Planning Thread: American Adjunct Lager Tasting (July 4-7)

Non-malted cereals contribute to beer alcohol content all the time (corn products and rice). If the unmalted cereal starch isn't converted to sugar before fermentation the brewer would end up with a turbid soup. Cereal starch is converted to sugar during the brewing process, using maltase enzyme from the malt or possibly other enzymes. But still Negra Modelo doesn't fit the "pale" description in the BA AAL description.

 

That understanding is incorrect. Non-malted cereals (e.g., corn, rice) do add fermentables to the beer. They are mashed with barley malt which provides the necessary enzymes to convert the adjunct's starches to sugars.

Cheers!

 

Thank you for your clarifications.

In addition to Negra Modelo, Victoria is listed here as a Vienna Lager. I will enjoy both of these over this weekend, and not include in the AAL tasting.

The other six beers are listed as AALs, so I will try to get to all six, plus of course the King of Beers to open and close my participation.

Cues Billy Joel

 

I was corrected about my statement in the two posts after mine.... Modelo Negra is an AAL.

 

Not so. According to the BA description, an AAL is pale.

 

Okay, rightfully corrected again.

 

The above quote is from the NBW thread, but I thought it made more sense to reply here instead. I find it strange that people might think that a beer like this will definitively fall into one category vs the other... or to say with authority that it's a Munich Dunkel and not an American adjunct lager. People shouldn't feel "corrected" if they call it one thing and someone disagrees. IMO, you can't really make a good argument that it's one and not the other. Whether or not it's a good fit for the upcoming tasting thread is a different story and not what I'm talking about.

@ChicagoJ - If you do that blind taste test, I predict that you'll find it's clearly different from an imported Munich Dunkel (and I usually give a lot of latitude with things like that). It's also different from Modelo Especial.

 

I used to think this too, then @jesskidden called in Canadians Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings to alter my point of view.

 

Can't say I remember doing that* but since we're on the topic of The Guess Who, they were Tricia Nixon's favorite group. (Now, some might be trying to guess who Tricia Nixon was...) They even played at the White House , but for some reason that particular song was not on the setlist that night...

* Not saying it's not true, I don't remember a lot of stuff...

 

https://www.beeradvocate.com/community/threads/boston-lager-remastered.646882/page-8#post-7028377 complete with the Tricia Trivia. For a time there, in the Top 40, there were The Who, The Guess Who and The Wonder Who (<actually The 4 Seasons, trying but failing to be 60s hip).

But for Canadian bands, #1 will always be Levon and The Hawks > The Crackers (even with an Arkansas drummer). Here they are hanging out in Big Pink's kitchen drinking Piels Real Draft - an AAL if ever there was one (unpasteurized, as well).

 

My wife and I were tooling down the 401 toward Detroit, listening to the local CBC station that aired a very comprehensive history of the Guess Who -- much more than we were prepared to digest. We didn't take notes so, to quote JK: "I don't remember a lot of stuff.."

 

Who's on first at a rock concert? The Who, The Guess Who, Them and others populated the concert. The stage manager being interviewed.

 

I try to stick with the spirit of BA tastings and stay within the parameters of how beers are listed here. Really only quibble about styles if something here is not categorized consistent with the brewery's designation. Took a few attempts but was able to get Heady Topper shifted on BA from NEIPA to IPA (it's Imperial IPA here).

I personally prefer RateBeer style categories which are beer oriented more so than the numerous country / location designations used here.

I would be interested in trying the top three (by number of ratings) European examples of the style, but likely not many others. I had an Israeli version and it is a bad beer (Goldstar Dark Lager).

Yes, I enjoyed both the Modelo Negra, but had good impressions before my formal rating, and also the Victoria Vienna Lager. I have less confidence in a few of my selections for the tasting, but hope to be pleasantly surprised.

 

trying to come up with one or two more but glad to have a couple of my favorites on hand for this tasting.

•Side Project Content Moderator - corn lager with german perle and saphir hops (also like my favorite beer of all time)
•Side Project Maplewood’s Best - lager brewed with jasmine rice

going to see if i can find any P3 lagers that fit the bill and / or a domestic pisswater that i haven’t reviewed / rated yet.

cheers!!

 

@jonphisher Please lemme know if any of these do not qualify. I also have a Vienna Lager from Drekker that might fit in here as well.

 

Five are categorized as AALs or Light Lagers. Three are listed here as American Lagers (3) and one Czech Dark Lager. Based on discussions above, if any of the three American Lagers are brewed with adjuncts, they would also be considered eligible.

Schell’s Northland Gold (American Lager)
Drecker I Don’t Know No Snakes (American Lager)
Shiner Sea Salt & Lime (American Lager)
Shiner Black Lager (Czech Dark Lager)