Drink Wisconsinbly
Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company

I'm an amber lover in general and in particular love Yuengling. Problem is, I'm in WI and Yuengling is taking their sweet time with their expansion so it's not something I can just run down to the corner store and buy.

My love of ambers makes it a pretty short leap to understand that I love Oktoberfests too, and I've liked Leinenkugel's Oktoberfest for a while. More recently I took the leap and tried and loved their Toasted Bock.

I have had some Leinie misfires too: their Light beer was way too grapefruity for me, and the last time I tried their Original Lager I got the same (not welcome) fruity taste. Northwoods Amber I was on the fence about-fairly good but a little light on color, had some grapefruit and seemed more like a more flavorful adjunct lager to me than other ambers that I like.

I've seen "Drink Wisconsinbly" in stores for a little over a year now but because of the hit-and-miss Leinie experience I've been a bit hesitant to try it. I haven't seen any reviews on YouTube and only a couple on here. I've only seen 6 and 12 packs (6 pk runs about $10) and, being tentative, I would have preferred to find a single but alas no luck there.
After my recent love of the Toasted Bock, though, I decided to finally roll the dice on a 6 pack of the Drink Wisconsinbly.

Appearance: Cool looking Red/White (Badger themed I'm sure) can. Poured in a pint glass, is a VERY light amber (some may argue more dark gold). Good head retention, lots of bubbles.

Smell: I'm terrible at this but what I could tell was "clean beer" scent and faint "sweetness"

Taste: At first I got a bit of the dreaded grapefruit but as I drank more that was pretty tame, and I got more grain, even corniness. It actually reminded me more than a little of Yuengling. 2nd can I drank "right outta the can" and it was just as, if not even more, good than the first. Very happy with this one-anyone in WI waiting for Yuengling, maybe give this one a shot and then, like me, maybe you won't care anymore if they even make it to WI since we have Leinies!

 

Pours out Iof the can a clear copper with small head that dissipates swiftly. Smells like bread malts and some sweetness. Tastes light and crisp with not a whole lot of complexity in my opinion. Not bad but not too special.

Appearance: Pours a clear, medium golden-orange color with a mild white head. SRM of 9. (4.00)

Aroma: Moderate aromas of rich bread malts, cereal malts, toasted, some apples and amber notes.

Flavor: Moderate flavors of cereal malt, rich bread malt, adjuncts, some amber malt and apples in the middle followed by a strong yeast presence to finish. Allows it to finish relatively dry.

Feel: Medium-bodied. Strong carbonation and yeast. Finishes relatively clean.

Compared to Red Stripe Lager 7/21/22: Pours darker, similar aromas. More grainy and fruity flavors. Less earthy Munich malt. Yeastier.

Overall: A nice light-amber lager here. Has a grainy, light amber and apple presence. Yeasty and dry on the finish. Pretty drinkable. Not a fan of many Leinenkugals beers, but this was drinkable with some flavor. (Rating: 3.77)

Poured from a can into a pint glass. Pours red orange with a small off white head. Smells of caramelized grain, sweet and inviting. Tastes of caramelized grain, nice and full flavored, with very slight fruitiness. Beer is light bodied and easy drinking, good carbonation. Overall, a very good beer.

I am from Wisconsin and I am not typically a fan of Leinenkugels beer. This, however, was true to its advertising. It is a light refreshing amber lager with a good clean finish. I enjoyed this beer and could see myself having many more.

This beer is tied to the Wisconsinbly stores and webpage. From a can to glass, the beer is dark gold (ok amber) with a fluffy and long lasting off-white head. It has decent lacing.

It has a nose of grains a bit of apple.

The taste is slightly sweet and grainy. Extremely gentle hoping lend this beer a slight flora and fruit finish. Not a ton going on but no off or odd flavors. I think it is a rebranded Lenies Northwoods Amber.

The mouth medium. Step above a macro lager but would like to see something a bit bolder but is an easy drinker.

I was back home in WI and decided to pick up a 6 pack of this out of curiosity. I’m one of those folks of a certain age that grew up with Leinies. Back in the day before craft brewing was a big concern the beers you could readily get at bars in the upper Midwest tended to be labels like Busch, Bud Light, Old Milwaukee, etc. Leinenkugel’s Original (though not outstanding) was a cut above those other available offerings and Leinies was the first time many of us were introduced to any other beer styles with their Bock, Red, Creamy Dark offerings. I used to bring back cases of Leinies O and Red when I was in college in Iowa b/c at that time you couldn’t get it in Iowa and it was a heck of a lot better than the awful swill everyone was drinking. Flash forward...if I’m being honest most of Leinies brews don’t do much for me as so much has changed in the beer world and I’ve been exposed to so many more beers. But I’m still nostalgic for the brewery and this new offering is a pretty good tailgating beer I’m happy to say. It’s best out of the can and would be a great cooler filler. It feels like an improved Original. Similar to the old Leinies Red that I fondly remember. Amber colored, nice fluffy head that lingers a while. Refreshing, flavor is bready with a crisp, dry finish which is something I look for in a lager. No strong aromas to speak of, but I actually appreciate that as it doesn’t have any strong adjunct or “off” aromas at all either. Very little hop profile, overall quite neutral. Folks that like the traditional lager category and appreciate a clean, refreshing, no fuss beer will likely really enjoy this. Would be great to bring fishing or to have with a Brat and Kraut. A solid classic lager and it does give me a little hope for the brewery. It’s nice to see them come out with an honest-to-God beer like this after years of Kool Aid beers. I would recommend giving it a go.