Blind test taste - domestic lagers

[jjirons69]

I love "Drinking Made Easy" on HD Net and got this idea from Zane. I picked up 10 easy-to-find Lagers and Lager lights. My wife and I had supper at a neighbor's house and my buddy and I took part in a little blind tasting. Some background - I drink 80% Budweiser, 5% Miller Lite, and 15% micro brews. The micros are my little treat while Bud is my every day beer. Deserted Island - give me Bud. I can already hear the comments, but drink what you like (plus it's easy on the $). I made a score sheet:

12 points Aroma - Malt, hops, esters, other aromatics
3 points Appearance - Color, clarity, head (retention, color, and texture)
20 points Flavor - Malt, hops, fermentation characteristics, balance, finish/aftertaste
5 points Mouth Feel - Body, carbonation, warmth, creaminess, tartness, bitterness
10 points Overall Impression - Overall drinking pleasure associated with this beer from pour it out to definitely buy again.

Ending with a total points and a blind guess as to what we drank. Here's what we sampled (@ 6 ozs each):

Budweiser
Bud Llght
Miller High Life
Miller Lite
Coors Light
Pabst Blue Ribbon
Rolling Rock
Amstel Light
Corona
Fosters

I had some predetermined ideas before I started. First, I wanted Bud to be in my top 3 just for a sanity check, if nothing else. I've never had a Corona without a lime, so I figured it would taste crappy. I thought Coors Light would be watery and weak. I thought Amstel Light and Fosters would fair well, as they were imports and cost a little more. At $6.99 a 12 pack, I thought PBR would be near the bottom.

To keep it unbiased, I have not drank any of these for nearly a week. Been drinking winter brews. We had my wife label plastic cups 1-10 and she kept the master list. We sampled them in 2 rounds of 5, with a couple swallows of water between beers. We spoke of smells and flavors, but never mentioned what we thought they were or the scores we were giving. I also put a second guess behind each first guess as to the beer I thought it was. I was truly shocked and surprised how different these beers tasted when judged this way. I noted flavors and characteristics on each. To my delight I selected Bud as the best. Here's my palate, notes, and scores:

Budweiser - Nice aroma, highest score of 15 for flavor, creamy, 8 overall impression - 43 points
Bud Light - Nice aroma, sweet grape-like flavors, creamy, subtle, 14 points on flavor - 41 points
Miller High Life - Nice aroma, another sweet grape-like flavors, slightly creamy, 12 points flavor - 40 points
Miller Lite - Weaker aroma, subtle, light carbonation, 13 points flavor - 37 points
Pabst Blue Ribbon - Unique aroma, unique flavor, slightly sweet, 12 flavor points - 36 points
Coors Light - Nice aroma, sweetish, lightly creamy, 10 flavor points - 34 points
Fosters - Very nice aroma, unique flavor with long finish, more bitter and hoppier than the others, 10 flavor points - 34 points
Corona - Nice aroma, thin, carbonated tasting, 11 flavor points - 31 points
Rolling Rock - Strange aroma, very unique flavored, 5 overall impression points, 10 flavor points - 30 points
Amstel Light - Medium aroma, roasty flavors, some bitterness, carbonated flavors, 8 flavor points, 5 overall points - 27 points

My buddy also had Bud as tops and Amstel Light as bottom. He used to be a regular Amstel Light drinker for years, so he was absolutely floored by that. I got the Budweiser and Coors Light guesses correct, with Corona, Miller Lite, and Fosters being correct on my second guess. I guess taste is where it's at and I had Budweiser, Bud Light, and Miller Lite ranked as such in taste. Funny thing is, I've never been a Bud Light drinker and can't remember the last time I've had one, probably 10+ years. What sucks now is I have 9 more Amstel Lights left in the garage fridge and I now know they're, what I just judged as, worst of the group. It was really fun. I have enough to try with my dad and BIL next weekend. I think I'll also try it with some of my golfing buddies soon. It's really neat all the distinct flavors and smell you can get out of 10 cups of beer that mostly all look alike.

[Salvelinus]

Interesting taste test. I'd choose bud diesel over bud light any day because it has some flavor. I think your right with high life also, I drank that stuff nightly between semesters in Montana when I wasn't working, couldn't beat it at $3.50 a six pack. I prefer a microbrew, but I appreciate what the american macrobreweries can do occasionally.

Sounds like a cool idea! I don't care much for Bud but it would be interesting to see where I would rank it amongst the others. May have to try that some day.

[Sauer Grapes]

Maybe I missed it, but how accurate were you in your guesses of what the beers were?

Will take free crap beer! But really, nice review of the beers and I look forward to seeing the results of when you do it again with your other buddies. Thanks for posting!

[cricky101]

Originally Posted by Salvelinus

Interesting taste test. I'd choose bud diesel over bud light any day because it has some flavor. I think your right with high life also, I drank that stuff nightly between semesters in Montana when I wasn't working, couldn't beat it at $3.50 a six pack. I prefer a microbrew, but I appreciate what the american macrobreweries can do occasionally.

I drink a lot of micro brews and brew my own beer at home, too, but always have at least a sixer of High Life in the fridge

[ninjavanish]

Love the Miller High Life.

I tend to range wide and far regarding which brews I keep on hand... I typically do not like IPA's though I never shy away from giving one a try... hopefully someday I will find one that jives with my buds (tastebuds that is).

However, the Champagne of Beers (Pronounced Sham-pag-knee in keeping with true High Life sophistication) always has a welcome spot in my beer fridge. Especially on a hot summer day... when the bottle is as cold as cold can be.

In my opinion... few things go better with a freshly made Hamburger right off the grill in the back yard than a Miller High Life.