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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Walgreens - Big Flats 1901

Dead Soldier
Where to Dig Up More About This Beer
Big Flats 1901
Brewmaster's Choice (Walgreens)
Rochester, NY USA
Est. 2011

www.walgreens.com 

Brain Damage Quotient = 4.5 % ABV
Fluid Oz. = 12.0 

Postmortem Brew Review
Clear pale yellow, nearly void of any color.
Grainy, grainy malt with barely noticeable hops aromas.
Two finger fluffy foaming head that leaves a cover. Dissipates fairly quickly.
Grain taste that leaves a cloying malt taste. Slight hops flavor present.
Extremely low amount of carbonation.  Bubbles can be counted. 
Ultra light bodied.

So clear, you can see through it.
Grim Reaper's Eulogy 
The things I do for blogging beer.  Okay, whatever! I could have guessed what this was going to be like before the tab was popped on the can.  The reaper loves the quick and the dead, but even this thing scares me! Walgreens is looking to pile on to the success in the beer explosion with an alternative (non)-working man's beer. It's supposed to fill the, I-can't-afford-beer-in-this-economy void. And at $2.99 a six pack, (a mere 50 cents a can), one might say that, capitalism is still alive and kicking in the U S of A.

There is a sickly sweetness to the grainy malt flavor. It leaves a haunting taste on the back of the tongue, (ever lick a piece of aluminum foil?) The body is so clear that you can actually read the receipt through my Spiegelau glass. Was going to make a snarky comment about having to rinse it out, but there's so little substance, it's not necessary!

Printed on the can, "Genuine Beer."  Really? "It's the water that makes it." Seriously? "Brewed from only the choicest hops." Hmmm...  Then there's the name.  Big Flats.  Huh!  There's so little carbonation.  I get the "flats" part, but there's nothing BIG about it. 

Anybody seen my Mr. Beer kit? ! ?  Never thought MGD 64 or Bud 55 would look so good - - -I'd say it's a great beer to drink when you're not drinking beer.

And now back to our regularly scheduled blog posts.

2 comments:

  1. I tried this beer when Walgreen's was the only thing open and the only thing they were selling less than a case was Big Flats. I normally don't buy anything outside of a microbrewery but thought, "what the hell...". You seem pretty quick to condemn the beer and I'll admit, it's nothing to write home about. But it is what it is; cheap beer. Your "holier beer drinker than thou" attitude is a little out of place when judging 50 cent cans.

    Oh, and you might want to at least read up on beer a little bit (that is if you're not going to actually go out and drink some) to figure out that depending on the style clarity is a good thing. Not saying that makes this a good beer, but you sound pretty stupid making the point that the more clarity a beer has the worse it is. Ha, at least you made me feel better about myself...

    ReplyDelete
  2. John, you make some good points.

    Clarity is fine, when the ingredients lend themselves to flavor. There are many beers out there where the quality of being clear (filtered) is desirable for the style. My opinion, and I am entitled to one, is that for fifty cents a can, the clarity here reflects a lack of costlier ingredients that add any taste. In their own words, "It's the water that makes it."

    I did read quite a bit about this beer. To wit the fact that it is the second attempt at Walgreens to produce a beer for the masses during an economic downturn. I understand its place in the market and alluded to that in my article. But still, at that price point, how much can they be spending on ingredients? My expectations were not high from inception due to this fact alone.

    What I disagree with is this:
    My point is not to judge, which is why I do not use a rating system. My point is to inform as to my experience. Sorry if I tell it like it is from my opinion. We agree to disagree on this beer.

    Thanks for the post. I always appreciate other's thoughts.

    Cheers.

    ReplyDelete