Laker Red
Waterloo Brewing
- From:
- Waterloo Brewing
- Ontario, Canada
- Style:
- American Amber / Red Lager
Ranked #885 - ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- 77
Ranked #252,476 - Avg:
- 3.09 | pDev: 23.62%
- Reviews:
- 18
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 08, 2025
- Added:
- Aug 26, 2004
- Wants:
- 1
- Gots:
- 5
SCORE
77
Okay
77
Okay
This medium-bodied reddish copper lager is brewed with malted Canadian barley giving this brew all the flavour and satisfaction one would expect from a premium ruby red beer.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Rated by ohhhhhhboy from Canada (ON)
3.81/5 rDev +23.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
3.81/5 rDev +23.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Great flavour.
Mar 08, 2025
Reviewed by VandilioffReborn from Canada (ON)
3.89/5 rDev +25.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
3.89/5 rDev +25.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
November 2022
A wonderful looking can with a sketch background drawing of the Northern area's of Ontario faded behind an all red and white body. In this beers ''buck a beer' days in 2008 the 5.5% percentage of alcohol was illustrated larger than the name of the beer itself giving it some promotion into that particular neighbourhood of perception.
I'm serving myself at fridge cold temperature poured into a larg clear glass stein; an aggressive pour for proper release of carbonation from a can.
With a Coyote Ugly bar style pour I let its foam settle, collect and begin to lace.
A bounty of carbonation and roaring bubbles to the top. Big bubbles in the head with quick dissipitation. A quick stir brings back some activity in a short but quick fading tan head again and more calm carbonation.
A clear amber bodied brew. Very tame and appealing . English leather like colour.
Aroma ; one of my favourites. A fresh autumn outdoors aroma. Cold grass and the sugary smells of malt; almost like holiday cookies being baked. Caramel notes fresh bread. A bit of spice. Reminds me of the subdued use or Cascade or Northern Brewer hops.
Well balanced malt forward Red Lager. Thin and properly sweet caramel with a drying finish. Real notes of a more British style lager. Its a very simple beer that should be respected in that right. Its sweet and spicy . Would pair well with some peppermint or hot cinnamon candy.
Its overall feel is a refreshing sipping beer. 5.5% Alcohol but not apparent. This would be a nice beer to have with a hamburger not matter what burger topping you prefer. Its a complimentry beer to many red meat dishes and would go well in making a loaf of beer bread.
Overall, we just flat out need more proper Red Lagers in this world. A fine beer; one to be just as respected on its own as with compainioing with food.
Nov 09, 2022A wonderful looking can with a sketch background drawing of the Northern area's of Ontario faded behind an all red and white body. In this beers ''buck a beer' days in 2008 the 5.5% percentage of alcohol was illustrated larger than the name of the beer itself giving it some promotion into that particular neighbourhood of perception.
I'm serving myself at fridge cold temperature poured into a larg clear glass stein; an aggressive pour for proper release of carbonation from a can.
With a Coyote Ugly bar style pour I let its foam settle, collect and begin to lace.
A bounty of carbonation and roaring bubbles to the top. Big bubbles in the head with quick dissipitation. A quick stir brings back some activity in a short but quick fading tan head again and more calm carbonation.
A clear amber bodied brew. Very tame and appealing . English leather like colour.
Aroma ; one of my favourites. A fresh autumn outdoors aroma. Cold grass and the sugary smells of malt; almost like holiday cookies being baked. Caramel notes fresh bread. A bit of spice. Reminds me of the subdued use or Cascade or Northern Brewer hops.
Well balanced malt forward Red Lager. Thin and properly sweet caramel with a drying finish. Real notes of a more British style lager. Its a very simple beer that should be respected in that right. Its sweet and spicy . Would pair well with some peppermint or hot cinnamon candy.
Its overall feel is a refreshing sipping beer. 5.5% Alcohol but not apparent. This would be a nice beer to have with a hamburger not matter what burger topping you prefer. Its a complimentry beer to many red meat dishes and would go well in making a loaf of beer bread.
Overall, we just flat out need more proper Red Lagers in this world. A fine beer; one to be just as respected on its own as with compainioing with food.
Reviewed by swim from Canada (ON)
3.12/5 rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
3.12/5 rDev +1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3
L: Transparent light brown/red, no bubbles and minimal head
S: Yeasty and alcoholic, some toasty malts and a slight skunky grassy hop note.
T: Very subtle flavour, a bit skunky and sweet, the toasty malts remind me a bit of brown sugar, light and inoffensive aftertaste.
F: Smooth, very little carbonation.
O: More bland and dull than I remember but drinkable. Can't beat the price but the other Laker varieties might be a better choice.
Nov 04, 2020S: Yeasty and alcoholic, some toasty malts and a slight skunky grassy hop note.
T: Very subtle flavour, a bit skunky and sweet, the toasty malts remind me a bit of brown sugar, light and inoffensive aftertaste.
F: Smooth, very little carbonation.
O: More bland and dull than I remember but drinkable. Can't beat the price but the other Laker varieties might be a better choice.
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania
3.92/5 rDev +26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3.92/5 rDev +26.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
My local, in-person trader @tone77 was on a recent excursion into CANada & he brought back a number of CANadian CANned beers for me for inclusion in The CANQuest (tm)! I ran through a LOT of them on CANada Day & now, I am returning to polish off the remainder.
From the CAN: "Proudly Brewed In Ontario".
The CAN is SO much more beautiful than the bottle in the approved pic! It has a maple leaf in white and a dark oak tree in stark relief with a bright-red brushed-aluminum background. 8=O This will make a great add to my buddy's spent CAN CANlection.
I had a bit of a mise en scène to create before Crack!ing this one open, but sometimes my creative juices flow to the point that I feel CANpelled to do such things. The Carck! was as loud as the rooster's morning cry so I tipped up the CAN & allowed the beer to run freely into my awaiting glass. It quickly formed just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with very good retention. Color was Deep-Amber/Light-Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Man, it was like looking at an old flame's flame-red mane of hair! 8=O Nose had a malty sweetness that was just sweet enough not to be too much for me. It was very clean, very much a Lager & clearly driven by malt as opposed to hops. Mouthfeel was medium, about on par for a Lager. The taste was actually less sweet than the nose had led me to expect, but it was still very much malt-driven. I could not discern much, if anything, in the way of hops. Still, no problem. I had a hoppy beer last night & that was satiating for the time being. I CAN pull out AIPAs from my backlog at any time, but right now, I am just feeling like Lagers & especially Pilsners. Finish was back in the Twilight Zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry. This was dee-lish, a real score on the part of @tone77 & now I wish that he had brought back ALL of the Laker & Waterloo CANned beers since not only have the beers been good, but the CANs are beautiful, also. YMMV.
Aug 03, 2019From the CAN: "Proudly Brewed In Ontario".
The CAN is SO much more beautiful than the bottle in the approved pic! It has a maple leaf in white and a dark oak tree in stark relief with a bright-red brushed-aluminum background. 8=O This will make a great add to my buddy's spent CAN CANlection.
I had a bit of a mise en scène to create before Crack!ing this one open, but sometimes my creative juices flow to the point that I feel CANpelled to do such things. The Carck! was as loud as the rooster's morning cry so I tipped up the CAN & allowed the beer to run freely into my awaiting glass. It quickly formed just under two fingers of dense, foamy, rocky, tawny head with very good retention. Color was Deep-Amber/Light-Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17) with NE-quality clarity. Man, it was like looking at an old flame's flame-red mane of hair! 8=O Nose had a malty sweetness that was just sweet enough not to be too much for me. It was very clean, very much a Lager & clearly driven by malt as opposed to hops. Mouthfeel was medium, about on par for a Lager. The taste was actually less sweet than the nose had led me to expect, but it was still very much malt-driven. I could not discern much, if anything, in the way of hops. Still, no problem. I had a hoppy beer last night & that was satiating for the time being. I CAN pull out AIPAs from my backlog at any time, but right now, I am just feeling like Lagers & especially Pilsners. Finish was back in the Twilight Zone between semi-sweet & semi-dry. This was dee-lish, a real score on the part of @tone77 & now I wish that he had brought back ALL of the Laker & Waterloo CANned beers since not only have the beers been good, but the CANs are beautiful, also. YMMV.
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)
3.02/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.02/5 rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
473 ml can served cold into a pilsner glass. LCBO purchased for $1.95 CDN.
Appearance - Clear amber color, lots of bubbles and a thin finger of white head that fizzles away the way pop does. Absolutely no retention.
Smell - Muddled grainy aromas with a hint of adjuncts and pervasive metallicness.
Taste - Quite sweet with some grainy flavors and sweet malts. Hints of caramel in there. Probably too sweet for sustained drinking (i.e. more than 2)
Mouthfeel - Watery at the same time a bit sticky at the edges. Carbonation is less than expected but pretty easy to drink quickly.
Overall - To be fair, it does it's job pretty well, tastes pretty decent and drinks easily. Given the price, it's solid. Not likely to pick up again, but better than I was expecting, with the exception of the nose.
Jul 27, 2019Appearance - Clear amber color, lots of bubbles and a thin finger of white head that fizzles away the way pop does. Absolutely no retention.
Smell - Muddled grainy aromas with a hint of adjuncts and pervasive metallicness.
Taste - Quite sweet with some grainy flavors and sweet malts. Hints of caramel in there. Probably too sweet for sustained drinking (i.e. more than 2)
Mouthfeel - Watery at the same time a bit sticky at the edges. Carbonation is less than expected but pretty easy to drink quickly.
Overall - To be fair, it does it's job pretty well, tastes pretty decent and drinks easily. Given the price, it's solid. Not likely to pick up again, but better than I was expecting, with the exception of the nose.
Reviewed by DaveandMargo from Canada (ON)
4.5/5 rDev +45.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.5/5 rDev +45.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Nice taste, slight sweetness, fragrant flower/sweet smell. Great price, but not easy to find it in stock. Only available in limited quantities at limited locations. Also found it was less likely to contribute to an unpleasant demeaner when having more than a few like some other brands.
Apr 04, 2019
Reviewed by tone77 from Pennsylvania
3.43/5 rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.43/5 rDev +11%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Poured from a 16 oz. can. Has a brownish/amber color with a 1/2 inch head. Smell is of malts, light caramel. Taste is the same as the aroma, but with a good bit of sweetness added. Feels medium bodied in the mouth and overall is an easy drinking and pretty good beer.
Feb 12, 2019
Reviewed by Drew_wilks81 from Canada (ON)
3.2/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
3.2/5 rDev +3.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4
Got a 24 pack of this because it was so cheap. Has an after taste of red wine that I've really never noticed as much. Definitely nice every once in a while but definitely not something I would drink all the time
Nov 11, 2017Rated by JAZZCON from Canada (ON)
3.89/5 rDev +25.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.89/5 rDev +25.9%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Decent beer. Has little metal taste you find sometimes in similar beers.
Jul 10, 2016
Reviewed by DaveBar from Canada (ON)
3.21/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.21/5 rDev +3.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Got it free in a 24pk of Ice. Served at 4deg C in a draught glass
A- Opens well and pours a high head that dissipates in 1min. Yup it's got a red color is so amber
S- Not a lot here.
T- Not bad. Not great but not bad.
M- Nice and light on the tongue. Excellent carbonation.
O- Pretty good. Excellent for free but would not buy
Food Pairing
This ok beer pairs similar to Bud or Millar
Enjoy
Aug 04, 2014A- Opens well and pours a high head that dissipates in 1min. Yup it's got a red color is so amber
S- Not a lot here.
T- Not bad. Not great but not bad.
M- Nice and light on the tongue. Excellent carbonation.
O- Pretty good. Excellent for free but would not buy
Food Pairing
This ok beer pairs similar to Bud or Millar
Enjoy
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