Brewed and C[AN]ned by: Caldera Brewing Company Ashland, Oregon ... 'Live Product. Keep Cool, Just Like You'".

Wahoo! What a Crack! It might be live, but I am CANducting an inverted Glug all the same! Man, I was getting a lot of foaming, so I backed off, still creating three-plus fingers of puffy, cloud-like, bone-white head that fell like my HomeEc souffle when a bone-head football player slammed the oven door shut. Geez, Louise! I still tear up thinking about that potential masterpiece. This was also a masterpiece. Color was Straw-Yellow (SRM = > 2, < 4) with NE-quality clarity and beyond. I was taking X-rays of my hands and feet until the Doc told me to stop. Nose was ... Adjunct?!? Who says?!? Cry Bulls**t and let slip the CANs of war! This had the crisp, malty sweetness of a German Pilsner or at the very least, a clean Lager. Adjunct?!? Adjunct-frei! Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium. The taste was clean, very malt-driven, but biscuity with a slight sulfuric twang. Adjunct?!? F**k the hell off, you punter! Finish was clean, semi-dry, refreshing and a welcome addition to my Sunday. If this is what they drink to acCANpony mowing their lawn, I am moving to OreCAN this summer!

Mar 15, 2015

GuitarIPA from Connecticut

3.48/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Apr 13, 2019

Barleycorn from Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Jul 03, 2020

adam36 from Illinois

3.25/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Jul 22, 2019

Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.54/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a lager glass.
The appearance was a fairly copper/bronzed yellow color with a thin sheet of white foamy head. This fell off fairly quick to barely leave any lace.
The aroma had some sweet corn and grassy hop content rolling into some crushed rice particles.
The flavor definitely leaned towards the sweet side. Rice to corn to grassy and then a touch of earthy dry character. Mild aftertaste of earthy character and sweet corn.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a pretty good sessionability about it. Good carbonation. Fairly smooth along my tongue. Mild finish of sticky sweet corn and earthy grassiness.
Overall, odd AAL, or at least to me, I can't say anything is "off" but I am left a bit perplexed on that finish. Maybe again.

Aug 05, 2019

Reidrover from Oregon

3.09/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

22 oz bomber. Slight aroma of bread, light whiffs of cheese for some reason. Ugly looking beer..insipid pee colour..least the small white head hangs around. Taste papery, bread, some lemongrass. Really very little to it Macro-lager palate to it..average. Overall pretty bad stuff here.' Get a 40 of MHL or PBR save you money.

Apr 10, 2010

merlin48 from Kentucky

3.6/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Bomber pours a clear straw yellow body with a small vanilla head that quickly drops into some scattered lacing.

Aroma has some crackery malt and a hint of floral hops.

Mouthfeel is light bodied with a spritzy carbonation.

Taste is dominated by a crackery pilsner type maltiness that is balanced by a dry grassy and floral hoppiness. Reminds me of kolsch.

Unpretentious and unoffensive. A decent lawn mower beer, I suppose.

Aug 08, 2010

Seantronz3030 from Washington

2.75/5  rDev -18.4%

Mar 20, 2014

ricke49 from Oregon

3.93/5  rDev +16.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

3.9 abv was never more satisfying. Great as a good quencher, before moving onto something with a bit more heft and character. Classified as adjunct but only lists malted barley, hops, yeast and water as ingredients. Good malt base. Priced right.

Aug 03, 2016

chugamugofsud from Oregon

3/5  rDev -11%

Feb 20, 2013

brentk56 from North Carolina

3.02/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a clear goldenstraw color with a very nice head that leaves a bunch of lace

Smell: A little grainy, a little sweet but not very much aroma at all

Taste: Tastes like the aroma; very clean with a slightly grainy character that intersperses with the slightly sweet malt flavors

Mouthfeel: Light body with moderately high carbonation

Overall: Nothing to get too excited about here - a beer clearly brewed with the mass market in mind; more power to them if they can crack it with this one

Jul 31, 2012

JohnGalt1 from Idaho

3.58/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

22 picked up at Brewforia on the way home from work. Poured into my big Shorts Imperial Pint (thanks Kevin).

Foamy 1" white head dies back into nice lacing... no real retention though... okay cap... the brew is very pale golden with seemingly a lite haze of some sort.

Clean grains... little else.. a bit husky and traces of sulfur if I really concentrate.

Again... very clean.... pale malts... a bit doughy.

Slightly better than expected body and carbonation.

Meh... okay I guess... good for what it is... tastes pretty fresh and crisp.

3.5/3/3.5/3.5/4.5

Sep 15, 2010

woodchipper from Connecticut

2.96/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from a can "best by 02/06/17" to a Pilsner glass.
Foam Monster! Even pouring down the side of the glass, it foamed over with like a 4" head. It eventually laced the glass, but then dropped to a sad whisker-thin ring of white bubbles.
Sweet buttery hell, there is mild diacetyl in this, not a lot, but present in the nose. Of Course some may be due to the malt (only listed as two row). Hops are Willamette.
Taste is even sweeter and more buttery. Drinkable, but not something to buy again.

Dec 11, 2016

Hellpop65 from Kansas

3/5  rDev -11%

Sep 27, 2014

Latarnik from New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +3.9%

Aug 04, 2014

zeff80 from Missouri

3.54/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Poured out a clear, golden-yellow color with a small, fizzy, white head of foam. It smelled of toasted caramel and fresh cut grass. Sweet caramel with a biscuity maltiness. Mild bitterness.

May 19, 2015

kevinmkirk from Oregon

1.12/5  rDev -66.8%
look: 1 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Let me start by sharing what's on the side of the bottle: "For all you people who are afraid of beer you can't see through, this one is for you. This beer is yellow, fizzy, and clearly meant for washing dirt out of your mouth after mowing the lawn." I'm not even sure it's good for that. It's definitely yellow and fizzy, with no head to speak of, and zero lacing. It almost smells like a loaf of bread, and nearly tastes the same. It's very earthy and grainy with nary a hop to be found. Man, I love me some Caldera, but I would rather drink a Bud Light than this on a hot summer day. Sorry guys, but this beer gets an F.

Feb 27, 2010

Brad007 from Vermont

3.83/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4

Pours a bright yellow with a one-finger head into my glass. I was intrigued enough by the name as I've heard the term thrown around to describe adjunct lagers.

Wow. VERY crisp in the nose. Sweet too. It helps that it's well-carbonated as well.

It's a little spicy upfront with only a touch of hops and buttery malt.

The mouthfeel is where the light body seems to work against it. It's too light and a tad bland. Otherwise, no harsh flavors.

Why drink an adjunct when you can have this on a hot day? It definitely fits the term.

Jan 25, 2014

Kahlerbock from Kansas

3/5  rDev -11%

Dec 07, 2014

Halcyondays from California

3.08/5  rDev -8.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

22 oz. bomber,

A: Pours a pale yellow, soft white head, fairly good retention per the style.

S: Some grainy malt notes, light hops, mild inoffensive nose.

T: Direct pilsner esque barley malt flavour, light hopping. Again, mild but the malt flavour is good.

M: Light-bodied, crisp, very clean, refreshing.

D: A solid pale lager, not as much flavour as I wanted, maybe akin to Full Sail Session is what I was looking for. As an innocuous easy drinking lager it did its job.

Jun 05, 2010

Wetpaperbag from Washington

4.4/5  rDev +30.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Saw this at the store for a great price (2 bucks for a 22oz bottle) and picked it up.

A- A clear pale straw yellow, very clear and clean. Very little head but then again most beers of this style don't have much head so in comparison to the style it is good.

S- This has your typical lager yeast smell. There is a bready, earthy, grainy and gritty smell. Very rounded and bold smells in terms of beer of this style.

T- The beer is crisp and refreshing. I'm getting a big grain taste that is like chewing on the top of a barley stalk. More like the smell of when a grain truck dumps its freshly harvested barley load into the grain grate to be weighed and priced, take that smell and put it as a taste and that's what I'm getting. There is a subtle sweet honey taste that is coming though and adds a nice level of flavor. There is actually a nice complexity going on with this beer, especially when you are comparing it to other beers of the style.

M- Good mouthfeel, nice carbination and a very light body.

D- Easy to drink, the name of the beer fits very well. I would drink this after working out in the yard no prob. This is clean but not BMC clean. It's more like clean but in a dirty glass type clean.

Lagers are not my favorite styles of beer. But one thing I've found is that the flavors are more subtle then other styles. Many craft lagers get a bad wrap because of BMC lagers and how many people are so against them here on BA. I rated this beer based on its style, and for its style it is very well done and tasty. I would definitely buy this one again.

Jun 05, 2010

Tucquan from Pennsylvania

3.71/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Had this on 2015-05-17 in Gallatin, TN from a 12 oz can

A - Clear yellow with a 1.5 finger head that drops quickly leaving very little lace.

S - Cracker, yeast, grass, flowery. Quite nice.

T - Bread, grass, light lemon and some residual bitterness but less than a Pils.

M - Light body and medium carbonation. Sparkly and dry.

O - I enjoyed this. Very thirst quenching after a 10-mile hike this morning. Doesn't taste like an adjunct beer. Very sessionable.

May 17, 2015

DoubleJ from Wisconsin

3.31/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

I'm not moving the lawn, I need something to wash down chili. Ok, on to the beer:

Looks like a fizzy yellow beer. The head dissipates quickly, huge bubbles run through the glass, the the beer's color is pale yellow and quite filtered. But whole it has the character of a fizzy yellow type in its nose, at least it has an appealing aroma. There's some straw, a moderate corn sweetness, a bit of grassy hops, so it's not all bad.

Light in flavor like a Bud Light, however the flavor itself doesn't suck. Little flavors of grass and graham cracker emerge along with traces of adjunctiness. There's a big bite of carbonation which helps give the beer a clean finish.

This is a beer to go for when you're not looking for a large rush of flavor. This is a beer that's good for refreshment. I like the low 3.9% ABV level and its easy character, and in this case, it works.

Feb 06, 2012