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Original
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company


Beer Geek Stats
| Print Shelf Talker
- From:
- Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
- Wisconsin, United States
- Style:
- American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #92 - ABV:
- 4.7%
- Score:
- 69
Ranked #30,064 - Avg:
- 2.96 | pDev: 19.26%
- Reviews:
- 202
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Jan 15, 2023
- Added:
- May 11, 2002
- Wants:
- 31
- Gots:
- 114
SCORE
69
Poor
69
Poor


Notes:
We’ve been perfecting our craft since 1867 when Jacob Leinenkugel founded the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company. Over 150 years, we’re still proudly brewing our award-winning Leinenkugel’s Original, a classic American Pilsner, just as we did in 1867.
17 IBU
17 IBU
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by Papercut4 from Wisconsin
2.65/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
2.65/5 rDev -10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Pours out of the can a crystal clear orange gold. About a finger of head with minimal lacing. Smells floral and slightly spicy. Tastes follows the nose with a bit of earthiness. A good beer for what it is.
Jan 15, 2023Rated by Hatchel from Minnesota
3.46/5 rDev +16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.46/5 rDev +16.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
Good overall beer for just chillin on the front steps. Take it any day over Bud or Miller mass-produced beer flavored water.
Nov 05, 2022Reviewed by Caldwan123 from Iowa
3.56/5 rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
3.56/5 rDev +20.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Look all around has a good classic beer bottle look. Coloring is as expected. Smells of skunkiness similar to a Heineken. Taste is the same extremely close to aforementioned Heineken with a little less of a weed taste. Feels smooth.
Oct 01, 2021Reviewed by Singlefinpin from North Carolina
3.33/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.33/5 rDev +12.5%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
I have drank this beer from restaurant taps all over The USA and there was a time when this was one of the better beers to be had on tap, how far we've come, thank goodness!
Looks golden yellow with a nice white foamy head that dropped quickly to a thin ring.
Smells, lightly bready, malty, floral, and spicy.
Taste follows the nose nicely, with just the slightest hint of corn.
Mouth feel is medium light for the style with a high effervescent feel.
Overall, still one of the better AALs out there, due to less corn.
Cheers!
Sep 27, 2021Looks golden yellow with a nice white foamy head that dropped quickly to a thin ring.
Smells, lightly bready, malty, floral, and spicy.
Taste follows the nose nicely, with just the slightest hint of corn.
Mouth feel is medium light for the style with a high effervescent feel.
Overall, still one of the better AALs out there, due to less corn.
Cheers!
Reviewed by vette2006c5r from Minnesota
3.75/5 rDev +26.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.75/5 rDev +26.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Original pours a clean yellowish color, with quickly dissipating head. Aroma is malty, grainy. Flavor is the same, malty and grainy, but pleasant, and nicely put together. Good body and feel. Overall, its a nice easy beer, simple and not bad.
Sep 23, 2021Reviewed by cyclonece09 from Wisconsin
3.29/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.29/5 rDev +11.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Poured from a bottle into a pint glass. Pours straw yellow with a small white head. Smells of cereal grain, sweet but not overly so. Tastes of plain cereal grain, but a little more flavor than your normal adjunct. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, heavily carbonated. Overall, a slightly above average beer.
Sep 11, 2021Reviewed by daliandragon from Maryland
3.19/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.19/5 rDev +7.8%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
I picked up a twelve pack in its home state while camping and hitting some national parks on vacation. Definitely a camping or lawn mower beer and on that score it is pretty effective. A bit of corn in the flavor but this is drinkable and goes down very easy. I was surprised at how clear headed I was the day after my camping. Would definitely drink this if it was available in my area.
Jun 24, 2021Rated by Augiedogie23 from Iowa
4.55/5 rDev +53.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.25
4.55/5 rDev +53.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.25
Drinkable with a sweet finish. From the northwoods; a great adjunct beer!
Jun 05, 2021Rated by Drunkle from Wisconsin
4.5/5 rDev +52%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.5/5 rDev +52%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Really good beer, tastes great! I’m on number 5 right now and can still make it to the fridge for a couple more. Yeaaaa!
Jul 11, 2020Rated by Sip_n_Slam from Minnesota
2.21/5 rDev -25.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
2.21/5 rDev -25.3%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2.25
Screams decent macro up front but the acrid corn twang on the back end makes me give this a hard pass.
Jun 18, 2020Reviewed by glencox00 from Wisconsin
3.02/5 rDev +2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
3.02/5 rDev +2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3
I wish I liked this beer. It represents the great northwoods of my home state. Smell is barely there but mostly slight grain and very slight hops. When tasting, the barley comes up front, followed by a soggy corn. The corn adds a grainy sweetness. Slight hops flavor to finish it out. This might be a decent beer to wash down a hot dog with Sauerkraut and it's not intolerable. There are better macro lagers in this range.
Apr 19, 2020Reviewed by Scott17Taylor from Iowa
3.35/5 rDev +13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.35/5 rDev +13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
Actually one of the better adjunct lagers, it’s a no frills clean grainy lager. I get a lot of grainy sweetness, but Im getting so,e actual malt and not just corn. There’s a slightly spicy hop finish, fairly faint though.
Mar 08, 2020Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
3.16/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
3.16/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I've tried my hardest to not rate/review beer owned by macro breweries, but well, for my lack of reviewed AAL's on this site, I'm going to go against my own grain for once.
Appearances can be over thought many times in the world of beer and I often try to just look for colors. However, instead of describing those colors, I'm just going to say this does look like piss water. The head did fizzle out pretty quick and didn't leave any lace.
Aromas of sweet corn, biscuits and butter, dried grassy hops and dead flowers seem to be the basis of the blend.
Flavors are semi-sweet with some dry bitterness listening to an even keeled floral bitterness underneath. Barely any aftertaste, but what was there seemed a bit "fusel."
Mouthfeel was mostly good having a body between light and medium. Good carbonation leading into a corn sweet finish.
I've had many of this style elsewhere but failed to upload those reviews on Beer Advocate. This beer maybe again, maybe.
Aug 05, 2019Appearances can be over thought many times in the world of beer and I often try to just look for colors. However, instead of describing those colors, I'm just going to say this does look like piss water. The head did fizzle out pretty quick and didn't leave any lace.
Aromas of sweet corn, biscuits and butter, dried grassy hops and dead flowers seem to be the basis of the blend.
Flavors are semi-sweet with some dry bitterness listening to an even keeled floral bitterness underneath. Barely any aftertaste, but what was there seemed a bit "fusel."
Mouthfeel was mostly good having a body between light and medium. Good carbonation leading into a corn sweet finish.
I've had many of this style elsewhere but failed to upload those reviews on Beer Advocate. This beer maybe again, maybe.
Rated by badgerbeer1 from Wisconsin
2.79/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
2.79/5 rDev -5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75
From Wisconsin and always want Leinies to be better than it is. This AAL is very average. Nothing special and just very ok. Wouldnt search it out.
Jul 28, 2019Reviewed by TheLuckiestMan from Minnesota
3.68/5 rDev +24.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.68/5 rDev +24.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A “poor” lager? Them’s fightin’ words in Wisconsin! This is my go to regular lager. My fridge is always full if Leinies O. Put quite simply, when compared to other AAL’s in this class (Hamms, Bud, Miller, Coors) this is a cut above. I’ve been told by a Leinies brewer that although this is an AAL, the amount of adjuncts used in the recipe is far less than your typical macro lager. I think that comes through in the flavor. Perfect canoe beer. Get it!
May 01, 2019Rated by mngermanshepherd from Minnesota
3.59/5 rDev +21.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.59/5 rDev +21.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Delicious!
Apr 10, 2019Reviewed by Buckeye55 from North Carolina
2.75/5 rDev -7.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
2.75/5 rDev -7.1%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
Again, it's been a few years on this one.
I recall it as a pretty good aal (of course at that time I had no concept of the different beer styles). It was just a touch below average in my book. Hence the 2.75 rating. Drinkable, just not special
Mar 14, 2019I recall it as a pretty good aal (of course at that time I had no concept of the different beer styles). It was just a touch below average in my book. Hence the 2.75 rating. Drinkable, just not special
Reviewed by MichaelProcton from North Carolina
2.71/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
2.71/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
Extraordinarily typical look for an AAL; golden, if a bit deeper that you see in the light category, super clear-and a bit of active carbonation, but no head/cap/lacing. The adjuncts are clear on the nose alongside sweet malt and a slight touch of hoppiness, and it's not quite what you'd call skunky. Taste isn't terrible, either, with some decent body from the malts and some hop bitterness to balance. Mouthfeel is average-y, maybe a bit heavier than usual for style. Overall, ok, just like you'd expect from this style produced by a macro.
Jan 09, 2019Reviewed by BeerBobber from Nevada
3.88/5 rDev +31.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
3.88/5 rDev +31.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Very clear darker golden color with lots of streaming bubbles. Thin white head that cracled down into the beer.
Smells like malts and grains with a bit of something like a corn sweetness.
Taste is a bit sour and sweet. Getting that lager bill on the taste grainy malts with a bit of hops in the back. Seems like a bit of yeast sour with some sweetness like from corn.
Mouth feel is pretty light with a crispness to the finish that almost lends to that dry back of the throat snap.
I am extremely glad I got to try this beer. I understand this can be a bit of a unicorn beer in certain areas but now they are putting it in their mix packs. With the 4.7% ABV printed on my bottle this would esily stand with a lot of other very good adjunct lagers.
Jan 04, 2019Smells like malts and grains with a bit of something like a corn sweetness.
Taste is a bit sour and sweet. Getting that lager bill on the taste grainy malts with a bit of hops in the back. Seems like a bit of yeast sour with some sweetness like from corn.
Mouth feel is pretty light with a crispness to the finish that almost lends to that dry back of the throat snap.
I am extremely glad I got to try this beer. I understand this can be a bit of a unicorn beer in certain areas but now they are putting it in their mix packs. With the 4.7% ABV printed on my bottle this would esily stand with a lot of other very good adjunct lagers.
Original from Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company
Beer rating:
69 out of
100 with
661 ratings
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