Genesee Fyfe & Drum Beer
Genesee Brewing Co.

From notes 1/14/13: From the bottle it pours a clear, deep gold. The pour produces 2 fingers of finely bubbled, white, short-lived head that quickly dissipates to a somewhat lasting thin cap of foam leaving a few motes and wisps of lace as it recedes. Aroma is sweet grainy malt, corn, lager yeast and a hint of corn syrup and caramel. Taste is cereal grain, sweet corn and bread, finishing dry and lightly bitter with a hint of grassy hops which morphs into a sweet aftertaste. Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied, slightly thin with a light peppery spice from moderate carbonation and an astringency at the back of the tongue.

On tap at Genesee Brew House in Rochester, NY. This is the all-malt version re-brewed for Genny’s 140th anniversary.

This one pours a light and clear straw yellow color, with a small fizzy head and lots of lacing.

This smells like sweet corn and sweet malt, pilsner malt and very light grassy hops.

The all malt version of this is probably a bit better than the original Fyfe and Drum, but it’s still a bit of an insipid ride. It’s got an odd sweetness to it, with very little hop bitterness.

It’s very crisp, though, and definitely easy to drink. There’s a decent level of carbonation.

I’m happy to be able to try this, but it’s not really something I’m gonna look for again.

 

 

 

 

 

Fyfe & Drum Beer is a very clear, very lively, bright, golden beer. It has a turbulent surface with no head to speak of. It smells a little sweet and a little funky. There seems to be a hint of lemon. It's light bodied and lively in the mouth. The finish is a little chalky. There's not too much flavor, but it's recognizable as a Genny. The dominant flavor is that burnt-rubber yeast they use. There's a little bitterness that comes after the swallow. There are hints of lemon and mint. Like most Genny beer, it's not that great, but it still beats a macro at the same price. It's best if these beers stay in their stubbies and stay cold.

Cool little bomber bottles. Drank this one from the bottle because it plain deserves it. With a twist of the cap, a nice little "pop" rings out. Smells of cooked corn & sweet pilsner malt. Probably some adjuncts in there. Hello corn? Hello rice?

Tastes like how any average type lager would. Fizzy yellow stuff, here I come. Seems to have a weird metallic tinge to it. Strange considering it's a bottled beer. Best drank cold.

Feels light. Would make for an excellent lawnmower beer on a hot summer day.

Overall, an average beer. Don't drink this one for taste but for the cool short & stout bomber bottles they're packaged in. Go ahead - I dare you tell me you've never drank a beer just for the packaging.

 

 

 

Pours a nice pale gold color with a thin head into my glass. Looks awful promising so far. Lighter in color than some Genny offerings.

Moderately sweet malt with some dryness in the nose. Clean, almost crisp as well. Less typical than I expected.

Aroma carries over to the taste. Overwhelmed by sweetness and has a cider-like finish. I'm not sure. I had such high hopes.

Mouthfeel is just as bland and the cider-like body just doesn't work.

Beat me head silly like a drum. This isn't worthy.

 

 

 

OK, I'll admit that I was taken with the packaging of the Fall Heritage Collection with its stubby bottles and everything, but I mainly just wanted to try the Fyfe & Drum. I used to love the 12 Horse back in my college years, and the Red Lager isn't bad, but I've always been intrigued by antiquated brands.

So, is this the Fyfe & Drum that once was? I know that the cans used to read "EXTRA LYTE" on their lids, and this doesn't seem extra 'light' to me (or was that a different version of the beer - I've also seen cans that read "Extra lyte" at the bottom of the fron label). In any case, it's fairly golden in color, and it's got a solid maltiness to it. I'd call it full and sweet. But maybe a lot of beers were fuller back then (1960's), but I doubt it. Maybe they were referring to the bitterness? It is pretty light, and it borders upon becoming sweet. I don't know. The only other thing I notice about it that separates it at all from a general mainstream lager is that there's a kind of fruitiness to it. I'm not sure if that's from fermentation, or perhaps hops. If it was introduced in 1963 I'd imaging that they were using Cluster hops at the time but who knows what they're using now.

Overall, a charming beer that's very straightforward and basic. It's sweetish but with a nice malt character, clean, and super easy to drink.

Thanks to Eric for gifting me with a bottle of this. 12oz grenade style bottle into a pint. The brew pours a clear pale golden with 2 fingers creamy off-white head. Decent retention that leaves patchy to webby lace as it fades.

The first thing that comes to mind when you smell this beer is: corny. It is sweet in tge nose with sulfur and minerals with hints of grass and buttery to toffee character that melds the corn into the minerals. The nose isnt off-putting or horrible but it isnt that good either.

The taste is sweet with a flavoring of corn or something similar just like the aroma led on. A faint hint of toffee and caramel grain give way to a buttery diacetyl inclusion. Some sulfur and minerals with a hint of herbs and carbonic quality round out the rest of the profile.

This is a medium bodied brew with a modest amount of carbonation. It is somewhat crisp with no alcohol impact. However the buttery corn notes make this awkward but if you drank it freezing cold, id imagine it would be pretty neutral and get the job done. I would pass on this in the future.

Poured from stubby bottle into a pint glass

Appearance – The beer pours a nice medium golden color with a two finger white head. The head has a good level of retention, taking about 4 min to fade with it in the process leaving a medium level of lacing.

Smell – The aroma is very light and only consists of a little caramel mixed with a light bread smell.

Taste – The taste starts out with a light caramel sweetness mixed with some bready flavors. These flavors create a base for the beer which last throughout the taste, but yet change in intensity. The sweet grows stronger in the middle with caramel and some corn, but then dwindles a little bit in the end. The bready flavors remain constant throughout the taste, except at the end, where they get a little bit weaker. In the end with the sweet and bready flavors growing lighter, a crisp flavor is left on the tongue.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the lighter side with a carbonation level that is a bit on the higher side. Very nice for the style and it matches the crisp flavors that are left on the tongue at the end of the taste quite well.

Overall – While not really complex, it is very easy drinking and makes for a good party session brew.

A-pours a clear golden color with a white head with pretty decent retention
S-sweet malt, no hop aroma
T-lots of sweet malt with a bit of bitterness and a clean finish
M-medium bodied, lots of carbonation
O-straight forward and clean. Not exceptional but highly drinkable