Grand Ridge Almighty Light | Grand Ridge Brewing Co.

2.27/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

"World's Most Awarded Brewery" - How many times have we heard that and how many times has it been an o-so wrong statement for any brewer to make? Every time. And as I have a whole six of these beers in a gift pack I'll start with what is always the worst of any brew- the light beer... I hope to Vishnu this doesn't taste like absolute crap.

Poured from a 330ml bottle into a nonic pint.

A: Slight cloudy piss yellow body with thin white lacing on top.

S: Doesn't smell too bad actually; cut grass and corn adjuncts comprise the malt base with a sweet honey-like aroma over the top. Really expected worse or nothing (as most light beers are prone to being watered down lagers). It's nothing like a Pilsner though, as the label ascribes it to be.

T: Flavour is like a hodgepodge mixture of honey, water, yeast and corn adjuncts, and is neither pleasant or awful - it's more odd than anything, like that creepy uncle that wears thick-rimmed spectacles, a beige trench-coat, listens to Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon' constantly and is balding odd.

M: Light bodied (to be expected) and flat-as-a-tack carbonation.

D: The warmer it gets the more nasty damp-vegetal characters start coming out. Would I recommend this one to anyone over something like a Roger's (I know it's a mid-strength and this is a light but lets not be picky here)? Hell no, but conversely it's not the worst light I've tried... it is the most expensive, so it doesn't win any awards with me.

Food match: Light beers are never a match for any food, no matter what you eat you wont taste any beer so whatever will be fine.

★ 1,601 characters

2.54/5  rDev +15.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Bottle: good 330mL brown bottle, decent label - refined and somewhat classy.

Appearance: standard light beer fare - crisp but light straw colour, pitiful head that vanishes quickly.

Aroma: very interesting for a light. Quite spicy, but a bit harsh. Some fruits but mainly spice and grains.

Taste: not as good as the nose. Quite harsh fruits and strong but awkward spices. Strong for a light, but not particularly pleasant.

Aftertaste: even not nicer. I was still thinking "Is this a good beer?" as I was pouring the second half of it down the sink.

Mouth feel: fairly crisp and clean, with moderate carbonation and a light-to-moderate body.

Overall: different style of light, like a slightly lighter (but still quite flavoursome) yet poor quality American India Pale Ale. It's okay-ish, but considering they are similar price, I will still take Rogers Beer any day of the week.

★ 883 characters

1.48/5  rDev -32.7%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

No BB. From 1st Choice.

Pours a hazy straw. Beautiful pillowy white head fades after a while. Good lace. But wait, there's more....! - light bubbles rising and dark bubbles falling???? Ah, black floaty bits in the beer. Not good.

Aromas of some sweet grain/corn malts. Little else.

Taste isn't. Boiled socks here we come again. Grand Ridge what the &*(& is up with you guys. Horrible rank dishwater meets veggies stock, plus yeast, plus maybe some hops? Add in some sweet corn. Just bad.

Mouthfeel is spritzy and mineral watery.

This beer is just soooo bad it is unfunny. I'll say no more.

★ 594 characters

2.53/5  rDev +15%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: pours a slightly hazy light golden color with a decent head that fades to some lacing.

S: mild aroma of citrus, grain and a bit of malt sweetness. Quite clean.

T: taste has a mild crsipness with a light malt sweetness and a bit of grain. Has an easy bitterness and a dry finish.

F: Light body, crisp and smooth. Has a bit more character than most light beers.

O: Fairly bland but not bad for the style. Not normally a beer I would seek out but came as part of a six pack sampler.

★ 486 characters

1.08/5  rDev -50.9%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Pours a slightly hazed, muddy yellow colour, with almost no head—I had to pour pretty vigorously to get anything happening, and then it's just a sudsy speck of large bubbles at one edge of the glass. Some speckled lacing from the very thin ring around the top. Overall, it looks pretty unappealing.

Nose is rank. Like, really quite unpleasant. Sweet cereal characters mingle with a rancid tomato sauce character, giving hints of vinegar and white sugar mixed together. Slight rotten fruit overtones, and an underfermented wort note that makes me wonder if they just made it light by stopping fermentation after it reached 2.7%. Wow. Quite amazingly unappealing.

Taste is similar. In fact, fuck that—it's actually worse! At least the nose didn't make me genuinely gag. Here, the sweetness is genuinely rancid, leaving a garbage-juice must on the palate that is very difficult to look past. Really, where does this sweetness come from? It's like something left to rot in the sun. Pungent, but stomach churning all at once.

Feel is light and clear, I guess, but it's hard to judge the feel separate from that pong assaulting my palate.

Seriously, I was not expecting to put this head to head with the like of Boag's Premium Light and for Boag's to win. Whereas that was flavourless and pointless, this is actively unpleasant and nausea-inducing.

★ 1,350 characters

3.3/5  rDev +50%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Pours amber with a nice creamy-looking head.
Nose shows lots of malt with honey, caramel and butterscotch quite noticeable. Hops are not forgotten, grassy and spicy notes are prominent.
Flavours include the above sweet malty characters but without much backbone. More grassy hops.
Body is pretty watery.

★ 306 characters