Canadian Macro Lagers

Seattle-brewed by what was then just "Rainier Brewing Co." The San Francisco Rainier closed in 1953, selling their brewery to Theo. Hamm and the brand name to Sick. In 1977, Heileman bought Rainier Brewing Co. and, eventually, dumbed down Rainier Ale (something they did with some of their other acquired ales, like Red Cap and McSorley's).

As @Coronaeus notes, Molson had purchased Emil Sick's breweries in Canada in the late '50s and, at the time of the sale to Heileman, Molson owned a little under half of the US Rainier stock. An interesting sidelight, Rainier at that time also owned winemaker Robert Mondavi, which was not part of the sale.

 

This thread has me thinking that I haven’t had much in the way of Canadian Macro lately, with one exception, a recent-ish release from Molson, Molson Fireside Lager.

https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/433/439514/

A picture of my rather vigorous pour!



It is listed as a Schwartzbier here and a dark lager over on Untappd. I thought it was good. I didn’t review it properly, but, from my brief remarks on Untappd, I noted nice roasted malt flavours, a slight note of smoke and just a tiny hint of a metallic note on the finish. Overall, I remarked that I was pleasantly surprised.

I’d say, if you are interested in exploring current Canadian macro offerings, this would be one to seek out, especially if you are a fan of dark lagers. It is by no means a class leader, but certainly an enjoyable beer.

This thread has me interested in revisiting macro beers I haven’t had in over a decade(s) and trying some new ones to me. I’m by no means an accomplished reviewer, but will try my best to share my experiences. As soon as I see the Molson Golden released here, I’ll grab one.

Cheers!

 

You description here reminds me of the winter seasonal beer from Genesee which was branded both via Schwarzbier & Dark Session Lager.



From my NBS review:

"Overall:

This beer is very good. It has the quality that the Germans would describe using the word süffig (drinkable). As I finished this one can of beer I very much wanted to drink another."

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/new-beer-sunday-week-774.630028/#post-6741331

I wonder how well Schwarzbiers sell for Macro/Regional breweries?

Cheers!

 

If I remember correctly, there was nothing on the can to indicate it was a dark lager. I seem to remember buying it to fill a mix-six pack thinking it would be a non-descript amber lager.

I wonder as well how well they sell. This seems to be well out of the wheelhouse of the average Molson drinker.

I haven’t had that Genesee offering, but have enjoyed the few seasonals I have had. A friend in Buffalo occasionally includes them in boxes of beer he brings up for me. I’d like to give that one a try.

 

And the same could be said for the average Genesee drinker as well.

I am also a BIG fan of Genny Bock. I have not had any of their other seasonals.

I just think it is great that Macro/Regional breweries are willing to produce beer styles outside of the AAL realm.

Cheers!

 

I quite liked the Oktoberfest. I had it beside the Bell’s Oktoberfest and thought the former was markedly better. I’ve also had the Ruby Red Kolsch. That kind of beer is usually not my favourite, but it was nice. I’ve actually never had any of their flagship beers.

 

So, let me tell you a very old story. So old that this was before I was a craft beer drinker at the time.

I used to throw BIG Halloween parties when I was much younger. I would purchase kegs for this party. My local Retail Beer Distributor had also a second business of a Wholesale Beer Distributor with one of the beers they distributed was Genesee. I went into my local Retail Beer Distributor to ‘order’ a keg (1/2 barrel) of beer with the idea to get Miller High Life, Bud or similar. The owner of the business(es) at the time was a very old dude (70 – 80 years old). As I was making my order:

Old Guy: Why do you want to spend all that money on a beer like Miller High Life?

Me: (with a look of surprise on my face): What do you mean?

Old Guy: You can get Genesee Beer for half that price.

Me: (now a look of confusion since I had never tasted Genesee Beer before (only Cream Ale): Is Genesee Beer any good?

Old Guy: Oh yeah, and you could get two kegs for the price of one Miller High Life.

Me: OK, let’s do it.

So, I picked up the two kegs of Genesee Beer the day of the party (Saturday) and I tapped the first keg and drank a glass. It was not absolutely awful but it was not just as good as Miller High Life. I thought to myself: Oh man, people are going to bust my balls for buying cheap beer.

I went through 1.5 kegs of beer at that party and not a single person made mention to me about the ‘quality’ of Genesee Beer. Either they were all polite (which considering my friends would have been not typical) or for their palate it was ‘beer’ and they were OK with it.

I have not had a Genesee beer since that party oh so many decades ago.

Cheers!

P.S. I did not feel all that great the day after the party but that was more a situation of overconsumption vs. a reflection of Genesee Beer per se.

 

I did hear from other BAs last fall that were fans as well.

A brewery local to me, Sly Fox, makes an excellent Oktoberfest and I tend to mostly drink those beers (I think I bought two 12-packs last season). I did consider buying the Genesee 12-pack since it is a great deal (less than 10 bucks) but I went for my 'regular' Oktoberfest beers instead. I really should buy the Genesee Oktoberfest beer just to try it (and enjoy the great deal) this upcoming season.

Cheers!

 

Moosehead and Molson Golden are easy to drink . Molson Canadian and Labatt's Blue are a second choice.

 

I’m in NB, and I don’t think Alpine makes it out of province much, although I know it’s sold as a budget brand in Ontario. It’s cheaper than Moosehead Lager here and rumored to be the same beer. We have a bunch of Moosehead products here that I don’t know if they make their way to the US...I’ll post some photos out of curiosity.



Note the glass...Clancy’s, another legacy Moosehead brand.

 

OUCH ... I was fooled BIG Time. On a trip to Canada I was so excited to try Alexander Keith's "IPA" .... well you can figure out the rest.

 

We drink a lot of Canadian beer. We're hockey players. We certainly have our favorites, interested to see what the field thinks.

 

I personally have only had labatt, moosehead lager and Molson Canadian. While all three were fine I think I’d pick moosehead. Canadian was a toss up it’s was hard to pick lol but because molson goes flat fast and then ends up tasting like witch hazel smells I pick moosehead

 

Molson XXX, but I haven't had it 10 years.

 

I’m feeling nostalgic for an ice cold Carling Black Label.

 

Ignorant question here. Is kronenburg 1664 or blanc considered “cheap” beer there? Is it made in France?

 

Dale, did you have any Black Label from your days in the service?



It is my understanding that any Black Label available to us today is brewed at Molson Coors breweries (maybe Trenton, OH?).

 

According to Wikipedia the beer is still brewed in Alsace (but other places as well):

“The main Kronenbourg 1664 brewery (where Kronenbourg also produces almost 300 other beer brands) is in Obernai (France), but the brand is also brewed in the UK by Heineken at its Manchester brewery, as well as in Australia by Coopers.”

Cheers!

 

Moncton Wildcat fans don't lie. Ask Corey Crawford.