Beer of the Weekend #490: Yuengling Traditional Lager
While riding the hotel shuttle to the Cincinnati Zoo on Saturday, I asked the driver if liquor stores were open on Sundays in Kentucky. He said they were, so before leaving Covington yesterday morning I stopped into a liquor store to pick up some beer. I walk through, searching for the beer section, but only saw aisles and aisles of liquor and cigarettes. It was the kind of place that has a drive-thru window, so I was not expecting much. But it had to have something unique to Kentucky, something I could not get in Iowa. One of the workers asked if I needed help and I said I was looking for beer. “It’s too early for beer,” he said. “Can’t sell that until eleven o’clock.”
Well, that took care of buying beer in Kentucky. (Goddamn blue laws!) So after stopping for breakfast at Big Boy, and before leaving Ohio, I walked into a gas station and bought a sixer of American history: Yuengling Traditional Lager, brewed by the Yuengling Beer Company of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
Serving type: 12-ounce can. A batch code is printed on the bottom but there is no discernable freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is copper/amber. A finger of light, eggshell-colored head left a very thin, spotted skim and a thin, buttery ring round the edge.
Smell: Musty, pale grains at first, but toasted malts offer a nice candy caramel aroma that at times reminds me of cherry licorice. At the end of each whiff are teasing hints of floral hops.
Taste: The mouthfeel is relatively light and the flavor matches it at first. However, toasted malts, candy caramel, and a little toffee come on strong as the beer warms. Pale malts also give it a bready quality, too. It is pretty sweet, overall.
Drinkability: There is not much to it, really, but it does offer flavor and is very quaffable.
Fun facts about YTL:
-Style: It is classified on BA as “American Amber/Red Lager.”
-Price: $4.99/sixer at the Sunoco station on New Haven Road in Harrison, Ohio. The cashier placed it in a black bag. Another customer jokingly gasped, “They can sell beer on Sundays in Ohio?” Hallelujah!
-Alcohol content: 4.4 percent ABV.
-Established in 1829, the Yuengling brewery is the oldest operating brewery in the United States. According to the can: “With over 178 years of brewing tradition and five generations of Yuengling family ownership, D.G. Yuengling & Son holds the American brewing industry record for the longest, continuously operated brewery.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: C.
Well, that took care of buying beer in Kentucky. (Goddamn blue laws!) So after stopping for breakfast at Big Boy, and before leaving Ohio, I walked into a gas station and bought a sixer of American history: Yuengling Traditional Lager, brewed by the Yuengling Beer Company of Pottsville, Pennsylvania.
Serving type: 12-ounce can. A batch code is printed on the bottom but there is no discernable freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pint glass. The color is copper/amber. A finger of light, eggshell-colored head left a very thin, spotted skim and a thin, buttery ring round the edge.
Smell: Musty, pale grains at first, but toasted malts offer a nice candy caramel aroma that at times reminds me of cherry licorice. At the end of each whiff are teasing hints of floral hops.
Taste: The mouthfeel is relatively light and the flavor matches it at first. However, toasted malts, candy caramel, and a little toffee come on strong as the beer warms. Pale malts also give it a bready quality, too. It is pretty sweet, overall.
Drinkability: There is not much to it, really, but it does offer flavor and is very quaffable.
Fun facts about YTL:
-Style: It is classified on BA as “American Amber/Red Lager.”
-Price: $4.99/sixer at the Sunoco station on New Haven Road in Harrison, Ohio. The cashier placed it in a black bag. Another customer jokingly gasped, “They can sell beer on Sundays in Ohio?” Hallelujah!
-Alcohol content: 4.4 percent ABV.
-Established in 1829, the Yuengling brewery is the oldest operating brewery in the United States. According to the can: “With over 178 years of brewing tradition and five generations of Yuengling family ownership, D.G. Yuengling & Son holds the American brewing industry record for the longest, continuously operated brewery.”
The Quiet Man’s grade: C.
