Low Gear
MacLean's Beer

 

Appearance: Poured with two fingers worht of head that laced fairly well and stuck around decently. The body boasts steady carbonation, but with a very pale yellow hue. It looks very light, but given it's clearly advertising itself as "sessionable ale" I'm going to give it some leway.

Smell: Nothing offensive, but regretably it is expectably absent on this front. All I am catching is some light white bread scents and a light earthy undertone. There just isn't enough here to really merit much more.

Taste: Starts with some bready malt which turns sweeter with a light earthy hop note. For a light lager, this is pretty decent, which is really what I think the brewer is trying to go for, just with a slightly different ale like spin. That said, it's still not an overwhelming experience.

Mouthfeel: Fairly clean as a mild breadiness and earthy hop bitter note sticks around in the aftertaste. The carbonation helps out the entire beer, and the mild trasistioning is quite smooth. That said, it does come across as a bit foamy, and it's easy to be smooth and have good transisitoning when there isn't a lot to transistion to.

Drinkability: This is certainly a summer lawnmower drinker, as it's highly refreshing, exceedingly easy to drink and sits down exceptionally well. Only the mild aftertaste building every so slightly is the only thing stopping you from putting it back all day. That said, you'd have to go through a lot of cans to reach that point.

Final Thoughts: Like I said, a summer lawnmower drinker, as it's mild in extreme and easy going. It's just a well executed light beer. There's no bells or whistles here, and the only exceptional thing is that it knows what it is, and it does a damn good job of it. It's not going to knock your socks off, but that's not the point of this beer. If you are passing through Hanover and need something too replace your Coors or Bud Light, this is the stuff. While you are there, certainly indulgee in the brewery's other, far more interesting options.