Hamm's Golden Draft
Hamm's Brewing Co.

Hamm's Golden DraftHamm's Golden Draft
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From:
Hamm's Brewing Co.
 
Wisconsin, United States
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #124
ABV:
4.7%
Score:
73
Ranked #27,695
Avg:
2.9 | pDev: 16.21%
Reviews:
13
Ratings:
24
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 04, 2023
Added:
Aug 01, 2003
Wants:
  7
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Rated: 2.91 by Squire from Mississippi

May 22, 2016
 
Rated: 2.85 by Josholson666 from Minnesota

Jan 03, 2016
 
Rated: 2.68 by misternebbie from Pennsylvania

Jan 31, 2015
 
Rated: 2.47 by Superbohl4 from Wisconsin

Jan 21, 2015
 
Rated: 2.25 by Mpenders from Pennsylvania

Aug 09, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by haddyhustle302 from Delaware

Nov 30, 2012
 
Rated: 2.5 by Jimboe

Oct 03, 2012
 
Rated: 2 by Joefisherman from Illinois

Jun 24, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by durwood64 from Ohio

Jan 10, 2012
 
Rated: 3 by Profane from Wisconsin

Dec 21, 2011
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Today is Chaz Day! All hail the mighty Midwestern Chaz, wherever you may be! He and I have been CANsistant beer traders and common aficionados of movies, art, pop culture and literature for some time on this site, but today is being dedicated to his proliferation of CANned beers in support of The CANQuest (TM). Virtually every beer that I have reviewed today was courtesy of Chaz and here comes one more!

Another anecdote: My first liberty port in the Navy was Barcelona, Spain and right after I achieved my first overseas nut, we headed into "The Gut", which is now off-limits and even perhaps dried up. I took us down a blind alley to a punk rock joint with metal shutters that featured a mural of Sid Vicious. We walked in to see a couple coupling on a table and the music was deafening. I asked the handsome, swarthy bartender in his immaculate white apron, unsullied as blood sprayed and spit flew, for a beer. He smiled with some of the pearliest whitey whites, reached into the cooler and produced a big-ass bottle with a cork finish and a cage over it. Champagne?!? No, no, senor, beer! I pleaded. Biere, birra, bierra, I spoke in all of the languages that I had studied in anticipation of my first overseas deployment, the reason for my enlistment. He smiled again and with a flourish that I will never forget, popped it and began pouring this so-called beer into goblets. We took a sip and all of us were blown away! It was aged Chimay Red (try finding any aged these days) and it set me on a course that I have followed since. Upon our return to New London, CT, on our first Liberty Call after that, we stopped in at the Full Moon Cafe and asked for Chimay. No sale. No sale for one beer after the other. Finally, our exasperated waitress offered, "Boys, I ain't heard a none a that beers, but yer in luck!" We perked up at this last. "Tonight's Monday night, so we got football on and $.50-cent Hamm's on draft in a frosted mug!" Our collective heads went down faster than a sub chasing a Russkie. I began to look for a deployable ship the next morning ...

From the CAN: "Cold filtered draft beer, brewed from the purest water, choicest barley malt, grain and hops."

Whee hoo! Based on the above, either they forgot to include yeast in the equation or it is a beer that predates Louis Pasteur. I got a nice, loud Crack! which is a good sign. The Glug evinced two foamy fingers of bone-white head with limited retention. "Golden"? Pheh! More like pale yellow and a Greg Koch Special - a fizzy yellow beer. At least I was able to read the Sunday comics unimpeded, which is the test for NE-quality clarity. Draft what? Draft corn! Oh, come on. Mouthfeel was medium and as to taste, all I had to do was close my eyes and I could have been drinking ANY AAL, ever! Finish was so boring that i began to nod off. It was average. As average as putting Lil Woody into any of the well-endowed blondes over the years. Like eating processed AmeriCAN cheese. Gimme some strange!
Oct 16, 2011
Photo of tone77
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to cpolking for sending this beer and some others after our initial trade. Poured from a 12 oz. can. Has a light golden color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is mild, some grains. Taste is crisp, grains, a touch of hops is present. Feels light in the mouth and overall is a drinkable and decent beer.
Sep 12, 2011
Photo of MasterSki
Reviewed by MasterSki from Canada (ON)

3.1/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 4
Thanks Matt for this gem. Served in my Pisgah pint glass. Best before January 31st, 2011.

A - The finger of eggshell foam sizzles to a thin cap in the time it took me to write the intro to this review. No lacing is left behind at all, and the cap eventually dissipates to some film and a thin ring of bubbles. Transparent golden straw body, with tons of visible carbonation.

S - Grains, corn, some nebulous grass and floral notes. Smells like a typical adjunct lager.

T - Taste is again grain-heavy, and finishes yeasty. There's some faint fruity sweetness in the periphery.

M - A little too carbonated for my liking - sharp and harsh bite and burn to the lips and upper palate. Otherwise pretty standard medium-light body, with a clean and slightly dry finish.

D - It's a pretty generic adjunct lager. Far from the worst I've had, but not something I'd really be interested in revisiting. If this were offered at Wrigley it'd probably be my top choice.
Jan 03, 2011
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

3.23/5  rDev +11.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4
A seldom seen oddity, found in the discount bin of an out of the way store.
Drinking in tribute to the late proprietor of my local neighborhood "Hamm's Bar" Johnnie's Lounge.

Served cold in a footed Hamms goblet.

Clear gold, rapid champagne carbonation. A vigorous pour nets a finger of foam that rises in a convex dome above the rim, though it fades after a couple minutes. It's pretty for a minute, almost B-grade banquet beer material. A feeble skim floats on the surface. Club soda bubbles cling to the inside of the glass.

Lightly sweet apple nose, husky cereal grain. Nothing awful, just plain and average. Fleeting flavor of apple juice and crackery traces of malt, not overly fizzy, sort of watery and a little dry in the aftertaste. Not much to it, but it's not unpleasant. Tastes like summer barbecues and picnics.

Most likely it's just Hamms in a different can.
Dec 01, 2010
Photo of RonaldTheriot
Reviewed by RonaldTheriot from Louisiana

3.36/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Hamm's Genuine Draft is very similar to Miller Genuine Draft in appearance, taste, smell, body, and even can design. It has been a Miller product since 1999, by the way. H.G.D. has a thick, white head, and a very clear, golden appearance. Carbonation is high. Aroma is almost nonexistent. The taste is good with mostly a grain presentation, but a hop spice can be faintly detected. A semi-sweetness is noticeable underneath. Mouth-feel is light and watery, and H.G.D. finishes crisp and refreshing. Overall, this is an enjoyable and credible price-conscious substitute for M.G.D., and I would certainly buy it again and recommend others give it a try. It is not sold in Louisiana; I bought it on a road trip in Chicago in July, 2010.

RJT
Jul 26, 2010
Photo of rawhydes1
Reviewed by rawhydes1 from Pennsylvania

1.56/5  rDev -46.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1
When MGD was a trendy beer, Hamm's presented their beer to resemble MGD. The case even sported a "HGD" logo in several places.

This beer smelled of smoke. Not "smoked" beer, but SMOKE beer. Tasted as if I was licking the flue of my fireplace.

Not just yellow adjunct piss water, but SMOKED yellow, adjunct piss water.

Disclaimer: I am rating this beer based on the STYLE- American Adjunct Lager, not just general displeasure with "macro" beers. It is a bad A.A.L.
Jan 17, 2010
Photo of Mistofminn
Reviewed by Mistofminn from Minnesota

2.85/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Had this one with my old man and some buddies this weekend on our fishing trip. My dad used to drink Hamm's in college, and hadn't seen the stuff since. He had no idea there was Hamm's Golden Draft or Hamm's Light, so he had to give them a try. Naturally, all we had was cases of the stuff.

Of the near case of this I consumed over the course of the 4 day weekend, I only had one in a glass, the first. The rest were consumed straight out of the can.

Pours and typical american macro lager. Golden, fizzy, no head or lacing. Nothing special.

The nose is also typical of an american macro, watery and adjuncts. This one I think is grains? I can never tell. To be fair, it's better than most.

The taste actually isn't that bad. I was surprised. I would compare this one in taste to Schlitz. Honestly, I'm not sure I could tell the two apart in a blind taste testing. I would grab this one over a BMC anyday.

Considering the weather this weekend (hot, sunny and humid), there were times over the course of the weekend where I genuinely enjoyed this and wouldn't have had another beer over it. Granted, those moments were few and fleeting, but still.

This brew has it's time and place, and they are when fishing on a hot and humid 90 degree day with buddies and your old man. If thats the case, then I'll take one of these every time.
May 26, 2009
Photo of Spikester
Reviewed by Spikester from Oregon

3.25/5  rDev +12.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Typical macro lager although the color was a bit deeper gold than many. Not much aroma but nothing bad either. Taste starts out sweet malts but midway a hop taste becomes assertive. Slightly astringent and nice dry finish. After taste is bitter dry apple. Not bad for a swilling brew. About 50 cents per 12 ounce can. Fire up the mower guys!
Jan 22, 2009
Photo of happygnome
Reviewed by happygnome from Minnesota

3.27/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
a: pours a golden color with about a half inch of head that dissapears quickly leaving no lace at all
s: grainy, bready aroma
t: typical macro lager, heavy on the corn malts
m: light bodied beer with a lot of carbonatoin

overall, this isnt a bad beer for the style
Aug 06, 2008
Hamm's Golden Draft from Hamm's Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 24 ratings