Beer of the Weekend #555: La Crosse Lager
What better way to relax after watching a tough Hawkeye men’s basketball home loss than with a trusted cold one: La Crosse Lager, brewed by the City Brewing Company of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Ah, La Crosse Lager — the flavor of Apartment 12. We drank a lot of La Crosse when I was in college and it has always had a special place in my heart. It was tasty and cheap. Unfortunately, the recipe was reformulated sometime in the naughties and it became a pale shell of itself. Last week, though, I was told that the recipe recently changed. Even Mervgotti told me, “I couldn’t believe it! I was surprised.” So with sixers on sale at the Co-op for four bucks, I had to try it again and taste for myself whether or not the new La Crosse Lager matches its former glory.
Tonight, I think, is the BotW debut of my retro Schlitz pilsner glass. I bought it in Milwaukee last June at the gift shop in the former Pabst brewery. I am pretty sure it is not retro in the sense that it is an antique, but it is supposedly reminiscent of the style of glasses produced in 1965.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pilsner glass. The color is clear, clean gold. A finger of off-white, buttery head leaves a spotted froth, a ring around the edge, and a little lacing.
Smell: Light, crisp, a little zest, and fruit. Adjunct grains (probably corn), grass, light caramel, a sweet touch of fruit (probably apple or strawberry), and some lemon zest.
Taste: Pale malts, some adjuncts, a little caramel, a bit of spice, grassy hops that offer an adequate bite, a little apple and strawberry, and a dash of lemon zest. It is on the sweet side but not by much.
Drinkability: Light, tasty, and very drinkable. Oh, La Crosse Lager — you have come back after all these years!
Fun facts about LCL:
-Style: American adjunct.
-Price: The Super Bowl weekend special at the Co-op was $3.99/sixer.
-Alcohol content: 4.8 percent ABV.
-The “world’s largest six-pack” is a sixer of La Crosse Lager. Not really, but the six aging tanks outside the City plant in La Crosse are fitted with “vinyl plastic sheaths” to make them look like La Crosse Lager cans. The tanks used to be painted like Old Style cans but were painted over when the G. Heileman Brewing Company left the brewery in 2001.
The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.
Ah, La Crosse Lager — the flavor of Apartment 12. We drank a lot of La Crosse when I was in college and it has always had a special place in my heart. It was tasty and cheap. Unfortunately, the recipe was reformulated sometime in the naughties and it became a pale shell of itself. Last week, though, I was told that the recipe recently changed. Even Mervgotti told me, “I couldn’t believe it! I was surprised.” So with sixers on sale at the Co-op for four bucks, I had to try it again and taste for myself whether or not the new La Crosse Lager matches its former glory.
Tonight, I think, is the BotW debut of my retro Schlitz pilsner glass. I bought it in Milwaukee last June at the gift shop in the former Pabst brewery. I am pretty sure it is not retro in the sense that it is an antique, but it is supposedly reminiscent of the style of glasses produced in 1965.
Serving type: 12-ounce bottle. No freshness date.
Appearance: Poured into a pilsner glass. The color is clear, clean gold. A finger of off-white, buttery head leaves a spotted froth, a ring around the edge, and a little lacing.
Smell: Light, crisp, a little zest, and fruit. Adjunct grains (probably corn), grass, light caramel, a sweet touch of fruit (probably apple or strawberry), and some lemon zest.
Taste: Pale malts, some adjuncts, a little caramel, a bit of spice, grassy hops that offer an adequate bite, a little apple and strawberry, and a dash of lemon zest. It is on the sweet side but not by much.
Drinkability: Light, tasty, and very drinkable. Oh, La Crosse Lager — you have come back after all these years!
Fun facts about LCL:
-Style: American adjunct.
-Price: The Super Bowl weekend special at the Co-op was $3.99/sixer.
-Alcohol content: 4.8 percent ABV.
-The “world’s largest six-pack” is a sixer of La Crosse Lager. Not really, but the six aging tanks outside the City plant in La Crosse are fitted with “vinyl plastic sheaths” to make them look like La Crosse Lager cans. The tanks used to be painted like Old Style cans but were painted over when the G. Heileman Brewing Company left the brewery in 2001.
The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.
