Labatt Blue | Labatt Brewing Company Ltd.
Brewed by:
Labatt Brewing Company Ltd.
Ontario, Canada
labatt.com
Style: American Adjunct Lager
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 5.00%
Availability: Year-round
Notes / Commercial Description:
Labatt Blue is the best-selling Canadian beer in the world. Introduced in 1951 as Labatt Pilsener, it was named for the colour of its label by fans of the Winnipeg Blue Bombers football team. Blue was the first brand in Canada with a twist-off cap and won the silver medal in the International Lager category at the 1998 Brewing Industry International Awards. Labatt Blue, brewed using specially selected aromatic hops, is a well-balanced, fully matured, full-flavoured beer with a fruity character and a slightly sweet aftertaste.
Added by BeerAdvocate on 08-30-2001
Ratings: 2,060 | Reviews: 655
3.25/5 rDev +21.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.65/5 rDev +36.2%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Look and Smell- First impressions may suggest Labatt is nothing too special. In this respect, it's a typical lager. Bold aroma, light yellow color, and thick suds.
Taste and Feel- This is where it takes the cake. The aftertaste is minimal, it goes down smoothly, and it's not as bitter as the smell would suggest. This is also one of the cheaper beers on the market; price-wise, of course.
Overall- Labatt may not be as refined or revered as a craft brew, but it is the epitome of a tried-and-true favorite.
511 characters
look: 2.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Look and Smell- First impressions may suggest Labatt is nothing too special. In this respect, it's a typical lager. Bold aroma, light yellow color, and thick suds.
Taste and Feel- This is where it takes the cake. The aftertaste is minimal, it goes down smoothly, and it's not as bitter as the smell would suggest. This is also one of the cheaper beers on the market; price-wise, of course.
Overall- Labatt may not be as refined or revered as a craft brew, but it is the epitome of a tried-and-true favorite.
511 characters
3.47/5 rDev +29.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
11.5oz bottle (B13725) poured into a pils glass at fridge temp (no ABV on bottle or website). The beer is a bright light straw yellow color with white head that actually hangs around and a bit of lacing. The smell is faint of malt and hops. The taste is a bit sweet with no off flavors and finishes with a subtle hop flavor and touch of bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, adequately carbonated and finishes almost clean. There is a bit of soapy feel on the finish but it is light. Overall, very good. This is what I expect in a well done AAL. Clean with no off flavors and it actually maintains a head as you drink it.
631 characters
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
11.5oz bottle (B13725) poured into a pils glass at fridge temp (no ABV on bottle or website). The beer is a bright light straw yellow color with white head that actually hangs around and a bit of lacing. The smell is faint of malt and hops. The taste is a bit sweet with no off flavors and finishes with a subtle hop flavor and touch of bitterness. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, adequately carbonated and finishes almost clean. There is a bit of soapy feel on the finish but it is light. Overall, very good. This is what I expect in a well done AAL. Clean with no off flavors and it actually maintains a head as you drink it.
631 characters
3.07/5 rDev +14.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
2.71/5 rDev +1.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
A: Transparent light gold yellow, foamy white head
S: A bit funky, some floral hops and sweet graininess.
T: A bit more funky, a slight lagery bite, similar to the smell with muted floral grassy hops and sweet toasty grains. Acceptable weak aftertaste.
F: Rather little carbonation, a slight creamy thickness, a bit warming, quite smooth.
O: Not very crisp or complex in flavour (of course) or exceptionally refreshing but I am pleasantly surprised with this beer. I must admit it's not as bad as I thought it might be but it also does not have that crisp refreshing lagery boldness I Was hoping it might have.
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look: 2.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
A: Transparent light gold yellow, foamy white head
S: A bit funky, some floral hops and sweet graininess.
T: A bit more funky, a slight lagery bite, similar to the smell with muted floral grassy hops and sweet toasty grains. Acceptable weak aftertaste.
F: Rather little carbonation, a slight creamy thickness, a bit warming, quite smooth.
O: Not very crisp or complex in flavour (of course) or exceptionally refreshing but I am pleasantly surprised with this beer. I must admit it's not as bad as I thought it might be but it also does not have that crisp refreshing lagery boldness I Was hoping it might have.
616 characters
2.25/5 rDev -16%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.25 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
3.8/5 rDev +41.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.66/5 rDev +36.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Back in the late '70s and early to mid-'80s I used to vacation at our family home in Northern Michigan almost every summer. In those days good beer was hard to find in the wilderness and, more often than not, we'd pick up Canadian imports. Labatt Blue became a favorite and I'd even pick it up as a "change-of-pace" back home.
I honestly haven't tried it in about 30 years, so I had a rush of nostalgia. Going to rate it to the AAL spec's (1B. American Lager in the current BJCP Guidelines).
Couldn't find any discernible dating anywhere, so I took a chance on the $5 six-pack. Label calls this beer a "Canadian Pilsener," pretty sure it wasn't labeled as such in the '80s. Poured into my short Becher glass.
L -- Clear, very pale straw color with a sudsy, somewhat meager, white head.
S -- Surprisingly bready aroma up front with some lightly harsh grain back. Some light phenols with warmth.
T -- Grainy to lightly corny flavor up front with some mildly citrus and spicy bitterness and little to no aftertaste, but for some lingering corn* character.
F -- Body is light and crisp with a spritzy, thin mouthfeel.
O -- I honestly don't know if this is the beer I remember from the old days, but I wouldn't call it a Pilsner today. On the other hand, as an Adjunct Lager, this beer fits that bill quite well. You get what you expect and it's actually easy drinking and refreshing -- the epitome of a great lawnmower beer. I could see having this on hand for summer quaffing after particularly rigorous chores or just enjoying the patio.
*FWIW -- The Labatt web site claims barley only in this beer. This may be true, but there's a distinct corn sweetness in the finish of this beer -- maybe from the yeast strain?
1,730 characters
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Back in the late '70s and early to mid-'80s I used to vacation at our family home in Northern Michigan almost every summer. In those days good beer was hard to find in the wilderness and, more often than not, we'd pick up Canadian imports. Labatt Blue became a favorite and I'd even pick it up as a "change-of-pace" back home.
I honestly haven't tried it in about 30 years, so I had a rush of nostalgia. Going to rate it to the AAL spec's (1B. American Lager in the current BJCP Guidelines).
Couldn't find any discernible dating anywhere, so I took a chance on the $5 six-pack. Label calls this beer a "Canadian Pilsener," pretty sure it wasn't labeled as such in the '80s. Poured into my short Becher glass.
L -- Clear, very pale straw color with a sudsy, somewhat meager, white head.
S -- Surprisingly bready aroma up front with some lightly harsh grain back. Some light phenols with warmth.
T -- Grainy to lightly corny flavor up front with some mildly citrus and spicy bitterness and little to no aftertaste, but for some lingering corn* character.
F -- Body is light and crisp with a spritzy, thin mouthfeel.
O -- I honestly don't know if this is the beer I remember from the old days, but I wouldn't call it a Pilsner today. On the other hand, as an Adjunct Lager, this beer fits that bill quite well. You get what you expect and it's actually easy drinking and refreshing -- the epitome of a great lawnmower beer. I could see having this on hand for summer quaffing after particularly rigorous chores or just enjoying the patio.
*FWIW -- The Labatt web site claims barley only in this beer. This may be true, but there's a distinct corn sweetness in the finish of this beer -- maybe from the yeast strain?
1,730 characters
2.08/5 rDev -22.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 2
2.26/5 rDev -15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
It might be swill, but in the US it's not Canadian, except for the name. Now brewed in the US by North American Breweries, i.e., Genesee, which also owns Pyramid and Magic Hat. North American in turn is owned by the Costa Rican company FIFCO.
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look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
It might be swill, but in the US it's not Canadian, except for the name. Now brewed in the US by North American Breweries, i.e., Genesee, which also owns Pyramid and Magic Hat. North American in turn is owned by the Costa Rican company FIFCO.
242 characters
1/5 rDev -62.7%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Continuing my series on drinking disastrous brews, Labatt is something I have attempted a few times when I was younger, but was never able to finish, due to the awful carbonation.
So let's see. The nose is pure stink. The pour is sparkling wine like, with an ugly, bland colour.
The taste is pure crap. Just an embarrassment. Nondescript, lightly malted water, with no aftertaste. Very gasy.
If this is beer, what do you call actual beer? Canadians ought never to make fun of Americans for their beer while Labatt is one of their best selling weasel pisses.
558 characters
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Continuing my series on drinking disastrous brews, Labatt is something I have attempted a few times when I was younger, but was never able to finish, due to the awful carbonation.
So let's see. The nose is pure stink. The pour is sparkling wine like, with an ugly, bland colour.
The taste is pure crap. Just an embarrassment. Nondescript, lightly malted water, with no aftertaste. Very gasy.
If this is beer, what do you call actual beer? Canadians ought never to make fun of Americans for their beer while Labatt is one of their best selling weasel pisses.
558 characters
3.56/5 rDev +32.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
2.75/5 rDev +2.6%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
This is not that bad. But it is nothing compared to most American craft brews.
80 characters
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
This is not that bad. But it is nothing compared to most American craft brews.
80 characters
3.68/5 rDev +37.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
3.28/5 rDev +22.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.28/5 rDev +22.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
3.16/5 rDev +17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Finally got a chance to rate this one. Very clear look to this beer. Bready , beery scent. Ya know I remember this being worse than it is. Now I've got a cold can here and I call the flavor gentle, bready and slightly adjunct. It's thin and fairly well carbonated. It's easy to drink cold at least. Nothing exciting here.
321 characters
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Finally got a chance to rate this one. Very clear look to this beer. Bready , beery scent. Ya know I remember this being worse than it is. Now I've got a cold can here and I call the flavor gentle, bready and slightly adjunct. It's thin and fairly well carbonated. It's easy to drink cold at least. Nothing exciting here.
321 characters
2.81/5 rDev +4.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
look: 2.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
3.11/5 rDev +16%
look: 2.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Look - Clear yellow, no head or lacing from the pour.
Smell - Metallic, grainy, no hop aroma
Taste - Paper thin grainy body, tastes like rice but I'm not 100% sure, mild sweetness, tinny-metallic aftertaste
Feel - Thin bodied, loads of carbonation, refreshing
Overall - I imagine a bottle wouldn't be as metallic as from the can. Even then it's an ok lighter beer. Good for warm weather.
391 characters
look: 2.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Look - Clear yellow, no head or lacing from the pour.
Smell - Metallic, grainy, no hop aroma
Taste - Paper thin grainy body, tastes like rice but I'm not 100% sure, mild sweetness, tinny-metallic aftertaste
Feel - Thin bodied, loads of carbonation, refreshing
Overall - I imagine a bottle wouldn't be as metallic as from the can. Even then it's an ok lighter beer. Good for warm weather.
391 characters
3.21/5 rDev +19.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Labatt Blue from Labatt Brewing Company Ltd.
2.68
out of 5
based on 2,060 ratings.
look: 1.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75