Ale
Rainier Brewing Co.

AleAle
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From:
Rainier Brewing Co.
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Malt Liquor
ABV:
7.3%
Score:
59
Avg:
2.29 | pDev: 33.62%
Reviews:
36
Ratings:
67
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Apr 23, 2022
Added:
Mar 13, 2003
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Halcyondays:
Photo of Halcyondays
Reviewed by Halcyondays from California

3.32/5  rDev +45%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pint can, says brewed in Irwindale, a trite 35 miles away along the 10, Vitamin R, Green Death, whatever you call it, it's a classic beer in the West, as a so-called "grandfather beer," I wanted to try it, my cans say 7.3%,

A: Pours gold with a firm soapy fizzy macro lager head, very good retention for the style.

S: Corn, with a bit of fusel alcohol/malt liquor booze smell.

T: Light corn flavour, mild booze. There are some good bready notes which were enjoyable and even a hint of hops.

M: Surprisingly very smooth and not boozy at all. Clean, very good.

D: $6.79 for a 6-pack of pint cans, a de facto 8-pack, so around a fiver for a sixer. A hell of a lot better than Bud in this price range, not too bad at all. I'd probably put this more in the Cream Ale category than malt liquor, as macro as it is it does show a bit of an ale yeast character, think Genesee, but a little worse, but cheaper.
Sep 22, 2010
More User Ratings:
Photo of Schmidtty
Reviewed by Schmidtty

1.41/5  rDev -38.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5
I definitely remember Rainier Ale. It gave me one of the worst hangovers ever.
It's a difficult to describe ale. The taste is musty like day old beer, but not as flat and without the taste of floating cigarette butts. The smell depends on cold or warm. Warm is ghastly, and ice cold, not so much.
I think the moniker "Green Death" is about right.
Apr 23, 2022
Photo of Old_Frothingslosh
Reviewed by Old_Frothingslosh from Ohio

3.03/5  rDev +32.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I remember having this quit a bit back in the day, Sweet taste at first followed by a metallic after taste. The smell was that of warm beer left out for night or two. Not one of Rainier's best by far but it was around for ages.
Nov 30, 2021
 
Rated: 1.85 by smi69 from New York

May 25, 2020
 
Rated: 2 by BEER88 from North Carolina

May 25, 2020
Photo of Burly
Reviewed by Burly from California

1.89/5  rDev -17.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
I know a guy (Jimbo the Hobo) who was homeless for many, many years before finally getting subsidized housing about a decade ago. He swore by Green Death, having a good portion of time in the Pacific Northwest, hoboing and picking apples in Washington State.

I tried to turn him on to Trader Joe's Simpler Times Lager, which to me resembles Green Death somewhat in taste, and is a good deal here in the East Bay at $3.49 a six-pack as I write this. Jimbo was drunk already, and gave me a speech about how Rainier Ale bonded with his being or some such.

Sadly, Rainier Ale, an old San Francisco staple -- Jack Kerouac wrote about it in Dharma Bums -- is getting harder to find in my Oakland-Berkeley-Richmond neck of the East Bay. I can't really complain though, since I rarely drink it.
Aug 26, 2018
 
Rated: 2.85 by Lobina from Arizona

May 25, 2016
Photo of RotWyler
Reviewed by RotWyler from California

1/5  rDev -56.3%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Can I give it a Minus? Green Death is right! I turned green and felt like death warmed over.
nasty smell, nasty taste- leaves a little suede jacket on the tongue. The only thing I can say about this that's not terrible is Old English 800 and Colt 45 are Worse! do they still make Country Club xxx? now that was drinkable.
Apr 11, 2016
Photo of rodbeermunch
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

1.46/5  rDev -36.2%
look: 2.25 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.5
Yellow-gold appearance, produced a deep white head, but retention and lacing were fucked.
Aroma was brutal shit. Fusel alcohol, rubbing alcohol, corn.

More of that in the taste. Ah damn this is harsh stuff. Plenty bitter, maybe some high alpha acid hops and a long boil. Harsh stuff all around.
Dec 16, 2015
 
Rated: 2.25 by Josholson666 from Minnesota

Nov 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3 by nuebs from South Dakota

Oct 21, 2015
 
Rated: 1.76 by ClavisAurea from New York

Sep 28, 2015
Photo of yankinoz
Reviewed by yankinoz from Australia

1.66/5  rDev -27.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5
It was once popular on archaeological digs on hot evenings when the work was done. My last tasting wad at a Seattle motel with some fellow guests only one of whom spoke English except some of the others did mention getting "pissed."

The aroma is nicely floral and vaguely like Ballantine XXX Ale, unless the green bottles have been sitting too long on a shelf and getting skunky. So buy it where lines of men in old hoodies line up before opening time. There it turns over fast.

The first and last tastes and everything in between shout fusels, fusels, I'll be sorry I drank it some morning. The hops are barsh. There is a slight malt backbone reminiscent of Quasimodo's, perhaps from inadvertently acidified malt..

An American classic, like The Beast.
Jun 15, 2015
Photo of Darkmagus82
Reviewed by Darkmagus82 from Texas

2.75/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 2.75
Poured from bottle into a pint glass

Appearance- The beer pours a clear golden amber color with a billowy white head of two finger height. The head has a light level of retention, fading rather fast to leave a light level of foamy lace on the sides of the glass.

Smell – The aroma of the beer is strongest of a corn and sweet caramel smell. Along with these smells comes some notes of a paper smell as well as a little bit of a more grainy aroma.

Taste – The taste begins with a sweeter corn syrup taste mixed with a little bit of a bready flavor. As the taste advances some more metallic and paper flavors join the taste profile, giving a somewhat off flavor to the brew. A grainy flavor replaces the bready at the end of the taste, with the flavor that is left on the tongue at the end being one that is of a malt liquor base, with it being somewhat musty and metallic, all while not super offensive,.

Mouthfeel – The body of the beer is on the slightly thinner and more watery side for an ale of 7.2 % with a carbonation level that is on the slightly higher side. While it has a lighter body, the thinner feel mixed with the higher carbonation level is more appropriate for the sweeter, more malt liquor like flavors of the brew, and make for a rather easy drinking feel.

Overall – Not the greatest malt out there. It has a bit too much of an off metallic and papery taste to make it one of the better for the style.
Mar 09, 2015
Photo of CheapBeerBuzz
Rated by CheapBeerBuzz from California

1.65/5  rDev -27.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.25
This is awful. Avoid at all costs.
Mar 08, 2015
 
Rated: 2.56 by gefinley from California

Feb 03, 2015
 
Rated: 2.72 by misternebbie from Pennsylvania

Jan 31, 2015
 
Rated: 2.25 by Mister_Faucher from Washington

Dec 11, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by mr-jj from Washington

Nov 18, 2014
 
Rated: 1 by DrMindbender from South Carolina

Oct 01, 2014
Ale from Rainier Brewing Co.
Beer rating: 59 out of 100 with 67 ratings