Lost Lake Naturally Brewed Pilsner
Melanie Brewing Company

Lost Lake Naturally Brewed PilsnerLost Lake Naturally Brewed Pilsner
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From:
Melanie Brewing Company
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
American Lager
Ranked #312
ABV:
4.2%
Score:
64
Ranked #28,357
Avg:
2.51 | pDev: 33.07%
Reviews:
27
Ratings:
52
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 29, 2022
Added:
Feb 20, 2010
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  7
No description / notes.
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Photo of JZH1000
Reviewed by JZH1000 from Colorado

2.39/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
Poured from an undated 24oz can. Also does anybody actually know who owns this brand?

On the pour a quite surprising 4 finger, albiet quite fizzy, white head that dissipates down to 2 fingers after a couple minutes. Color is your standard golden yellow straw, and carbonation is fine but active. Some lacing

Smell is generically cheap. Light and dominated by mistreated lager yeast. Not the most disgusting thing, and honestly quite bright smelling, but still not good by any means.

Taste is syrupy and odd. Diacetyl is present and the "malt" is intensely sweet and syrupy. There is some actual barley present but it's hiding in the very back. Slightly Metallic as well.

Feel is mouth coating and weirdly flat. Maybe this is an old can but there is still carbonation. Maybe the liquid just chemically couldn't hold carbonation well. Medium long finish that I wish was shorter.

This is a disgrace to market as a pilsner. Once G. Heileman moved out of La Crosse and City Brewing took over just figuring out who owns what, and even what beer comes out of that brewery is a nightmare. About the only good City brewing beer I've had was montucky cold snacks and that was just a decent lager. This on the other hand is a cheap disgrace. I'd rather drink colt 45. And to be honest with you the lost lake website says this is higher ABV but I'm not sure if it's a typo because the listed abv is the same as the Ice version, and it really seems like they just don't care.
Aug 29, 2022
 
Rated: 2.94 by MatthewJW from Wisconsin

Feb 16, 2022
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3.38/5  rDev +34.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
I got a 24pck of this beer from the Woodman's in La Crosse, WI whilst moving my daughter to school. It poured a clear golden with no head and no lace. The scent had grain notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with good biscuit like presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall it is a good beer.
Jan 26, 2022
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.02/5  rDev -19.5%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
$4.49 USD plus tax per sixer of 12 fl oz pull-tab cans at a shitty liquor store (Poindexter Liquor) in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

"Naturally brewed pilsner beer."

Off the first sip, I'm calling bullshit on the "pilsner" designation. This is very clearly an adjunct lager...it's immediately obvious.

A biteen syrupy. Driven by a deeply off-putting creamed corn sweetness. Cheap 6-row lends more generic malt sweetness.

A bit metallic. Certainly too sweet. Lacks any balancing hop character.

I won't get into its lack of any Noble hop character or pilsner malt since it'd be disingenuous...it ain't a pilsner, it's a budget adjunct lager.

But even as a budget adjunct lager it's pretty bad, to be honest. I often find myself defending the Coors Banquets and Miller High Lifes of the world, but I can offer no such effort with respect to this...it's bad and generic, with obvious imbalance and no redeeming characteristics.

Even on a budget beer basis, it comes up short against Ballantine XXX, the less repungant malt liquors, and many mainstream adjunct lagers (Schlitz Gusto, Coors Banquet, Rolling Rock, Miller High Life, hell even Budweiser - yes, I said it).

This is in that weird market segment of budget lagers brewed by generic sounding corporate conglomerates by shell companies in Wisconsin (this one is "brewed" by "Universal Sales, Inc., La Crosse, WI" - I'm sure that's a down-home operation run by passionate former homebrewers...), and even in that unenviable cohort it's a loser of a beer.

I feel like I need to wear a wifebeater and have a ball game on (with maybe some casual child abusing thrown in) to be able to "appreciate" this beer.

Low D / NOT RECOMMENDED
Apr 26, 2021
Photo of ZAP
Reviewed by ZAP from Minnesota

4.28/5  rDev +70.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Pleasantly surpised with this one.

L- Light golden/yellow....clear...a lot of carbonation bubbles.

S-Dry, tingling pomegranate, Australian red licorice

T- Full-bodied, this delivers bold notes of coffee bean and kola nut, along with red pepper on the back of the palate before a long, leathery, caramelized conclusion. An overture of flavors that’s at times heavy and rich with notes of dark chocolate and wood, and other times, subtle and understated with hints of fine caramel and toasted almonds.

F-Highly carbonated...clean....no off flavors.

O-Not what I was expecting but wow is this loaded with flavor for a basic AAL.
Feb 06, 2021
Photo of D1noB
Rated by D1noB from Oklahoma

3.13/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.25
A crisp refreshing pilsner. A light beer for a nice outdoor adventure.

Taste rating in words: The crisp snap of a stick in the breeze
Aug 22, 2020
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

2.79/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
I am slowly getting around to reviewing & rating beers for The CANQuest (tm) that caused my local, in-person some CANsternation since I was not getting to them quickly enough. Fair dinkum, but fear no longer, @tone77 , there is movement!

From the CAN: "Made with natural ingredients. Serve cold."

Made with natural ingredients?!? When has a beer, other than a Minhas product, been made with unnatural ingredients?!? This does NOT bode well!

I Crack!ed open the vent & held my breath, hoping for the best but girding for the worst. The Glug revealed a gorgeous Golden-Amber colored (SRM = > 5, < 7) beer with NE-quality clarity, calling forth The Gelt Gang of Midas, Mammon & Croesus for a taste. They had to wait until the just-better-than-a-finger of dense, foamy, rocky, bone-white had subsided to get at it. Nose was not bad, kinda grainy trending towards wheat, but seemingly adjunct-free. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, mere steps above wateriness. The taste was just too sweet, but not metallic or adjunct-ridden. What?!? No discernible Noble hops in a Pilsner?!? 8=( Finish was semi-sweet, but more bland than anything else. This one simply lacked Ooomph! YMMV.
Oct 29, 2019
Photo of BeerLouie
Reviewed by BeerLouie from Colorado

4.19/5  rDev +66.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Im going to be honest, if you’re struggling with cash and need to get a quick Buzz, 2 tallboys if these will get you. The taste is more tolerable than most, it feels good when it hits your gut and it’s easily drinkable. Highly smooth too.
May 24, 2018
Photo of wl2bill
Reviewed by wl2bill from Wisconsin

2.86/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Not a great beer but good for what it is. That is a cheap AAL. More body than you might expect. Clean dry taste, nothing offensive. I have paid more for worse.
May 19, 2018
 
Rated: 2.1 by Grenouille from Oklahoma

Mar 20, 2018
 
Rated: 2.81 by Foxman27 from Iowa

Feb 20, 2018
 
Rated: 2.22 by Octoberist from Pennsylvania

Nov 29, 2017
Photo of BlackBeerPirate
Reviewed by BlackBeerPirate from Illinois

2.74/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Taste: slight hop, mellow thin, not much zip. Mild grain nose.Gold, clear, with white soapy head and delicate lace. Lite body. A boating beer that closer to a lite beer.
Sep 27, 2017
 
Rated: 1.67 by Amp from Oklahoma

Oct 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.51 by jasonban4 from Oklahoma

Aug 03, 2016
Photo of FantasticOKC
Reviewed by FantasticOKC from Oklahoma

1.87/5  rDev -25.5%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25
Look - Ok, to be honest... my rating of the look is not very objective. I know this beer well, yet, I bought a 24 oz. can (for $1.15, nonetheless) just to have a fresh take on the review, but having had this before, when I pour it out, it looks kind of like they bottled the urine of a dehydrated 95 year old man.

Smell - Trying to be a little objective here. Smells sweeter than I'd like, lots of mixed in adjunct aromas. A little bit of malt.

Taste - Not the worst beer I've ever had, but definitely on the low end. It tastes kinda like an anxiety attack... Ok, it's not that bad. The flavor on the initial draw into the mouth isn't that different from a macro American Adjunct Lager, but the lingering flavors and aftertaste seem more like the metallic powder used to exacerbate the yeild of high explosives... Ok, it's not that bad.

Feel - Light and watery.

Overall - Yes, I have been heavy handed in this review, but do not let that scare you away from this beer. This beer holds a special place in my heart. It is what I call a "Party Beer" (but not a frat party beer). This is the kind of beer that the college guy in the studio apartment buys for a party because he's very poor (yeah, that was me). It's not great, but it is serviceable when needed. Really, it's not THAT bad, but I'm making this review based on comparison... and by comparison, this beer falls quite short of others on flavor and quality.
Apr 11, 2016
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.29/5  rDev +31.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a 24 oz. can. Has a light golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of corn, grains. Taste is malts, corn, grains, a touch sweet, very easy drinking. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is not a bad beer, and at $1.25 for a 24 oz. can, it's a good value as well.
Nov 21, 2015
Photo of Rihup
Rated by Rihup from Illinois

4.19/5  rDev +66.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
In my opinion this was a really solid clean tasting beer. I could drink that all day and it tastes nice hbut hey what do I know
May 24, 2015
Photo of mpilting
Reviewed by mpilting from Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +79.3%
I'm giving this beer a high score to counter so many of the low scores. People who give this beer a low score don't understand this type of beer. It's not in the same category as an expensive German pilsner, and so can't be judged the same way. This beer is a cheap American beer. It's not pretending to be anything else. It's a drunkard's beer, and it's one of the best drunkard beers on the planet, IMO. If you wanna get wasted, and fast, this is the beer for you. One caveat: if you drink it too fast (too many in a row, too quickly), it will make you sick. The alcohol in this beer sneaks up on you, and when it hits it hits hard. Drink one, wait a few/ten minutes, then drink another. If you wanna get drunk, you won't be disappointed. And for all those people pouring this beer into a glass and complaining about the head/aroma: Again, you don't understand. This is not a pour-beer - it's a drink-from-the-can beer. It's the beer you drink while watching Winter's Bone. Or after your girlfriend dumped you. Or your dad died. Or you killed someone, or life just sucks and you wanna get wasted. It's not a brew to be "appreciated"; it's a brew to get "appreciwasted".
Dec 07, 2014
Photo of Duder_Jables880
Reviewed by Duder_Jables880 from Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev +39.4%
This is actually a really nice beer. It's not the same 'chug it ice-cold for a great buzz' stuff as Natty Ice. You can actually enjoy the flavor, if pilsners are your thing. It has some interesting flavor and mouth-feel, but it's clean and refreshing, too. Pleasant, but not overpowering or skunky.
Nov 29, 2014
Lost Lake Naturally Brewed Pilsner from Melanie Brewing Company
Beer rating: 64 out of 100 with 52 ratings